Deck 21: the Renaissance in Quattrocento Italy

Question 1

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

Answer 1

A

Question 2

By ____ Donatello revolutionized relief sculpture in his image of Saint George Slaying 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

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

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which of the following describes the Medieval narrative method?

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

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

Which of the following artists actively collected Classical sculpture?

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

Question 7

Which of the following describes Ghiberti's use of the Medieval narrative method in his Baptistery panel?

A) The figures on either side gracefully turn in opposite directions.
B) The figures gracefully move in the same direction.
C) The figures in varying degrees of projection and postures, move gracefully through a convincing stage space.
D) The center figures point to the sides and include them in the dialogue.

Question 8

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

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

Question 9

Which of the following individuals denounced humanist philosophy?

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

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 1401 an important competition was held to determine the design of the Baptistery doors for the Cathedral of Florence. Even at this early date Renaissance traits were evident. Which of the following is one of those traits?

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

Question 12

Which of the following works represented the beginning of the process of separating architectural sculpture from its architectural setting or niche?

A) Bronze doors, Baptistery, Florence Cathedral
B) Portal South Transept, Chartres Cathedral
C) 13th century statues, West Front, Reims Cathedral
D) Four Crowned Saints, Or San Michele

Question 13

How does Gentile da Fabriano reconcile the Adoration of the Magi with the current trends in Florentine Renaissance art?

A) He included a classical nude in the predella scene of the Flight into Egypt.
B) He used a "modern" architectural setting for the Adoration scene.
C) The background scene of the Adoration is the classical Roman countryside.
D) He depicted animals from a variety of angles and foreshortened their forms convincingly.

Question 14

The development of linear perspective is generally credited to ____.

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

Question 15

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 mathematics to pictorial organization 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 16

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 17

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 18

In Ghiberti's Isaac and his Sons from the east doors of the Baptistery, he arranged the figures in front of grandiose architecture. Which of the following architects stated, "the grandeur of the architecture reflects the dignity of the events shown in the foreground"?

A) Michelozzo
B) Brunelleschi
C) Alberti
D) Andrea da Sangallo

Question 19

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 20

The fifteenth-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 21

What was the importance to an artist of a papal invitation to Rome?

Question 22

What is the significance of Perugino's Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter?

Question 23

The Classical principle of contrapposto, or weight shift, was reintroduced into Western art by the sculptor ____.

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

Question 24

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 create a visual expression of his authority
C) To challenge the Medici as the leading patron of the arts in Italy
D) to create a tribute to his wife

Question 25

The style of Ghiberti can be characterized as a rhythmic, unified system for depicting space. He is further credited with which of the following?

A) heavy reliance on Medieval sculptural elements
B) continued use of Gothic frames
C) realism in characterization, movement, and surface detail
D) posing his figures in the architectural space he created

Question 26

Which of the following artists departed from the rule of frontality that dominated sculpture since the Middle Ages?

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

Question 27

What was the function of Fra Angelico's Annunciation?

Question 28

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 29

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

Question 30

The Ruccellai family commissioned a new facade for Santa Maria Novella a thirteenth century Florentine church. Why is the façade significant?

Question 31

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 32

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

Question 33

Which of Brunelleschi's buildings comes the closest to the centralized plan so loved by Renaissance architects?

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

Question 34

How was Signorelli influential?

Question 35

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

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

Question 36

In Perugino's Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter, the artist has reminded the viewer of the link between Constantine, St. Peter, and the basilica of St. 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 37

Who was Savonarola?

Question 38

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 39

Why was Mantua important to art history in this period?

Question 40

Which of the following was the most prominent patron of fifteenth-century Florentine art?

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

Question 41

How was the Medici commission of the statues of David significant?

Question 42

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

Question 43

What caused a revival of portraiture in the fifteenth century?

Question 44

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

Question 45

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

Question 46

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 47

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

Question 48

How did Masaccio impact 15ᵗʰ century Florence?

Question 49

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

Question 50

What does the interior of Santo Spirito exemplify?

Question 51

What features characterize the work of Domenico Ghirlandaio?

Question 52

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

Question 53

Briefly describe the contributions of Lorenzo de' Medici.

Question 54

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

Question 55

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 56

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

Question 57

Describe linear perspective.

Question 58

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 59

How did perspective shape Renaissance art? Discuss three examples.

Question 60

How did Donatello shift interest in the depiction of the nude?

Question 61

How does the renovation of this church by Alberti demonstrate his ideas about Classical form and harmonic relationships between parts?

Question 62

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

Question 63

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

Question 64

How is this portrait significant?

Question 65

What major change had taken place in the representation of pictorial space as seen in this work?

Question 66

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

Question 67

How do these images symbolize Florence?

Question 68

How does the work represent logical space?

Question 69

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

Question 70

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

Question 71

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

Question 72

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