CHAPTER TWENTYRENAISSANCE ART IN FIFTEENTH-CENTURY ITALY
1. What subject was often painted in refectories of religious communities?
A. Annunciation
B. Nativity
C. Last Supper
D. Prodigal Son
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 20.b Interpret the meaning of works of fifteenth-century Italian art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.
Topic: Painting in Florence After Masaccio
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
2. The family of artist Andrea della Robbia is best known for its
A. distinctive glazes and ceramic production.
B. skillful metalworking practice.
C. elaborate carved woodwork on cassoni.
D. revival of the lost-wax method of bronze casting.
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: Filippo Brunelleschi, Architect
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
3. Pollaiuolo’s primary concern in The Battle of the Nudes (Fig. 20-29) seems to have been
A. exploring the medium of engraving.
B. the detailed analysis of movement.
C. the use of linear perspective.
D. traditions of realism used in Roman portraiture.
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 20.e Interpret a work of fifteenth-century Italian art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.
Topic: Pollaiuolo
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
4. Who won the competition to design the new doors for the Baptistery in Florence (Fig. 20-3)?
A. Donatello
B. Ghiberti
C. Masaccio
D. Nanni di Banco
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: The Competition Reliefs
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
5. Why is Florence considered the cradle of the Italian Renaissance?
A. its proximity to ancient ruins that inspired Renaissance artists
B. the many wealthy merchants who were patrons of the arts
C. its competitive atmosphere, which encouraged innovation
D. its political and economic dominance among fifteenth-century Italian cities
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 20.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to fifteenth-century Italian art, artists, and art history.
Topic: The Early Renaissance in Florence
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
6. What detail in Ghirlandaio’s Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds (Fig. 20-33) references the new interest in Classical subjects?
A. the symbolic use of certain flowers
B. the Christ child placed on the ground
C. the rugged depiction of the shepherds
D. the architectural details surrounding Mary
Answer: D
Learning Objective: 20.b Interpret the meaning of works of fifteenth-century Italian art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.
Topic: Ghirlandaio
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
7. What feature of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi recalls the design of ancient Roman homes?
A. the rusticated exterior
B. the open loggia used to conduct business
C. the rounded arches of the windows
D. the placement of rooms around a central courtyard
Answer: D
Learning Objective: 20.a Identify the visual hallmarks of fifteenth-century Italian art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.
Topic: Filippo Brunelleschi, Architect
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
8. Which most influenced the architecture of Venice?
A. Classical
B. Gothic
C. Byzantine
D. Islamic
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: Venice
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
9. What was the primary reason for the delayed construction of the dome of Florence Cathedral?
A. political instability
B. funding for the project ran out
C. lack of engineering know-how
D. a shortage of skilled masons and builders
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 20.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of a work of fifteenth-century Italian art.
Topic: Filippo Brunelleschi, Architect
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
10. How did the Foundling Hospital in Florence reflect the political nature of artistic production in Florence?
A. Brunelleschi won the commission in a public competition.
B. It was a public demonstration of social responsibility of a wealthy guild.
C. Its reliance on Classical form underscored Florentine power and status.
D. It reinforced the role of the church as the dominant artistic patron.
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 20.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of a work of fifteenth-century Italian art.
Topic: Filippo Brunelleschi, Architect
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
11. Ghiberti’s doors for the east side of the Baptistery in Florence were so admired that they came to be known as the
A. Gates of Paradise.
B. Golden Arches.
C. Gateway to Heaven.
D. Doors to the Kingdom.
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: Sculpture
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
12. Masaccio used linear perspective in the Trinity with the Virgin (Fig. 20-19) to create the illusion
A. that the donors are real people in the chapel.
B. of a deep barrel vault extending behind the figures.
C. of an actual burial beneath the painted figures.
D. that the figures are integrated into a single space.
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 20.a Identify the visual hallmarks of fifteenth-century Italian art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.
