art history exam 1 essay questions

Compare and Contrast Madonna Enthroned with Angels and Prophets by Cimabue and Madonna Enthroned by Giotto.

Although the overall layout of the two pieces is almost identical Cimabue used a byzantine style that included vast amounts of gold leaf. The skin tones were greenish and proportions were awkward. Giotto used a more naturalistic approach and focused on a more refined use of value, space, and depth. He also used details to express more emotion in the subjects.

Discuss the ways in which Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch is both a work of fantasy and one that relates to the religious beliefs of its time. Explaining the difference between Catholic and Protestant views on salvation might be helpful.

Bosch's wildly imaginative setting includes an odd pink fountainlike structure in a body of water and an array of fanciful and unusual animals, including a giraffe, an elephant, and winged fish. In the left panel, God (in the form of Christ) presents Eve to Adam in a landscape, presumably the Garden of Eden. In the left panel, God (in the form of Christ) presents Eve to Adam in a landscape, presumably the Garden of Eden. Because of Protestantism, the Netherlands witnessed the beginning of a robust private art market focused on secular subjects. Consequently, Netherlandish art of this period provides a wonderful glimpse into the lives of various levels of society, from nobility to peasantry, capturing their activities, environment, and values.

Describe the iconography that lies within Bronzino's complex allegorical painting Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time. What are some characteristics of his Mannerist style?

Bronzino demonstrated the Mannerists' love of learned allegories with erotic undertones, a shift from the content and tone of High Renaissance art. Bronzino depicted Cupid—here not an infant but an adolescent who has reached puberty—fondling his mother, Venus, while provocatively thrusting his buttocks at the viewer. Folly prepares to shower the "couple" with rose petals. Time, who appears in the upper right corner, draws back the curtain to reveal the playful incest in progress. Other figures in the painting represent other human qualities and emotions, including Envy. The masks, a favorite device of the Mannerists, symbolize deceit. Bronzino's Venus, Cupid, Folly, and Time seems to suggest that love—accompanied by envy and plagued by inconstancy—is foolish and that lovers will discover its folly in time.

Caravaggio brought to his paintings a sense of reality by discarding the traditional rendering of religious subject matter. Describe some of his revolutionary techniques.

Caravaggio injected naturalism into the representation of sacred subjects, reducing them to human dramas played out in the harsh and dingy settings of his time and place. The unidealized figures that he selected from the fields and the streets of Italy, however, were effective precisely because of their familiarity.

As a symbol of absolute power, The Sun King's Chateau Versailles has no equal. Describe some of the lavish decorations within the rooms of the palace.

Every detail of the extremely rich decoration of the palace's interior received careful attention. The architects and decorators designed everything from wall paintings to doorknobs in order to reinforce the splendor of Versailles and to exhibit the very finest sense of artisanship. Although deprived of its original furniture, which included gold and silver chairs and bejeweled trees, the 240 footlong Galerie des Glaces retains much of its splendor today. Hundreds of mirrors, set into the wall opposite the win dows, alleviate the hall's tunnellike quality and illusionistically extend the width of the room. The mirror, that ultimate source of illusion, was a favorite element of Baroque interior design.

How would you interpret the following quote by Albrecht Durer? "Depart not from nature according to your fancy, imagining to find aught better by yourself; For verily art is embedded in nature, he who can extract it, has it" Choose one work by Dürer and describe how he conveys his ideology within the piece.

I interpret it to mean being in nature is the only way to recreate it and that going to other things to reference or for inspiration is not the same as the real thing. Dürer's concept of the "perfect" male and female figures. Yet he tempered this idealization with naturalism, demonstrating his well-honed observational skills in his rendering of the background foliage and animals. The gnarled bark of the trees and the feathery leaves authenticate the scene, as do the various creatures skulking underfoot.

The Florence Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore showcases the legacy of the Republic of Florence. When did work on the cathedral begin and end?

It began in 1296. It finished in 1436. The last work was done in the 19th century to finish the façade. ARNOLFO DI CAMBIO began the project. GIOTTO di BONDONE oversaw the campanile construction. FILIPPO BRUNELLESCHI engineered the dome. TADDEO GADDI completed the campanile.

