Art History Quiz Answers

In what year did Howard Carter discover King Tut's tomb?

1922

Who was Agamemnon?

A figure in Homer's epic poem, The Illiad. Commander of the Greek troops who went after Helen in the Trojan War Brother-in-law to Helen (the woman whose disappearance led to the Trojan War) King of Mycenae

Who was King Tut's father?

Akhenaten

What was the name of the city that Akhenaten founded in the desert? Its name is also used to refer to the very different style of art created in the 17 years of this period

Amarna

Which of the many cultures we have looked at so far today created magnificent bas relief sculptures

Assyrians

What term(s) describe the Egyptian tendency to show people from their most identifiable angle-- they eyes and torso from the front; the arms, legs, and face from the side?

Frontalism and twisted perspective

Each of the major civilizations in Mesopotamia was organized as a CITY-STATE, and they would compete with each other for dominance. Conflict was part of everyday life in Mesopotamia, which had few natural defenses. The impact on art was a focus on the here and now.

True

Frescoes are more durable than ordinary paintings because they are painted onto the wall while the wall's plaster is still wet. As such, the paint binds with the surface rather than sitting on top of it.

True

Which of the following symbols of pharaonic power was once one of Ra's eyes?

Uraeus

Which of the three Aegean cultures was prehistoric?

Cycladic (Did not have a system of writing)

Both of these pair sculptures show a pharaoh and his wife (and/or sister)

False -man on left is not a pharaoh, he has none of the attributes of pharaonic power

The Ziggurat at Ur was built out of stone

False -mud bricks

Heinrich Schliemann was a highly respected archaeologist, even more so than Sir Arthur Evans

False (His flare for the media was looked down upon)

Cuneiform, from the latin word for "wedge shaped," is the abstract form of writing used in Mesopotamia. It developed from their heavy use of stone, into which they pressed a triangular stylus.

False -it initially developed from writing on a clay surface

Which of the kings shown here is talking to the god Shamash?

Hammurabi

What term reflects the use of size to indicate importance? The greater the size, the more important the figure

Hierarchical scale

Which of the following statements about the SUMERIANS is TRUE?

Invented a system of irrigation that created oases in the Mesopotamian deserts. First to use the wheel, and they invented the plow. First major civilization to settle in Mesopotamia Developed writing c. 3100 BCE Created the first great works of narrative sculpture: The Uruk Vase

Is the work finished if it doesn't have an inscription?

It is not finished

What does the GREEK TERM for "Mesopotamia" mean?

Land between two rivers

Which of the following types of art did the Minoans NOT have?

Large-scale sculpture and steles (They had murals, ceramics, small-scale sculpture, and architecture)

What culture made the fresco shown?

Minoan

What culture made this mask?

Mycenean

Where else have we seen post and lintel construction?

Neolithic period

What city did Cyrus the Great build?

Pasargadae

What two things listed below were key for helping Jean Francois Champollion decipher hieroglyphics?

Rosetta Stone and Cartouche

Besides Persepolis and a water system beneath it, what else did Darius have built during his reign?

Royal Road

Which of the following materials was UNUSUAL in Mesopotamia?

Stone

The ancient Aegean cultures of the Minoans and the Myceneans are the true-life source material for some of western literature's earliest works, including Homer's Illiad and the Odyssey. Which one of these works of epic poetry is about the Trojan War?

The Illiad

Which of these pyramids was NOT created by/for Snefru?

The Step Pyramid of Djoser

Why did the British archaeologist Sir Walter Evans name the civilization he found on the island of Crete after King Minos?

There were many bulls in the art he was uncovering, thus recalling to Evans' mind the story of King Minos (the bull he didn't sacrifice to Poseidon that then fathered his step-son, the Minotaur) The labyrinthine architecture he was uncovering at Knossos reminded him of the Minotaur's cage

How are portrayals of pharaohs in the MIDDLE KINGDOM different from portrayals of them in the Old Kingdom?

They appear tired and concerned

C. Leonard Wooley founded the Royal Tombs of Ur in the 1920s. These tombs included many beautiful works of art, such as the Standard of Ur.

True

What do ancient world civilizations like those in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Aegean have that the prehistoric cultures didn't have?

Writing

What kind of relief sculpture is showing in this work? The image (King Ashurnasirpal II Hunting Lions)

bas relief