Art History Sample MC 2023 Questions and Answers with
complete solution
1. Although historians credit Jacques Louis David with contributing to events leading the
French
Revolution with his The Oath of the Horatii, the painting was actually (Learning
Objective 1.3)
A) commissioned by the French king Louis XVI to generate patriotic fervor
B) intended to commemorate events leading up to the American Revolution
C) created as a submission for the Prix de Rome so David could study abroad
D) painted to serve as an apology for the artist's role in the July Revolution
commissioned by the French king Louis XVI to generate patriotic fervor
2. J. M. W. Turner's Slave Ship reflects the Romantic concept of the sublime, which can
best be
described as (Learning Objective 2.2)
A) the conquest of nature to satisfy one's greed
B) a spiritual vision inspired by nature's simplicity
C) the triumph of justice over man's evil actions
D) an awe of nature mixed with a sense of fear
an awe of nature mixed with a sense of fear
The dramatic lighting in Joseph Wright of Derby's A Philosopher Giving a Lecture on the
Orrery
fulfilled the artistic intention of (Learning Objective 1.2)
A) emphasizing poses and gestures to reference sculpture from the classical past
B) elevating the subject of scientific experimentation to that of history painting
C) moralizing on the subject of industry and its negative effects on urban society
D) creating a lighthearted mood that appealed to the tastes of the middle class
elevating the subject of scientific experimentation to that of history painting
To elicit qualities of grandeur, the muscular figures and dramatic movement displayed in
the work
of Peter Paul Rubens primarily demonstrates the influence of (Learning Objective 2.3)
A) Michelangelo
B) Raphael
C) Botticelli
D) Grünewald
Michelangelo
Gianlorenzo Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa employs vigorous movement and dramatic
lighting to
elicit from its intended audience (Learning Objective 3.2)
A) a visionary experience promoting the aims of the Catholic Counter Reformation
B) an humanist appreciation for female beauty absorbed from Neoplatonic writings
C) reactions of outrage and indignation in support of the Protestant Reformation
D) feelings of joy and elation over the triumph of Christianity in the New World
a visionary experience promoting the aims of the Catholic Counter Reformation
, The lush, artificial setting of Jean-Honoré Fragonard's The Swing reflects art associated
with
(Learning Objective 1.3)
A) the rise of a middle class desirous of luxury and made prosperous by capitalist
ventures
B) a time when people were divided by religious debates and an attempt at church
reform
C) a period when the king's mistress yielded great influence in matters of taste and
politics
D) an age when the government was structured around a philosophy known as
absolutism
a period when the king's mistress yielded great influence in matters of taste and politics
7. The etching process used by Rembrandt in his print Self-Portrait with Saskia
produced a vigorous
linear quality by means of (Learning Objective 1.2)
A) dipping copper plates into a corroding acid bath
B) crosshatching into a metal plate with a burin
C) drawing with a greasy crayon on a limestone surface
D) carving out negative spaces on a block of wood
dipping copper plates into a corroding acid bath
In Jose Maria Velasco's Valley of Mexico from the Hillside of Santa Isabel, the artist
highlights the
importance of a geographical location through the depiction of Tepeyac, the site of
(Learning
Objective 3.1)
A) two volcanoes representing a mythical princess and warrior
B) a vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe by the peasant Juan Diego
C) an Inka temple and a large plaza dedicated to the sun god Inti
D) the legendary lake upon which the Aztecs built their capital
a vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe by the peasant Juan Diego
The sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon chose to use symbolic imagery in his statue of
George
Washington to reference the Roman figure of Cincinnatus by idealizing the leader as
a/an (Learning
Objective 1.2)
A) orator well-known for his skill in rhetoric
B) commander skilled in winning naval battles
C) scholar known for his writings on liberty
D) landowner intending to return to his farm
landowner intending to return to his farm
The use of a proscenium in Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa suggests that the sculptural
work was
meant to be (Learning Objective 3.2)
A) observed intimately in close proximity
