Deck 21: The Renaissance in Quattrocento Italy

Question 1

Although tied to International Gothic style conventions, among the naturalistic details found in the Adoration of the Magi are ____.

A) a classical nude in the predella scene of the Flight into Egypt
B) a "modern" architectural setting for the adoration scene
C) the background scene of the adoration is the classical Roman countryside
D) animals seen from a variety of angles and convincing foreshortening

Answer 1

D

Question 2

By ____ Donatello revolutionized relief sculpture in his image of Saint George and the Dragon.

A) placing his work in a quatrefoil
B) gilding the surface
C) creating an atmospheric effect using incised lines
D) including many episodes of one scene

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The development of linear perspective is generally credited to ____.

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

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following artists actively collected Classical sculpture?

A) Nanni di Banco
B) Ghiberti
C) Brunelleschi
D) Gentile da Fabriano

Question 5

In Masaccio's Trinity there is a coffered barrel-vault reminiscent of which of the following?

A) The baths of Diocletian
B) The Pantheon
C) A Roman triumphal arch
D) The basilica of Constantine

Question 6

In Masaccio's Trinity he embodies two principal Renaissance interests. One is realism based on observation. Which of the following is the other?

A) It is the application of the new science of perspective.
B) It is the use of antique elements as components of the work.
C) It is the introduction of the donors into the context of the work.
D) It is using architecture as a frame.

Question 7

Which of the following architects wrote influential treatises on painting and architecture?

A) Brunelleschi
B) Michelozzo
C) Alberti
D) Vitruvius

Question 8

How did Masaccio create a sense of bulk for his figures in the Tribute Money?

A) Through modeling with a specific light source outside the picture
B) Through modeling with a flat neutral light
C) Through modeling with an identifiable light source within the picture
D) Through modeling

Question 9

The 15th-century Italian artist whose work showed the most influence of the International style was ____.

A) Masaccio
B) Gentile da Fabriano
C) Andrea del Castagno
D) Pollaiuolo

Question 10

In Masaccio's Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden, Adam's feet clearly come into contact with the ground. Which of the following is the interpretation for this?

A) It marks the original sin.
B) It marks the human presence on earth.
C) It marks the direction the viewer must proceed in the chapel.
D) It points the viewer toward the theme of salvation and redemption.

Question 11

In the treatment of space and narrative, Ghiberti's Isaac and his Sons recall ____.

A) Roman tombs
B) the Parthenon reliefs
C) painting techniques
D) Giotto

Question 12

Nanni di Banco achieved a unified spatial composition by placing the figures ____ and in relation to one another.

A) on horseback
B) in a straight line
C) in a semicircle
D) across different niches

Question 13

Which of the following artists was the winner of the famous competition for the bronze doors of the Florence baptistery?

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

Question 14

Employed by Ghiberti on his Gates of Paradise, presenting several episodes ______ was a medieval narrative method.

A) in a single frame
B) in sequential frames
C) in multiple round frames
D) framed by Doric columns

Question 15

In 1401, Ghiberti's entry won the competition for the design of the baptistery doors for the Florence Cathedral partially based stylistically on its ____.

A) adherence to the 14th-century frame
B) a new spatial illusionism
C) maintaining artist anonymity
D) humility of civic pride

Question 16

In Masaccio's Trinity the vanishing point can be found at which of the following?

A) Between the dove of the Holy Spirit and God the Father
B) Above the head of God the Father
C) At the foot of the cross
D) On the face of the crucified Christ

Question 17

Ghiberti's competitive panel for the baptistery doors of the Florence Cathedral shows classical references that reflect influences of humanism. Which of the following is a classical reference seen on Ghiberti's panel?

A) The drapery flowing from the body of Isaac
B) The elongated S curve of Isaac's body
C) The profusion of cloth puddled around Abraham
D) The naked figure of Isaac

Question 18

In Ghiberti's Isaac and His Sons, the artist's study of ancient art is especially apparent in the ____.

A) figure departing for the hunt
B) central-plan building
C) figure of Rebecca
D) use of pointed arches

Question 19

Which of the following was the Dominican painter-friar who combined elements of the new style of art with traditional religious devotional works that did not conflict with the content of the works?

A) Piero della Francesca
B) Pollaiuolo
C) Fra Angelico
D) Fra Filippo Lippi

Question 20

____ was the Dominican monk who denounced the secular humanism of the Medici and others.

A) Marsilio Ficino
B) Piero della Francesca
C) Savonarola
D) Lorenzo de' Medici

Question 21

Which of Alberti's prescriptions for architectural design are particularly significant for church design?

Question 22

Which of the following artists was most interested in depicting the human body in violent action?

A) Fra Angelico
B) Signorelli
C) Mantegna
D) Perugino

Question 23

Often synonymous with the Renaissance, the ____ were great art patrons.

A) Medici family
B) Pazzi family
C) Riccardi family
D) Gonzaga family

Question 24

Why was it important for a princely patron to research the reputation of artists and architects?

Question 25

Who was Savonarola?