Topic: Masaccio
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
13. What does art historian Michael Baxandall believe influenced Botticelli’s paintings?
A. the increasing influence of Netherlandish art
B. the slow movements of Florentine dance
C. the courtyards and gardens of Venetian palaces
D. the city’s desire to demonstrate civic virtue and pride
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 20.e Interpret a work of fifteenth-century Italian art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.
Topic: Botticelli
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
14. Which characterizes the work of Piero della Francesca that can be seen through careful formal correspondences in Baptism of Christ (Fig. 20-38)?
A. visually perplexing scenes
B. calm and peaceful stasis
C. richly patterned images
D. several light sources
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 20.b Interpret the meaning of works of fifteenth-century Italian art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.
Topic: Urbino
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
15. The Brancacci Chapel was dedicated to which of the following?
A. Saint Peter
B. John the Baptist
C. Jacob
D. St. Sebastian
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 20.b Interpret the meaning of works of fifteenth-century Italian art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.
Topic: Masaccio
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
16. The members of which fifteenth-century Florentine family were powerful and influential patrons of the arts?
A. Narni
B. Montefeltro
C. Bellini
D. Medici
Answer: D
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: The Early Renaissance in Florence
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
17. In the Foundling Hospital, Brunelleschi carved the architectural detailing of his interior spaces in
A. pietra serena.
B. marble.
C. wood.
D. intarsia.
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 20.a Identify the visual hallmarks of fifteenth-century Italian art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.
Topic: Filippo Brunelleschi, Architect
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
18. What was the name for a piece of fifteenth-century Italian furniture that was used to store clothing and was decorated with elaborate woodcarvings and painting?
A. camera picta
B. chapels
C. cassoni
D. all’antica
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 20.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to fifteenth-century Italian art, artists, and art history.
Topic: The Morelli-Nerli Wedding Chests
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
19. Which work reflects the taste among the wealthy for collectibles that were reminiscent of ancient Greece and Rome?
A. Infant in Swaddling Clothes (Fig. 20-7)
B. The Four Crowned Martyrs (Fig. 20-12)
C. Equestrian Statue of Erasmo da Narni (Fig. 20-15)
D. Hercules and Antaeus (Fig. 20-28)
Answer: D
Learning Objective: 20.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of a work of fifteenth-century Italian art.
Topic: Pollaiuolo
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
20. Which building created by Pope Sixtus IV greatly enhanced Rome’s place as a center of Renaissance art?
A. Palazzo Medici-Riccardi
B. Sistine Chapel
C. Brancacci Chapel
D. Ospedale degli Innocenti
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 20.a Identify the visual hallmarks of fifteenth-century Italian art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.
Topic: Rome
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
21. Which Florentine painter was also a Dominican monk?
A. Verrocchio
B. Masaccio
C. Fra Angelico
D. Donatello
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: Painting in Florence After Masaccio
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
22. In contrast to Donatello, Verrocchio portrayed his David as a
A. proud, engaging adolescent.
B. fully armored soldier.
C. muscular Greek warrior.
D. triumphant young shepherd.
Answer: A
Learning Objective: 20.e Interpret a work of fifteenth-century Italian art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.
Topic: Verrocchio
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
23. The detailed landscape, symbolic details and luminous palette of Bellini’s St. Francis in Ecstasy (Fig. 20-45) is reminiscent of
A. Trecento art.
B. Roman art.
C. Flemish art.
D. Gothic art.
Answer: C
Learning Objective: 20.e Interpret a work of fifteenth-century Italian art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.
Topic: Venice
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
24. In Lippi’s Portrait of a Woman and a Man (Fig. 20-26), what does the male sitter point to, which perhaps identifies him?
A. the Bible
B. a wedding ring
C. the town of Siena
D. a heraldic device
Answer: D
Learning Objective: 20.b Interpret the meaning of works of fifteenth-century Italian art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.
