The Renaissance in Quarttrocento Italy

vanishing point

A vanishing point, or point of convergence, is a key element in many works of art. In a linear perspective drawing, the vanishing point is the spot on the horizon line to which the receding parallel lines diminish.

Contrapposto

Italian: "opposite"), in the visual arts, a sculptural scheme, originated by the ancient Greeks, in which the standing human figure is poised such that the weight rests on one leg (called the engaged leg), freeing the other leg, which is bent at the knee.

linear perspective

a system of creating an illusion of depth on a flat surface. All parallel lines (orthogonals) in a painting or drawing using this system converge in a single vanishing point on the composition's horizon line.

Whose work is best characterized by the use of solid volumes resting firmly on the flat and horizontal surface of this earth?

a. Giotto

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 perspective.

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

a. Medici family

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

Chiaroscuro

an effect of contrasted light and shadow created by light falling unevenly or from a particular direction on something.

The development of linear perspective is generally credited to ____.

b. Brunelleschi

The word Renaissance means rebirth. Which of the following was a revived interest during this time?

b. Classical culture

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

b. Florence

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

b. Gentile da Fabriano

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?

b. a new pictorial illusionism

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

c. . at the foot of the Cross

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

c. A Roman triumphal arch

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

c. Alberti

Giotto's Enthroned Madonna reflected the new trend toward naturalism and classical modeling of the figures. Which of the following describes this new trend?

c. The Virgin is solid and has mass

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

d. Donatello

He restored the naturalistic approach to painting as practiced in Antiquity. He inaugurated a method of pictorial expression based on observation. He revealed nature and its visible order. This describes which of the following artists?

d. Giotto

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?

d. the naked figure of Isaac

horizonline

is essential in art because it allows you to control the height of a viewer's eye as they look at the picture. Used in most often in outdoor landscapes , horizon lines control perspective and give you a reference point to control the subjects in your drawings, paintings, and other forms of art.

trompe L'oeil

s an art technique that uses realistic imagery to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects exist in three dimensions. Forced perspective is a comparable illusion in architecture.

di soto in su

which means "seen from below" or "from below, upward" in Italian, developed in late Quattrocento Italian Renaissance painting, notably in Andrea Mantegna's Camera degli Sposi in Mantua and in frescoes by Melozzo da Forlì.