CLEP Humanities : Visual Arts

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for CLEP Humanities

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Example Questions

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Example Question #2 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Renaissance 2 D Visual Art

What is the term for the contrast of light and shade that became popular in sixteenth century European paintings?

Possible Answers:

Shading

Contrapposto

Crosshatching

Sfumato

Chiaroscuro

Correct answer:

Chiaroscuro

Explanation:

Contrapposto has to do with the weight shift in a figure, crosshatching is used to create angles, and shading does not imply a contrast. Sfumato is about the transition from light to dark, not contrasting the two. Chiaroscuro is the only answer that works here because its definition is the treatment of light and shadow to show a contrast.

Example Question #481 : Clep: Humanities

Who was the early Renaissance painter who created the triptych known as The Garden of Earthly Delights?

Possible Answers:

Lucas Cranach the Elder

Jan van Eyck

Hans Holbein the Younger

Lucas Cranach the Younger

Hieronymus Bosch

Correct answer:

Hieronymus Bosch

Explanation:

The Garden of Earthly Delights, painted between 1490 and 1510, is a highly idiosyncratic and complicated triptych of the Garden of Eden, earthly pleasures, and their subsequent punishment in a hell-like atmosphere. The religious overtones and multi-faceted story are features of most paintings by Hieronymus Bosch, who was an early Netherlandish painter during the Renaissance. Bosch's painting, now in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, was highly influential for its depiction of human forms, its allegorical tales, and its peculiar form of storytelling.

Example Question #76 : 2 D Visual Art

The painter well known for portraits of the court of Henry VIII of England is __________.

Possible Answers:

Rembrandt van Rijn

Anthony van Dyck

Hans Holbein the Younger

Titian

Lucas Cranach the Elder

Correct answer:

Hans Holbein the Younger

Explanation:

Hans Holbein the Younger made a name for himself by painting nearly every figure associated with the court of the English king Henry VIII. In doing so, he helped pioneer a new use of perspective in his portraits. Holbein's work helped push Renaissance art to new places simply through portraits.

Example Question #77 : 2 D Visual Art

Who was the fifteenth-century Flemish painter who painted the massive Ghent Altarpiece?

Possible Answers:

Hans Holbein

Rembrandt van Rijn

Hieronymus Bosch

Jan van Eyck

Michelangelo

Correct answer:

Jan van Eyck

Explanation:

Jan van Eyck was a transformative figure in European painting, as his approach to painting depended on realism and a naturalistic viewpoint. His Ghent Altarpiece, also called The Lamb of God, was a departure from Medieval standards that typically valued idealization and symbolism in religious imagery. Van Eyck, who lived from 1390 to 1441, had an outsized influence on the artistic transformations that occurred during the Renaissance.

Example Question #78 : 2 D Visual Art

The artist Michelangelo was key to the development of __________ art. 

Possible Answers:

Post-impressionistic

Impressionistic

Renaissance

Baroque

Rococco

Correct answer:

Renaissance

Explanation:

Michelangelo (1475-1564) is often considered the prototypical "Renaissance man," along with Leonardo da Vinci, thanks to his key involvement in painting, sculpture, and design. Michelangelo was one of the earliest painters to use realistic imagery, forced perspective, and an enhanced use of color. His work was key in the development of Renaissance themes like a return to classical motifs, a sense of grandeur, and the use of scientific knowledge in the arts.

Example Question #79 : 2 D Visual Art

Michelangelo Buonarroti created all of the following paintings or drawings EXCEPT _________________.

Possible Answers:

The Last Judgment

The Crucifixion of St. Peter

Sistine Chapel Ceiling

The Vitruvian Man

The Battle of Cascina

Correct answer:

The Vitruvian Man

Explanation:

The Vitruvian Man was drawn by Leonardo da Vinci, a contemporary rival of Michelangelo. Michelangelo was commissioned to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, which included the famous Creation of Adam image. The Last Judgment is also in the Sistine Chapel, though it was painted almost 30 years after the ceiling. The Crucifixion of St. Peter was also one of Michelangelo's later works. Both Michelangelo and da Vinci were commissioned to design paintings for the city of Florence, thus Michelangelo drew the plan for the Battle of Cascina, though the final painting was never completed.

Example Question #71 : 2 D Visual Art

Who was the painter of the odd court painting Las Meninas?

Possible Answers:

Hans Holbein

Titian

Raphael

Diego Velazquez

El Greco

Correct answer:

Diego Velazquez

Explanation:

Diego Velazquez was an idiosyncratic painter who became the offical court painter for the Spanish king Philip IV. Velazquez's unique composition style, love of odd subjects, and expressive portrait style found its culmination in Las Meninas, a 1656 painting that shows the daughters of the King with their attendants and the painter in a large room with people coming and going. The painting was so remarkable that Pablo Picasso made a cubist version of it in the twentieth century.

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