Topic: Painting in Florence After Masaccio
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
25. Along with pilasters, carved cupboards, and niche-filled statues, the Studiolo of Federico da Montefeltro (Fig. 20-37) also featured a squirrel, the symbol of
A. the church.
B. an ideal ruler.
C. the Virgin Mary.
D. the artist.
Answer: B
Learning Objective: 20.b Interpret the meaning of works of fifteenth-century Italian art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.
Topic: Urbino
Difficulty Level: Easy
Skill Level: Remember the Facts
Short Answer
1. What were Cosimo de’ Medici the Elder’s primary concerns for the commission of the Medici Palace (Fig. 20-9) in Florence?
Answer: He rejected the model for the palazzo as too grand. The austere exterior was in keeping with the political climate and religious attitudes, which were imbued with Franciscan ideals of poverty and charity.
Learning Objective: 20.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of a work of fifteenth-century Italian art.
Topic: Filippo Brunelleschi, Architect
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
2. What was the role of the condottieri in fifteenth-century Italy?
Answer: They were hired soldiers who owed allegiance only to those who paid well, such as city-states, lords, or the pope, and they sometimes became rich and famous.
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: Humanism and the Italian Renaissance
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
3. Explain Brunelleschi’s design for the Florence Cathedral (Fig. 20-5). Be specific in your explanation.
Answer: He designed an octagonal drum and dome supported by ribs and created using temporary wooden supports. The dome was built up course by course and linked to the outer and inner structures for more support.
Learning Objective: 20.a Identify the visual hallmarks of fifteenth-century Italian art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.
Topic: Filippo Brunelleschi, Architect
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
4. Discuss the commission of the Foundling Hospital.
Answer: It was commissioned by the guild of silk manufacturers and goldsmiths to establish a public orphanage and a pilgrimage site.
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: Filippo Brunelleschi, Architect
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
5. Consider the artistic career of the sculptor Donatello, and discuss the reason for his success.
Answer: He excelled in many different media and was inspired by Classical sculptural forms with expressive gestures and stances.
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: Sculpture
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
6. Why did Ghiberti win the commission for the Baptistery of Florence?
Answer: His figures were graceful and controlled, and the composition was harmoniously arranged with Classical inspirations.
Learning Objective: 20.e Interpret a work of fifteenth-century Italian art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.
Topic: The Competition Reliefs
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
7. Identify a specific commission that drew artists to Rome in the fifteenth century. Name an artist that was part of this commission, and describe his contribution to the project.
Answer: The Sistine Chapel drew artists to Rome to create murals that portrayed biblical support for the supremacy of papal authority. The commission was headed by Perugino.
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: Rome
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
8. How does Fra Angelico inspire meditation in Annunciation (Fig. 20-23)?
Answer: The figures are simplistically rendered, bending forward, with natural light falling from the left, which creates a supernatural radiance. The monastery is plain and the monk’s cell behind the figures is small and unadorned.
Learning Objective: 20.b Interpret the meaning of works of fifteenth-century Italian art based on their themes, subjects, and symbols.
Topic: Painting in Florence After Masaccio
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
9. What did the period that historians now call “the Renaissance” mean for artists and patrons in fifteenth-century Italy?
Answer: Renaissance means “rebirth”; artists and patrons of what is now called the Renaissance determined that the period following the disintegration of the Western Roman Empire was “dark” or intellectually stagnant. They revered the achievements of the Classical world and saw their own era as a rebirth, turning to Classical ideals for inspiration.
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: Humanism and the Italian Renaissance
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
10. How were the palaces of Venice designed and where were they built?
Answer: The most extravagant houses in Venice overlooked the Grand Canal, with warehouses on the ground floor and reception rooms above.
Learning Objective: 20.d Apply the vocabulary and concepts relevant to fifteenth-century Italian art, artists, and art history.
