Deck 20: Renaissance Art in Fifteenth-century Italy

Question 1

__________ carefully calculated the perspective of his fresco The Last Supper interior to draw the viewer into the scene.

A) Verrocchio
B) Andrea della Robbia
C) Alberti
D) Castagno

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The family of artist Andrea della Robbia is best known for their ___________________.

A) distinctive glazes and ceramic production
B) skillful metalworking practice
C) elaborate carved woodwork on cassoni
D) revival of the lost-wax method of bronze casting

Answer 2

distinctive glazes and ceramic production

Question 3

Scholars do not know the circumstances surrounding the creation of __________'s bronze David .

A) Donatello
B) Ghiberti
C) Masaccio
D) Nanni di Banco

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Ghiberti's Gates of Paradise demonstrate the use of linear perspective to render illusionistic space in ____________.

A) oil painting
B) fresco
C) architecture
D) relief sculpture

Question 5

In the early part of the fifteenth century, the Italian painter __________ provided new direction for Florentine painting.

A) Giotto
B) Masaccio
C) Duccio
D) Pollaiuolo

Question 6

__________ created sculpture out of terra cotta for Florence's Foundling Hospital (Ospedale degli Innocenti) .

A) Brunelleschi
B) Ghiberti
C) Andrea della Robbia
D) Alberti

Question 7

__________ won the competition to design the new doors for the Baptistery in Florence .

A) Donatello
B) Ghiberti
C) Masaccio
D) Nanni di Banco

Question 8

What fostered the extensive production of art in Florence during the fifteenth century?

A) economic prosperity
B) civic patriotism and desire to express the city's importance
C) a humanist interest in individual accomplishment
D) all of the above

Question 9

__________ considered ancient Roman equestrian portraits in his design for Gattamelata .

A) Verrocchio
B) Donatello
C) Ghiberti
D) Alberti

Question 10

Pollaiuolo's primary concern in The Battle of the Nudes seems to have been ______________.

A) exploring the medium of engraving
B) the detailed analysis of anatomical form and movement
C) the use of linear perspective
D) traditions of realism used in Roman portraiture

Question 11

Which of the following distinguishes Italian artistic interests during the Renaissance in contrast to contemporary artists in Northern Europe?

A) increased focus on creating the illusion of physical reality
B) an emphasis on more analytical methods of illusionism
C) detailed descriptions of luminosity and textural differentiation
D) none of the above

Question 12

The sculptor, _________, produced The Four Crowned Martyrs for a niche at Orsanmichele .

A) Nanni di Banco
B) Donatello
C) Masaccio
D) Giotto

Question 13

__________ created some smaller, bronze sculptures, designed for interior spaces, for the Medici family.

A) Masaccio
B) Brunelleschi
C) Alberti
D) Pollaiuolo

Question 14

Their mastery of the oil technique and life-like portrayal of the natural world earned the two brothers, __________ and __________ the distinction as Venice's two most significant artists of the latter fifteenth century.

A) Giuseppe Carbonie; Bartolommeo Carbonie
B) Enrico Scrovegni; Alberto Scrovegni
C) Gentile Bellini; Giovanni Bellini
D) Giovanni Arnolfini; Gentile Arnolfini

Question 15

At the Monastery of San Marco, __________ and his assistants frescoed paintings in the cells of the monks and their community rooms.

A) Fra Anselmo
B) Abbott Francis
C) Fra Angelico
D) Brother Lawrence

Question 16

The invention of __________ enabled artists to convincingly represent the visible world on a flat, two-dimensional surface.

A) fresco secco
B) giornata
C) linear perspective
D) intarsia

Question 17

__________, who originally trained as a goldsmith, designed the dome for Florence Cathedral .

A) Masaccio
B) Uccello
C) Donatello
D) Brunelleschi

Question 18

Images of the __________ were often painted in the dining halls (refectories) of religious communities.

A) Annunciation
B) Nativity
C) Last Supper
D) Prodigal Son

Question 19

In fifteenth-century Italy, __________ were the men whom a city-state could hire, for a sum of money, to organize and lead an army in its defense.

