GATTA 13EE
Chapter 21
Italy, 1400 To 1500
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. 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
Answer: b
2. 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
Answer: d
3. 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
Answer: c
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
Answer: a
5. 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.
Answer: c
6. Which of the following artists actively collected Classical sculpture?
a. Nanni di Banco
b. Ghiberti
c. Brunelleschi
d. Gentile da Fabriano
Answer: b
7. 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
Answer: c
8. Donatello was commissioned to create five statues for the bell tower (Campanile) of Florence Cathedral. How did he design these figures in relation to the height factor?
a. each figure bent from the waist and loomed over the viewer
b. with subtly calculated distortions
c. he made no adjustments at all
d. with magnified distortions
Answer: b
9. 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.
Answer: d
10. 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: a
11. 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.
e.
Answer: b
12. 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
Answer: c
13. 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.
Answer: a
14. 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: c
15. 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
Answer: b
16. Which of the following architects wrote influential treatises on painting and architecture?
a. Brunelleschi
b. Michelozzo
c. Alberti
d. Vitruvius
Answer: c
17. 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
Answer: c
18. 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
Answer: b
19. Which of the following individuals denounced humanist philosophy?
a. Marsilio Ficino
b. Piero della Francesca
c. Savonarola
d. Lorenzo de’ Medici
Answer: c
20. The development of linear perspective is generally credited to ______.
a. Donatello
b. Brunelleschi
c. Uccello
d. Ghiberti
Answer: b
21. 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
Answer: c
22. 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
Answer: b
23. 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
Answer: d
24. 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
Answer a
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
Answer: c
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
Answer: c
27. The Classical principle of contrapposto, or weight shift, was reintroduced into Western art by the sculptor ______.
a. Ghiberti
b. Verrocchio
c. Pollaiuolo
d. Donatello
Answer: d
28. 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
Answer: b
29. 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
Answer: a
30. 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
Answer: c
31. 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
Answer: b
SHORT ANSWER
32. In Castagno’s Last Supper, where does Judas appear and why?
Answer: He is separated from the other Apostles in order to clearly identify him as the betrayer.
33. Who was Erasmo da Narni, and what was his nickname? Explain its significance.
Answer: He was a Venetian condottiere. Donatello had been commissioned by the city fathers to create an equestrian statue of Erasmo. He was known as Gattamelata or “honeyed cat” which was a play on his mother’s name Melania Gattelli. The commission was a visible signal of the city’s gratitude to Gattamelata for his leadership.
34. The Ruccellai family commissioned a new facade for Santa Maria Novella a thirteenth century Florentine church. Why is the façade significant?
Answer: Alberti created an ingenious solution to a difficult design problem. He incorporated the organizational principles of Renaissance architecture onto a medieval structure. He reconciled the structure to the new façade by unifying the façade with classical elements that compliment the original medieval elements: the classical volutes complement the medieval rose window.
35. Piero della Francesca produced the fresco cycle in San Francesco, Arezzo. Why is this fresco cycle significant?
Answer: He allowed the architectural background to organize and control the groupings of figures. As the architectonic nature of the work begins to unfold, the mood of the cycle takes on a solemnity and stillness that compliments the theme. It becomes spatially clear and precise.
36. Who was Savonarola?
Answer: Savonarola was a late 15th century Dominican monk who preached in Florence and denounced the Medici. He claimed they had corrupted the city and were the cause of the current military incursions initiated by the French. He also condemned humanism and called for the destruction of all things related to humanism. Fortunately his span of power and influence was not lengthy. However some scholars attribute Florence’s decline as the leading center for culture to Savonarola’s leadership.
37. What is the significance of Perugino’s Christ Delivering the Keys of the Kingdom to St. Peter?
Answer: The papacy predicated its claims of infallibility and authority on this event. This work becomes the visible expression of papal authority. In addition, Perugino organized the action and the space incorporating the artistic knowledge acquired in this century and uniting it with humanist ideals.
38. What was the importance to an artist of a papal invitation to Rome?
Answer: It was considered an honor to be invited to serve the papacy. Many artists enjoyed the reputation they garnered from such an invitation. Many artists upon returning home enjoyed increased patronage and commissions.
39. Why was Mantua important to art history in this period?
Answer: Located in northern Italy, its famous condottiere, Ludovico Gonzaga, determined after a papal visit to transform Mantua into a cultural capital. He set about that very purpose. He understood the value of the visual statement as an enhancement to power and leverage. He employed well-respected artists, among them Andrea Mantegna. He also commissioned a fresco series for his residence, which reiterated his power and his dynasty.
40. How was Signorelli influential?
Answer: His interests in portraying muscular bodies in violent actions expressed visually horrific consequences and great emotion. He fits the twisting figures into a coherent presentation. He showed great skill in presenting the foreshortened human figure in action. Signorelli furthered the developments initiated by Pollaiuolo in presenting a variety of poses and foreshortenings of the human figure.
41. What is significant about Nanni di Banco’s Four Crowned Saints?
Answer: The artist positioned the figures in a semicircle within the niche and had them relate to each other by posture and gesture. He created a unified composition not tied to the niche or the architecture.
42. How does Masaccio respond to the element of taxation or catasto in the Tribute Money?
Answer: Scholars have suggested that the narrative in the Tribute Money is perhaps a support for just such a tax. Masaccio has depicted St. Peter finding the tax money in the mouth of a fish and paying the tax collector. However, the considerable wealth of the patron Felice Brancacci seems to indicate a less than active support for taxes in any shape or form. So the determination for narrative value of this fresco is still under debate.
43. What does the interior of Santo Spirito exemplify?
Answer: It illustrates the Renaissance spirit of faith in reason rather than emotion.
44. How did Masaccio impact 15th century Florence?
Answer: His artistic adjustments, such as pictured space to the position of the viewer allowed current and subsequent artists to fully explore the advantages of such tools. His ability to create illusion as a measured, rational coherent statement also allowed further explorations. Masaccio laid the foundation for perspective but also for a unified and harmonious monumental composition, which was fully realized in the 16th century.
45. What features characterize the work of Domenico Ghirlandaio?
Answer: Ghirlandaio was a synthesizer, not an innovator. His work provides an excellent picture of Florence at the end of the fifteenth century. He depicted detailed representations of the life, pageantry, costume, and material wealth of the citizens.
46. How did Donatello shift interest in the depiction of the nude?
Answer: Donatello reinvented or rediscovered the classical nude. Even though his figure of David is biblical, he used the relaxed contraposto and proportions of Praxitelean classicism. He invoked classical formats and furthered the pursuit of humanist ideals. He reintroduced the nude back into the artistic vocabulary.