Topic: Venice
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
Essay
1. Compare and contrast the composition and system of linear perspective of Virgin and Child Enthroned, With SS. Francis, John the Baptist, Job, Dominic, Sebastian, and Louis of Toulouse (Fig. 20-44) and Trinity with the Virgin, St. John the Evangelist, and Donors (Fig. 20-18).
Answer:
1. Both compositions are visually divided into different vertical sections on the picture plane based on the viewing point; however, the Venetian painting doesn’t include a predella.
2. The effects of looking up into a barrel-vaulted niche makes the space seem realistic in both paintings.
3. Symmetry and balance are achieved in both and were integral to inspiring meditation and contemplation in the viewer.
4. Orthogonals extend throughout the compositions and recede upward into the picture plane.
Learning Objective: 20.e Interpret a work of fifteenth-century Italian art using the art historical methods of observation, comparison, and inductive reasoning.
Topic: Masaccio; Venice
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
2. Explain the evolution of patronage in fifteenth-century Italy. Identify specific patrons and discuss their commissions.
Answer:
1. The Church continued to commission works, and popes began work on the Sistine Chapel to extend papal authority.
2. Wealthy families such as the Medici commissioned works to celebrate their successes and emphasize their political power with paintings, sculptures, and structures, employing artists, musicians, poets, and so on.
3. Guilds and city organizations began to commission works, especially architectural projects and sculpture, to represent the power and authority of the area.
4. Portraits of wealthy patrons became individualized and emphasized landholdings and personality.
Learning Objective: 20.c Relate fifteenth-century Italian art and artists to their cultural, economic, and political contexts.
Topic: The Early Renaissance in Florence; Urbino; Rome
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
3. Discuss the style, narrative, and composition of The Last Supper (Fig. 20-25), and describe how the ideals of the Renaissance are present.
Answer:
1. Each figure is individualized with specific gestures and facial expressions.
2. The composition emphasizes balance and symmetry, with six apostles on either side of Jesus in the center.
3. Judas has been identified as the betrayer because he is seen closer to the viewer on the other side of the table with a white cloth symbolizing purity.
4. Behind the figures, the walls are decorated like ancient Roman wall paintings with repeating elements and faux marble designs.
Learning Objective: 20.a Identify the visual hallmarks of fifteenth-century Italian art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.
Topic: Painting in Florence After Masaccio
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
4. Discuss the interpretations for Botticelli’s Primavera (Fig. 20-34) and Birth of Venus (Fig. 20-35). Consider the role of the patron in these works.
Answer:
1. Primavera is an allegory for spring; Mercury represents May, the oranges represent Venus’s Garden, Flora is the personification of spring, and flowers dot the landscape.
2. The Birth of Venus shows the mythological beginnings of the goddess born from sea foam, helped to Earth by the west wind, and welcomed by Flora.
3. Both paintings allude to love and beauty; Primavera was commissioned around the time of a Medici wedding.
4. Neoplatonic thought was incorporated into the symbolism and figural representations.
Learning Objective: 20.f Select visual and textual evidence in various media to support an argument or an interpretation of a work of fifteenth-century Italian art.
Topic: Botticelli
Difficulty Level: Difficult
Skill Level: Apply What You Know and Analyze It
5. Discuss the use of perspective, linear and atmospheric, in Perugino’s Christ Giving the Keys to St. Peter (Fig. 20-20).
Answer:
1. The vanishing point along the horizon line is centered in the middle of the composition, where Jesus and St. Peter meet in Old Saint Peter’s.
2. The orthogonals seen in the paving stones and arches all lead to the center point.
3. The space seems to recede in a realistic way because figures and structures become smaller and smaller based on natural observations.
4. The background seems to become light, fuzzier, and hazier with variations in color and clarity to convey receding space.
Learning Objective: 20.a Identify the visual hallmarks of fifteenth-century Italian art for formal, technical, and expressive qualities.
Topic: Masaccio
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
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