A) condottiere
B) giornata
C) sinopia
D) maestro

Question 20

The term used to describe Italian works of art in the style of ancient Greek and Roman art is __________.

A) giornata
B) sinopia
C) albarello
D) all'antica

Question 21

How did the Foundling Hospital in Florence reflect the political nature of artistic production in Florence?

A) Brunelleschi won the commission in a public competition.
B) It was a public demonstration of social responsibility of a wealthy guild.
C) Its reliance on classical form underscored Florentine power and status.
D) All of the above.

Question 22

What was the primary reason for the delayed construction of the dome of Florence Cathedral?

A) political instability
B) funding for the project ran out
C) lack of engineering know-how
D) a shortage of skilled masons and builders

Question 23

What feature of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi recalls the design of ancient Roman homes?

A) the rusticated exterior
B) the open loggia used to conduct business
C) the rounded arches of the windows
D) the placement of rooms around a central courtyard

Question 24

The architecture of Venice was most influenced by ______________forms.

A) Classical
B) Gothic
C) Byzantine
D) Islamic

Question 25

Why is Florence considered the cradle of the Italian Renaissance?

A) its proximity to ancient ruins that inspired Renaissance artists
B) the many wealthy merchants who were patrons of the arts
C) it fostered a competitive atmosphere that encouraged innovation and individual accomplishment
D) its political and economic dominance among Italian cities of the fifteenth century

Question 26

Reflecting its donor, the subject of Andrea Mantegna's murals in the Camera Picta of the Ducal Palace is _____________.

A) poetic allegories of moral virtues
B) trompe l'oeil
C) the return of Ludovico Gonzaga's son
D) themes of romantic love

Question 27

Ghiberti's doors for the east side of the Baptistery in Florence were so admired that they came to be known as the ______________.

A) Gates of Paradise
B) Golden Arches
C) Gateway to Heaven
D) Doors to the Kingdom

Question 28

In The Battle of San Romano , Uccello arranged every detail of the intense fighting to conform with ____________.

A) a Pythagorean system of proportion
B) Neoplatonic symbolism
C) linear perspective
D) historical accounts of the Battle of Rome

Question 29

__________'s keen understanding of linear perspective can be appreciated in his frescoes in the Camera Picta .

A) Alberti
B) Brunelleschi
C) Verrocchio
D) Mantegna

Question 30

The term "Renaissance" refers to a revived interest in _________________culture that emerged in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

A) Etruscan
B) Classical
C) Byzantine
D) Gothic

Question 31

Which sculpture by Donatello embodies the ideal of the condottieri during the Renaissance?

A) St. George
B) David
C) Equestrian Statue of Erasmo da Narni (Gattamelata)
D) none of the above

Question 32

How does Nanni de Banco's The Four Crowned Martyrs at Orsanmichele demonstrate a revival of classical artistic tradition?

A) The figures are individualized with highly realistic details like Roman portraiture.
B) The figures extend into the space outside of the niche.
C) Their togas reveal the solid mass of the figures' bodies.
D) All of the above.

Question 33

Through careful formal correspondences in the Baptism of Christ , Piero della Francesca created _____________ which characterizes his art.

A) visually perplexing scenes
B) calm and peaceful stasis
C) richly patterned images
D) all of the above

Question 34

What does the scholar Michael Baxandall believe influenced Botticelli's paintings?

A) the increasing influence of Netherlandish art
B) the slow movements of Florentine dance
C) the art of tapestry
D) the city's desire to demonstrate civic virtue and pride

Question 35

Masaccio used linear perspective in the Trinity with the Virgin to create the illusion _______________.

A) that the donors are real people in the chapel
B) of a deep barrel vault extending behind the figures of the Trinity
C) of an actual burial beneath the painted figures
D) that the figures are integrated into a single space

Question 36

As demonstrated in works such as Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefeltro by Piero della Francesca, Italian portraiture of the fifteenth century is distinguished by ______________.

