Fourteenth- Through Sixteenth-Century Sculpture
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AP Art History › Fourteenth- Through Sixteenth-Century Sculpture
Michelangelo's David displays this compositional technique, wherein the figure's posture is tense on one side and relaxed on the other because its weight is shifted disproportionately to one foot.
Contrappusto
Figura serpentinata
Formal balance
Interaxial balance
Explanation
"Contrappusto" (meaning counterpose in Italian) is the term used to describe a posture in which the figure's weight is shifted to one foot, causing the shoulders and hips to twist off the body's central axis so they are no longer parallel, as seen in David. It was introduced in Classical Greek art and rediscovered in the Renaissance.
Michelangelo's David displays this compositional technique, wherein the figure's posture is tense on one side and relaxed on the other because its weight is shifted disproportionately to one foot.
Contrappusto
Figura serpentinata
Formal balance
Interaxial balance
Explanation
"Contrappusto" (meaning counterpose in Italian) is the term used to describe a posture in which the figure's weight is shifted to one foot, causing the shoulders and hips to twist off the body's central axis so they are no longer parallel, as seen in David. It was introduced in Classical Greek art and rediscovered in the Renaissance.
Who is the subject of this sculpture, a popular figure in Renaissance art?
David
Samson
John the Baptist
Hercules
Moses
Explanation
This is David, also sculpted by artists like Donatello and Michelangelo. The head of Goliath sits at David's feet. John the Baptist was also beheaded, but by Salome, a woman. Hercules and Samson tend to be represented with more muscularity, and Moses is usually an older figure.
Work is in the public domain, accessed through WikiArt: http://www.wikiart.org/en/andrea-del-verrocchio/david-1475
Who is the subject of this sculpture, a popular figure in Renaissance art?
David
Samson
John the Baptist
Hercules
Moses
Explanation
This is David, also sculpted by artists like Donatello and Michelangelo. The head of Goliath sits at David's feet. John the Baptist was also beheaded, but by Salome, a woman. Hercules and Samson tend to be represented with more muscularity, and Moses is usually an older figure.
Work is in the public domain, accessed through WikiArt: http://www.wikiart.org/en/andrea-del-verrocchio/david-1475
It is sometimes claimed that Verrochio modeled this sculpture, created 1473-1475, on what young artist who worked for him?
Da Vinci
Donatello
Michelangelo
Raphael
Titian
Explanation
The answer is Da Vinci. Donatello was dead when this sculpture was made, while Michelangelo, Titian, and Raphael were born either during or after it was being created.
Work is in the public domain, accessed through WikiArt: http://www.wikiart.org/en/andrea-del-verrocchio/david-1475
It is sometimes claimed that Verrochio modeled this sculpture, created 1473-1475, on what young artist who worked for him?
Da Vinci
Donatello
Michelangelo
Raphael
Titian
Explanation
The answer is Da Vinci. Donatello was dead when this sculpture was made, while Michelangelo, Titian, and Raphael were born either during or after it was being created.
Work is in the public domain, accessed through WikiArt: http://www.wikiart.org/en/andrea-del-verrocchio/david-1475
The sculpture was commissioned by what banking family?
The House of Medici
The House of Este
The House of Sforza
The House of Orsini
The House of Colonna
Explanation
While all of these were influential, wealthy families around the time of the Renaissance, the famous Medici family commissioned this sculpture along with countless other enduring works of art.
Work is in the public domain, accessed through WikiArt: http://www.wikiart.org/en/andrea-del-verrocchio/david-1475
The sculpture was commissioned by what banking family?
The House of Medici
The House of Este
The House of Sforza
The House of Orsini
The House of Colonna
Explanation
While all of these were influential, wealthy families around the time of the Renaissance, the famous Medici family commissioned this sculpture along with countless other enduring works of art.
Work is in the public domain, accessed through WikiArt: http://www.wikiart.org/en/andrea-del-verrocchio/david-1475
the following image is public domain, and can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David\_(Donatello)#/media/File:Florence\_-\_David\_by\_Donatello.jpg
David is standing on the severed head of Goliath, and this image is understood in the biblical community as what?
The triumph of Christianity over Paganism
The triumph of the minority over the majority
The defeat of the kingdom of Gath
None of these
Explanation
In the bible, Goliath is the giant from Gath. He is also, though, the representation of Paganism, especially in the Old Testament. He is withholding the throne from the true king, David, anointed by God. He is meant to represent the end of Pagan culture and rule, suffering at the hands of Christianity and Judaism and the prevalence of those cultures.
the following image is public domain, and can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David\_(Donatello)#/media/File:Florence\_-\_David\_by\_Donatello.jpg
David is standing on the severed head of Goliath, and this image is understood in the biblical community as what?
The triumph of Christianity over Paganism
The triumph of the minority over the majority
The defeat of the kingdom of Gath
None of these
Explanation
In the bible, Goliath is the giant from Gath. He is also, though, the representation of Paganism, especially in the Old Testament. He is withholding the throne from the true king, David, anointed by God. He is meant to represent the end of Pagan culture and rule, suffering at the hands of Christianity and Judaism and the prevalence of those cultures.