Question 26

What were Signorelli's interests and strengths as an artist?

Question 27

Author of the Commentaries, ____ is considered the first Renaissance art historian.

A) Sandro Botticelli
B) Luca Signorelli
C) Lorenzo Ghiberti
D) Andrea del Verrocchio

Question 28

Which Italian city played the most important role in the development of Renaissance ideas and art forms in the early 15th century?

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

Question 29

By placing figures on a triangular base, ____ departed from the convention of frontality.

A) Piero della Francesca
B) Paolo Uccello
C) Pollaiuolo
D) Andrea del Castagno

Question 30

Which of the following accounts for the decline in the role Florence played in the support of the arts at the end of the 15th century?

A) Death of Lorenzo de' Medici
B) Incursion of the French armies
C) Death of Masaccio
D) Savonarola's brief span of power

Question 31

____ took a fundamental step forward in his representation of Saint Mark by the contrapposto pose.

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

Question 32

The duke of Mantua commissioned the frescoes of the Camera degli Sposi from Mantegna for which of the following purposes?

A) To memorialize courtly life
B) To glorify himself and his family
C) To challenge the Medici as the leading patron of the arts in Italy
D) To create a tribute to his wife

Question 33

Why was Mantua important to art history in this period?

Question 34

In Perugino's Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter, the artist has reminded the viewer of the link among Constantine, Saint Peter, and the basilica of Saint Peter. Which of the following is the vehicle used as that reminder?

A) The triumphal arches in the background
B) The Pantheon-like temple in the background
C) The key dangling from Peter's hand
D) The great marble piazza in the background

Question 35

Who was Erasmo da Narni, and what was his nickname? Explain its significance.

Question 36

____ was one of the first Renaissance buildings conceived as a central-plan structure.

A) Ospedale degli Innocenti
B) Palazzo Medici-Riccardi
C) Pazzi Chapel
D) Santo Spirito

Question 37

What was the function of Fra Angelico's Annunciation?

Question 38

Why did the theme of Perugino's Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to Saint Peter appeal to Pope Sixtus IV?

Question 39

In Castagno's Last Supper, where does Judas appear, and why?

Question 40

Which of the following describes the style of Fra Angelico?

A) Lush and opulent
B) Scientifically precise
C) Simple and direct
D) Dynamic and complex

Question 41

Describe Donatello's innovations in the sculpture of the 15th century. Use examples to support your essay.

Question 42

How did central-plan church design express Renaissance ideals? How did architects reflect Renaissance ideals using other church plans? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 43

Describe the impact humanism and its attendant philosophy had on the subject matter of Italian artists. Use examples to support your essay.

Question 44

What does the Medici's selection of David as a subject suggest?

Question 45

Why is the subject of Piero della Francesca's Resurrection atypical for its location?

Question 46

Explain the extent to which Alberti realized the principles of his theoretical writings in the architecture of specific buildings he designed.

Question 47

How did the use of nudity become acceptable in the art of Botticelli?

Question 48

How did Masaccio impact 15th-century Florence?

Question 49

How did perspective shape Renaissance art? Discuss three examples.

Question 50

Explain the effect Florentine patronage had on the development of 15th-century art. Use at least three examples to support your essay.

Question 51

Briefly describe the contributions of Lorenzo de' Medici.

Question 52

Describe linear perspective.

Question 53

How does this statement by Ghiberti, "I strove to imitate nature as closely as I could . . ." reflect the development of art in 15th-century Italy? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 54

Contrast the work of Donatello and Verrocchio. How does each artist respond to the aesthetics of the Renaissance tradition? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 55

How does the Trinity by Masaccio express 15th-century Renaissance humanism? Include in your essay examples from two other artists who express the same humanist ideals. Did they express humanism in the same way? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 56

What features of Ghirlandaio's art serve as evidence of the secularization of sacred themes?

Question 57

How did Gentile da Fabriano reflect the International style in the first half of the 15th century?

Question 58

What caused a revival of portraiture in the 15th century?

Question 59

What design elements from Roman architecture and his own projects did Brunelleschi incorporate into San Lorenzo?

Question 60

What is significant about Nanni di Banco's Four Crowned Saints?

Question 61

How did this artist "temper naturalism with artistic license"?

Question 62

What are the Roman and northern European influences seen in this work? How did Piero come into contact with them?

Question 63

How does Botticelli's painting style stand apart from other artists?

Question 64

What features of this tomb make direct reference back to ancient Roman motifs?

Question 65

How did the competition for the baptistery doors of the Florence Cathedral shape Renaissance tradition in 15th-century Italy? Use examples to support your essay.

Question 66

How did the artist deviate from his model in this sculpture?

Question 67

How do these images symbolize Florence?

Question 68

How does Verrocchio's statue serve as a counterpoint to Donatello's?

Question 69

How does the work represent logical space?

Question 70

How is this portrait significant?

Question 71

In what ways does the plan of this building reflect the ideal forms of Renaissance architecture?

Question 72

What does this work introduce?