B) lit from small windows located above
complete solution
1. Although historians credit Jacques Louis David with contributing to events leading the
French
Revolution with his The Oath of the Horatii, the painting was actually (Learning
Objective 1.3)
A) commissioned by the French king Louis XVI to generate patriotic fervor
B) intended to commemorate events leading up to the American Revolution
C) created as a submission for the Prix de Rome so David could study abroad
D) painted to serve as an apology for the artist's role in the July Revolution
commissioned by the French king Louis XVI to generate patriotic fervor
2. J. M. W. Turner's Slave Ship reflects the Romantic concept of the sublime, which can
best be
described as (Learning Objective 2.2)
A) the conquest of nature to satisfy one's greed
B) a spiritual vision inspired by nature's simplicity
C) the triumph of justice over man's evil actions
D) an awe of nature mixed with a sense of fear
an awe of nature mixed with a sense of fear
The dramatic lighting in Joseph Wright of Derby's A Philosopher Giving a Lecture on the
Orrery
fulfilled the artistic intention of (Learning Objective 1.2)
A) emphasizing poses and gestures to reference sculpture from the classical past
B) elevating the subject of scientific experimentation to that of history painting
C) moralizing on the subject of industry and its negative effects on urban society
D) creating a lighthearted mood that appealed to the tastes of the middle class
elevating the subject of scientific experimentation to that of history painting
To elicit qualities of grandeur, the muscular figures and dramatic movement displayed in
the work
of Peter Paul Rubens primarily demonstrates the influence of (Learning Objective 2.3)
A) Michelangelo
B) Raphael
C) Botticelli
D) Grünewald
Michelangelo
Gianlorenzo Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa employs vigorous movement and dramatic
lighting to
elicit from its intended audience (Learning Objective 3.2)
A) a visionary experience promoting the aims of the Catholic Counter Reformation
B) an humanist appreciation for female beauty absorbed from Neoplatonic writings
C) reactions of outrage and indignation in support of the Protestant Reformation
D) feelings of joy and elation over the triumph of Christianity in the New World
a visionary experience promoting the aims of the Catholic Counter Reformation
, The lush, artificial setting of Jean-Honoré Fragonard's The Swing reflects art associated
with
(Learning Objective 1.3)
A) the rise of a middle class desirous of luxury and made prosperous by capitalist
ventures
B) a time when people were divided by religious debates and an attempt at church
reform
C) a period when the king's mistress yielded great influence in matters of taste and
politics
D) an age when the government was structured around a philosophy known as
absolutism
a period when the king's mistress yielded great influence in matters of taste and politics
7. The etching process used by Rembrandt in his print Self-Portrait with Saskia
produced a vigorous
linear quality by means of (Learning Objective 1.2)
A) dipping copper plates into a corroding acid bath
B) crosshatching into a metal plate with a burin
C) drawing with a greasy crayon on a limestone surface
D) carving out negative spaces on a block of wood
dipping copper plates into a corroding acid bath
In Jose Maria Velasco's Valley of Mexico from the Hillside of Santa Isabel, the artist
highlights the
importance of a geographical location through the depiction of Tepeyac, the site of
(Learning
Objective 3.1)
A) two volcanoes representing a mythical princess and warrior
B) a vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe by the peasant Juan Diego
C) an Inka temple and a large plaza dedicated to the sun god Inti
D) the legendary lake upon which the Aztecs built their capital
a vision of the Virgin of Guadalupe by the peasant Juan Diego
The sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon chose to use symbolic imagery in his statue of
George
Washington to reference the Roman figure of Cincinnatus by idealizing the leader as
a/an (Learning
Objective 1.2)
A) orator well-known for his skill in rhetoric
B) commander skilled in winning naval battles
C) scholar known for his writings on liberty
D) landowner intending to return to his farm
landowner intending to return to his farm
The use of a proscenium in Bernini's Ecstasy of St. Teresa suggests that the sculptural
work was
meant to be (Learning Objective 3.2)
A) observed intimately in close proximity
B) lit from small windows located above