A) the use of full profiles
B) a tendency to idealize facial features
C) confusing spatial relationships
D) exacting descriptions of texture and surface detail

Question 37

The representation of the gold mosaic in Bellini's Virgin and Child Enthroned with SS. Francis, John the Baptist, Job, Dominic, Sebastian, and Louis of Toulouse refers to the long tradition of _______________in Venice.

A) Byzantine art
B) the sacra conversazione
C) classical Roman statuary
D) Neoplatonism

Question 38

Which artist first demonstrated the principles of linear perspective?

A) Brunelleschi
B) Alberti
C) Perugino
D) Masaccio

Question 39

Linear perspective creates the illusion of three-dimensional space in painting through all of the following EXCEPT:

A) establishing a fixed vantage point for the viewer
B) proportionately reducing the scale of objects as they recede into the background
C) making objects in the distance appear grayer and less clear
D) following imaginary lines that converge into a single vanishing point

Question 40

What detail in Ghirlandaio's Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds does NOT derive from his careful observation of the Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes.

A) the symbolic use of certain flowers
B) the Christ child placed on the ground
C) the rugged depiction of the shepherds
D) the explicit references to Classical Rome

Question 41

The Florentine painter __________ was also a Dominican monk.

A) Verrocchio
B) Masaccio
C) Fra Angelico
D) Donatello

Question 42

__________ by Pollaiuolo reflects the taste among the wealthy for collectibles that were reminiscent of ancient Greece and Rome.

A) David
B) The Four Crowned Martyrs
C) Equestrian Statue of Erasmo da Narni
D) Hercules and Antaeus

Question 43

The figure of ____________ was important in Florence as a symbol of a citizens' resolve to oppose tyrants, regardless of their superior power.

A) St. George
B) St. Sebastian
C) David
D) Adam

Question 44

The radical use of perspective on the domed ceiling in the Camera Picta is termed __________.

A) di sotto in sù
B) trompe l'oeil
C) all' antica
D) aerial perspective

Question 45

Pollaiuolo's Battle of the Nudes is a(n) ____________________.

A) banner
B) fresco
C) engraving
D) intarsia

Question 46

Donatello's bronze David was the first ______________ to be produced since antiquity.

A) equestrian statue
B) life-sized nude
C) Greek athlete
D) Roman emperor

Question 47

Botticelli's Primavera is a complex allegory interweaving ___________ with esoteric Classical references around the figure of Venus.

A) Old Testament prophecies
B) Gospel passages
C) Savonarola's sermons
D) Neoplatonic ideas

Question 48

Brunelleschi carved the architectural detailing of his interior spaces in __________.

A) pietra serena
B) marble
C) wood
D) intarsia

Question 49

In contrast to Donatello, Verrocchio portrayed his David as a ________________.

A) proud adolescent who meets the viewer's gaze
B) fully armored soldier
C) muscle bound Greek warrior
D) knight on horseback

Question 50

Donatello's statue of St. George at Orsanmichele was an advertisement for the ________ who commissioned it.

A) Duke of Mantua
B) ruler o Florence
C) member of the Medici family
D) guild

Question 51

A city of waterways, __________, emerged as a major Renaissance art center in the latter part of the fifteenth century.

A) Mantua
B) Venice
C) Siena
D) Florence

Question 52

The Brancacci Chapel was dedicated to __________ and displays events from his life.

A) Saint Peter
B) John the Baptist
C) Jacob
D) St. Sebastian

Question 53

In fifteenth-century Italy, wealthy families, such as the __________ in Florence, were powerful and influential patrons of the arts.

A) Narni
B) Montefeltro
C) Bellini
D) Medici

Question 54

Decorated with elaborate woodcarvings and paintings, _________ were used to store clothing and personal objects.

A) camera picta
B) chapels
C) cassoni
D) all'antica

Question 55

The most prolific painting workshop of the later fifteenth century was the workshop of __________.

A) Michelozzo
B) Ghiberti
C) Ghirlandaio
D) Masaccio

Question 56

__________ by Masaccio demonstrates his study of perspective, ancient sculpture, and the accomplishments of fellow artists, including Giotto.