Understanding Titian's paintings of women requires understanding his time and place. Describe how Titian's Venus of Urbino demonstrates some of the psychological, political, social, and economic situation of women in sixteenth-century Venice.

It displays the Venus inside as the home was the women's domain during this time. Women could only acquire wealth or power through marriage so this Venus depicted would have had to be married to a rich patron.

After reading the letter Peter Paul Rubens wrote to Justus Sustermans pertaining to his painting Consequences of War, what attitudes and opinions do you feel were expressed?

It's pretty clear he isn't a fan of wars as it destroys art and distresses families.

Who commissioned Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling frescoes? What themes are depicted in the Sistine Chapel frescoes?

Julius II commissioned him. Creation of Adam, Fall of Man, and Last Judgment and some of the seances depicted.

List the various complex spatial devices used in Las Meninas by Spanish painter Velazquez.

Las Meninas is extraordinarily complex visually. Velázquez's optical report of the event, authentic in every detail, pictorially summarizes the various kinds of images in their different levels and degrees of reality. He portrayed the realities of image on canvas, of mirror image, of optical image, and of the two painted images above the doorway. This work—with its cunning contrasts of real spaces, mirrored spaces, picture spaces, and pictures within pictures—itself appears to have been taken from a large mirror reflecting the entire scene. This would mean that the artist did not paint the princess and her suite as the main subjects of Las Meninas but himself in the process of painting them. Las Meninas is a pictorial summary and a commentary on the essential mystery of the visual world, as well as on the ambiguity that results when different states or levels interact or are juxtaposed.

Examine Botticelli's Birth of Venus. How does the artist show complexity in his use of line variation?

Much of the line suggests movement from the wind such as the waves, clothing, and moving. All of which have similar curves that tie the image together. He uses very fine lines in Venus's hair to depict this movement but also uses broader strokes for the movement of the fabric being thrown on her.

Choose one work of art by the great master Rembrandt van Rijn and describe how his unique use of light activates the piece.

Rembrandt's dramatic use of light in Night Watch contributes to the animation of this militia group portrait in which the artist showed the company members rushing to organize themselves for a parade

Study the Ghent Altarpiece by brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck. What is the central overall theme of the work? Can you identify a few symbols that support your answer? How do every day objects enhance the sanctity of the event?

The entire altarpiece amplifies the central theme of salvation. In the center panel, saints arrive from the four corners of the earth through an opulent, flower-spangled landscape. They proceed toward the altar of the Lamb and the octagonal fountain of life. Adam and Eve appear in the far panels. The inscriptions in the arches above Mary and Saint John extol the Virgin's virtue and purity and Saint John's greatness as the forerunner of Christ . The inscription above the Lord's head translates as "This is God, all-powerful in his divine majesty; of all the best, by the gentle-ness of his goodness; the most liberal giver, because of his infinite generosity." The step behind the crown at the Lord's feet bears the inscription "On his head, life without death. On his brow, youth without age. On his right, joy without sadness. On his left, security without fear."

Compare and Contrast The Sacrifice of Isaac panels by both Brunelleschi and Ghiberti. Which artist won the competition for the best design for the Baptistery Doors in Florence?

Whereas Brunelleschi imbued his image with violent movement and high emotion, Ghiberti emphasized grace and smoothness. In Ghiberti's panel, Abraham appears in a typically Gothic pose with outthrust hip and seems to contemplate the act he is about to perform, even as he draws back his arm to strike. The figure of Isaac, beautifully posed and rendered, recalls Greco-Roman statuary. Compare, for example, the torsion of Isaac's body and the dramatic turn of his head with the posture of the ancient statue of a Gaul plunging a sword into his own chest. Unlike his medieval predecessors, Ghiberti revealed a genuine appreciation of the nude male form and a deep interest in how the muscular system and skeletal structure move the human body. Even the altar on which Isaac kneels displays Ghiberti's emulation of antique models. Ghiberti won the contest.

As a female painter, Artemisia Gentileschi had to break down many barriers in order to build her career in the male-dominated field of painting. What would be required of a woman in seventeenth century Italy to become successful in her profession? How might her experiences and circumstances reflect in her work?

Women could not become apprentices in all male studios, so she learned her craft from her father. Narratives involving heroic women were a favorite theme of Gentileschi most likely due to her struggles to become a respected artist.