Chapter 01
Why Do We Study the History of Art?

Multiple Choice Questions
 
1. The three broad categories into which the major visual arts are divided in the Western tradition include all of the following EXCEPT 
A. sculpture.
B. pictures.
C. portraiture.
D. architecture.
 
2. What is the primary feature that distinguishes sculptures from pictures? 
A. dimensionality
B. subject
C. material
D. size
 
3. Art has often been used to preserve individuals' likenesses after they died, as evidenced by which people's practice of carving marble statues from wax death masks? 
A. Egyptians
B. Romans
C. Mycenaeans
D. Babylonians
 
4. A person who commissions a work of art is known as a 
A. collector.
B. connoisseur.
C. critic.
D. patron.

5. Alberti traced the origins of art back to the myth of which Greek youth who fell in love with his own reflection? 
A. Galatea
B. Narcissus
C. Pygmalion
D. Zeuxis
 
6. Which art critic allegedly fell in love with the image of Saint Ursula in a painting by Carpaccio, as well as the image of Ilaria del Caretto on a marble tomb? 
A. Turner
B. Whistler
C. Ruskin
D. Oppenheim
 
7. When architects conceive a building, they usually make 
A. a plan.
B. a relief.
C. an etching.
D. a portrait.
 
8. Which of the following methodologies is primarily concerned with issues of power and economics? 
A. iconology
B. semiology
C. deconstruction
D. Marxism
 
9. The biblical story of the Tower of Babel primarily conveys which lesson? 
A. Humans possess a significant element of divinity, which they can express through art.
B. Humans should not attempt to rival God.
C. Human cooperation can overcome any obstacle.
D. God will reward those who strive to excel.

10. Giotto's fly on the nose of a painted figure by Cimabue is an example of 
A. non-figuration.
B. nonrepresentation.
C. delusional thinking.
D. trompe-l'oeil.
 
11. Which of the following is NOT a methodology of art history? 
A. Marxism
B. feminism
C. abstractionism
D. deconstruction
 
12. According to Roman legend, which artist made a statue of a beautiful woman that was brought to life by the intercession of the goddess Venus? 
A. Pygmalion
B. Cimabue
C. Zeuxis
D. Prometheus
 
13. The basic principle behind formalism could best be summarized as 
A. a piece of art is ultimately a tool designed for some utilitarian purpose, which the critic must discern.
B. art must be understood in its cultural context.
C. art must be understood in its historical context.
D. art exists independently of historical or cultural context.
 
14. Who sculpted Bird in Space? 
A. Brancusi
B. Oppenheim
C. van Eyck
D. Whistler

15. Who painted Fur-Covered Cup, Saucer, and Spoon? 
A. Brancusi
B. Oppenheim
C. van Eyck
D. Whistler
 
16. With which of the following statements would a semiotician most likely agree? 
A. Art can only be fully appreciated by understanding the life story of the person who created it.
B. Art can only be appreciated for its own sake, not for its broader cultural relevance.
C. The purpose of art is to capture the true essence of an object as closely as possible.
D. In art and language, there is little or no relationship between the signifier and the signified.
 
17. Which thinker is most closely associated with deconstruction? 
A. Freud
B. Derrida
C. Elgin
D. de Saussure
 
18. What is the difference between iconography and iconology? 
A. The terms can be used interchangeably.
B. Iconography refers to how ordinary people view a work of art, whereas iconology refers to how critics view it.
C. Iconology refers to the original intention of the artist who created a work, whereas iconography refers to how audiences interpret the work.
D. Iconography refers to the meaning behind each individual artistic image, whereas iconology refers to the meaning conveyed by the arrangement and totality of those images.
 
19. The word archaeology might be translated literally as 
A. the study of rocks.
B. the study of art.
C. the study of beginnings.
D. the study of buildings.

20. Who painted the fifteenth-century painting The Virgin in a Church? 
A. Magritte
B. Whistler
C. Brancusi
D. van Eyck
 
21. As evidenced in the works of van Eyck, humans' appreciation of architecture presumably builds off of 
A. the human urge to dominate one's surroundings.
B. the fetal experience of being encased within a womb.
C. the naturalistic instinct to reach toward the sky.
D. the innate need to find a towering father figure to protect oneself.
 
22. By its very nature, which of the following artistic forms is most challenging to describe through words and pictures? 
A. architecture
B. sculpture
C. painting
D. photography.
 
23. As a rule, architecture diverges from painting and sculpture in being more 
A. imaginative.
B. aesthetic.
C. utilitarian.
D. ornamental.
 
24. In his The Betrayal of Images, Magritte painted an image of a pipe directly above a caption which read, in French, 
A. "This is not a pipe."
B. "This is not a work of art."
C. "This is not a donkey."
D. "This is not a lie."

25. Which of the following terms is used to describe a work of art that portrays an object's surface reality convincingly enough for it to be mistaken for the real thing? 
A. naturalistic
B. representational
C. illusionistic
D. figurative
 
26. In 2001, Taliban authorities in Afghanistan ordered the destruction of two huge statues of 
A. Allah.
B. Jesus.
C. Moses.
D. Buddha.
 
27. The famous Elgin Marbles originated in 
A. Turkey.
B. Greece.
C. Rome.
D. Africa.
 
28. The French phrase trompe l'oeil could best be defined as 
A. "still life."
B. "optical illusion."
C. "nonfigurative abstraction."
D. "skillful use of light."
 
29. In which era of European history did the practice of collecting art for its intrinsic value begin? 
A. the Hellenistic era
B. the Roman era
C. the twentieth century
D. the nineteenth century

30. In their initial construction and function, ziggurats best illustrate which type of artistic value? 
A. intrinsic
B. psychological
C. religious
D. nationalistic

True / False Questions
 
31. Studies of infants and young children strongly suggest that the artistic impulse has to be learned and is not innate. 
FALSE
 
32. Throughout history, major works of art have been broken down and destroyed in order to extract the precious materials from which they were made. 
TRUE
 
33. Many cultures fear that damage done to an image of an object can do damage to the object itself. 
TRUE
 
34. A figurative work of art is one that ignores the "literal" appearance of an object and attempts to uncover its "essence" without reference to natural form. 
FALSE
 
35. Both Judaism and Islam have strong and lively figurative artistic traditions. 
FALSE

36. The sculptures of Duane Hanson are purportedly so realistic that people routinely try to strike up a conversation with them. 
TRUE
 
37. The intrinsic value of an object is always clear. 
FALSE
 
38. The intrinsic value of an object can vary over time to time and place to place. 
TRUE
 
39. Leonardo da Vinci grew so emotionally attached to his Mona Lisa that during his own lifetime he refused to surrender it to the patron who had commissioned it. 
TRUE
 
40. Lord Elgin acquired the sculptures that bear his name in open defiance of existing local, British, and international laws. 
FALSE

Essay Questions
 
41. Traditionally, how have artists been seen in comparison with gods, and vice versa? How viable are such comparisons? 
Answers will vary

42. Assess the different approaches available to art historians. Is any one approach more valuable than others? Why or why not? 
Answers will vary
 
43. Discuss the ways in which artists have been seen as being uniquely in touch with supernatural forces, even through to modern times. 
Answers will vary
 
44. How have new technologies affected understandings of art? 
Answers will vary
 
45. Should the British Museum relinquish ownership of the Elgin Marbles? Why or why not? 
Answers will vary
 
46. What does Steichen's struggle to import a Brancusi bird into the United States reveal about the malleability of definitions of art? 
Answers will vary
 
47. What are the various values according to which a work of art might be assessed? 
Answers will vary