A) The Baptism of Christ
B) The Trinity
C) The Battle of San Romano
D) Jacob and Esau

Question 57

Wealthy patrons of the arts, like Federico da Montefeltro, often had a __________ in their residence, a room for private conversation and the collection of fine books and art objects.

A) studiolo
B) cassoni
C) loggia
D) chapel

Question 58

__________ stone blocks, that is, stone blocks whose surfaces are intentionally left rough, characterize the exterior of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence.

A) Dressed
B) Rusticated
C) Pilaster
D) Mullion

Question 59

The detailed landscape, symbolic details and luminous palette of Bellini's St. Francis in Ecstasy is reminiscent of _______________.

A) Trecento art
B) frescos in the Brancacci Chapel
C) Flemish art
D) Andrea della Robbia

Question 60

The building of the ___________by Pope Sixtus IV greatly enhanced Rome's place as a center of Renaissance art.

A) Palazzo Medici-Riccardi
B) Sistine Chapel
C) Brancacci Chapel
D) Ospedale degli Innocenti

Question 61

Discuss the ducal Palace at Urbino . Who commissioned it? Who designed it? What were the contributions of the architect at this site? In your discussion, consider the design of the courtyard and the decoration of the private study in the palace's interior.

Question 62

In Lippi's Portrait of a Woman and a Man, the sitter points to ______________, which perhaps identifies the sitters.

A) the Bible
B) a wedding ring
C) the town of Siena
D) a heraldic device

Question 63

Discuss Ghiberti's commission for the Baptistery of Florence. What did he create for this commission? Was it a success? Address his style and technique for this project.

Question 64

What is the Camera Picta ? Who commissioned it? Who painted it? What is represented? What is remarkable about these images?

Question 65

Discuss the context of the Foundling Hospital.

Question 66

Discuss the interpretations for Botticelli's Primavera

Question 67

Discuss The Trinity by Masaccio. Carefully consider the subject matter and his depiction of the painted space.

Question 68

Consider the artistic career of the sculptor Donatello. Cite specific works. Discuss the subjects he portrayed and the development of his style.

Question 69

Brunelleschi's arcade of the Ospedale degli Innocenti deviates from Roman architecture, which ___________________.

A) employed post and lintel architecture
B) featured pointed arches
C) combined columns with straight architraves
D) used only solid walls

Question 70

The austere exterior of the Façade, Palazzo Medici-Riccardi can be attributed to ___________________.

A) sumptuary laws in Florence
B) the bankruptcy of the family
C) the architect was a monk
D) Venetian influence

Question 71

What were Cosimo de Medici the Elder's primary concerns for the commission of the Medici Palace in Florence?

Question 72

Discuss the artistic careers of Gentile and Giovanni Bellini. Specify individual works; address their location, their style, technique, subject matter, and patronage.

Question 73

Explain Brunelleschi's design for the Florence Cathedral . Be specific in your explanation.

Question 74

How does civic pride enter into many of the artistic projects of fifteenth-century Italy?

Question 75

Describe the narrative program by Ghirlandaio at the Church of Santa Trinita in Florence. Who commissioned it? What is the subject matter? How did Ghirlandaio engage the fifteenth century with his frescoes?

Question 76

Compare Ghirlandaio's Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds with the Portinari Altarpiece by Hugo van der Goes from Flanders. Consider each painter's style and technique. How would you account for their distinctive approaches?

Question 77

Along with pilasters, carved cupboards and niche-filled statues, the Studiolo of Federico da Montefeltro also featured a squirrel, the symbol of _____________.

A) the church
B) an ideal ruler
C) the Virgin Mary
D) the artist

Question 78

Discuss the Brancacci Chapel in Florence. Who commissioned it? Who painted it? What is the subject matter? What technique is employed?

Question 79

Identify a specific commission that drew artists to Rome in the fifteenth century. Name an artist that was part of this commission and describe his contribution to the project.

Question 80

Characterize the style of Masaccio. Cite specific works. What technique did he often employ? Did his work have an impact on his contemporaries, as well as on later artists?