AP Art History : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #61 : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

Venus_de_Milo_Louvre_Ma399_n2.jpg

This statue is missing all but which of the following elements?

Possible Answers:

Metal jewelry

Paint

Engraved cartouche

Marble arms

Marble plinth

Correct answer:

Paint

Explanation:

The Venus de Milo displayed in Paris’s Louvre museum is famously missing its original marble arms and plinth. It’s also missing the polychromatic paint and gold or silver jewelry that would have adorned it. A cartouche, on the other hand, is an oval engraving containing hieroglyphs that spell out a person’s name, and it is specific to the art of ancient Egypt.

Image citation: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Venus_de_Milo_Louvre_Ma399_n2.jpg

Example Question #62 : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

The Discobolus of Myron dates to which period?

Possible Answers:

Hellenistic

Early Classical

Mycenaean

Archaic

Trojan

Correct answer:

Early Classical

Explanation:

The Discobolus of Myron, named for the Athenian sculptor Myron, dates to the Early Classical period (also described as the Severe style). The statue was created between 480 and 440 BCE. Like many Early Classical works, it is defined by its simple, un-ornate aesthetic, its use of bronze, and its fairly novel portrayal of human emotion and action. The statue is further distinguished as Early Classical by the sculptor’s desire to depict a person in motion, a human moment frozen in time.

Example Question #63 : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

What is this object? 

Maskofagamemnon

Possible Answers:

The mask of Homer

The mask of Odysseus

The mask of Tutankhamen

The mask of Agamemnon

The mask of the Sun God Ra

Correct answer:

The mask of Agamemnon

Explanation:

This famous mask is named after the legendary ancient Greek King Agamemnon (see Homer’s Iliad and Aeschylus’s Oresteia). While Tutankhamen’s burial mask is similarly resplendent, the Egyptian burial mask was stylistically much different from the ancient Greek. King Tut’s in particular featured a long, cylindrical beard, lapis lazuli, and turquoise in addition to the gold. The other three masks are fictional objects (but denote historical figures).

(Image accessed through Wikipedia Image Commons: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/MaskOfAgamemnon.jpg)

Example Question #64 : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

This object comes from which ancient Greek civilization? 

Maskofagamemnon

Possible Answers:

Severe

Minoan

Mycenaean

Hellenistic

Spartan

Correct answer:

Mycenaean

Explanation:

The famous mask of Agamemnon (c. 1500s BCE) was discovered in Mycenae in the 1800s. While early discoverers thought the mask belonged to the Greek King Agamemnon (see Homer’s Iliad and Aeschylus’s Oresteia), later scholarship revealed that the mask actually predated the historical Agamemnon by centuries. The Mycenaean civilization predated the Archaic era and was itself predated by the Minoan civilization.

(Image accessed through Wikipedia Image Commons: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/MaskOfAgamemnon.jpg)

Example Question #65 : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

This mask would have been used to celebrate what occasion? 

Maskofagamemnon

Possible Answers:

Wedding

Coronation

Funeral

Human sacrifice

Baptism

Correct answer:

Funeral

Explanation:

Like other ancient Greek masks, the mask of Agamemnon would have been used to cover the face of a ruler during a funeral and interment. It was discovered covering the face of a body in a burial shaft and was accompanied by weapons, jewelry, and other artifacts. Later, in ancient Rome, wax casts and stone would replace gold as the choice for funerary masks and portraiture.

(Image accessed through Wikipedia Image Commons: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/MaskOfAgamemnon.jpg)

Example Question #66 : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

To what era does the Venus de Medici date?

Possible Answers:

Minoan

Hellenistic

Pan-Hellenic

Archaic

Severe

Correct answer:

Hellenistic

Explanation:

The Venus de Medici (c. 1st century BCE) is a Hellenistic-era sculpture depicting the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. It features a dolphin poised at the foot of the standing nude goddess, who looks off into the distance and who is designed to be viewed from all angles (sculpture in the round). Its existence and that of similar female nudes challenged the earlier Greek conception of the male nude as the model of perfect human beauty.

Example Question #67 : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

Of what material is the Venus de Medici made?

Possible Answers:

Wood

Quartz

Brass

Marble

Ebony

Correct answer:

Marble

Explanation:

Like many Hellenistic sculptures, the Venus de Medici (c. 1st century BCE) is made of marble. Brass, ebony, wood, and bronze were all far less common materials in ancient Greek sculpture. The dolphin at the goddess’s feet serves as a support for the extremely heavy medium, and other famous statues of Aphrodite have notoriously broken over the years.

Example Question #68 : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

What artwork is this?

Reggio calabria museo nazionale bronzi di riace

Possible Answers:

The Terracotta Army

The Riace Warriors

Alexander the Great

Discobolus of Myron

Laocoön and His Sons

Correct answer:

The Riace Warriors

Explanation:

These are the famous Riace Warriors (c 450 BCE). The Terracotta Army is a large group of clay statuary from ancient China, and Alexander the Great is a portrait bust. The Discobolus of Myron is statue of a single discus thrower, while Laocoön and His Sons features a man intertwined in battle with snakes and his two sons.

(Image taken from the public domain: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Reggio_calabria_museo_nazionale_bronzi_di_riace.jpg)

Example Question #69 : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

Of what material are these statues made?

Reggio calabria museo nazionale bronzi di riace

Possible Answers:

Ivory

Marble

Bronze

Teak

Proto-cement

Correct answer:

Bronze

Explanation:

The Riace Warriors, also known as the Riace bronzes, are a pair of life-size nude male warrior statues. They were discovered in the sea in the 1970s, and, while they are primarily made of bronze, they also feature details in other materials: copper lips and ivory eyes, for example. Teak, ivory, and cement were not otherwise common materials for large statues in ancient Greece.

(Image taken from the public domain: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Reggio_calabria_museo_nazionale_bronzi_di_riace.jpg)

Example Question #70 : Ancient Through Medieval Sculpture

To what era do these statues date?

Reggio calabria museo nazionale bronzi di riace

Possible Answers:

Hellenistic

Severe

Idealized

Minoan

Late Classical

Correct answer:

Severe

Explanation:

The Riace Warriors are an excellent example of Early Classical sculpture. Their use of contrapposto and their slightly idealized forms distinguish them from earlier Archaic work, as do their elaborately worked beards and hair. Their makers are unknown, and the statues are thought to have been buried underwater after a shipwreck of uncertain date.

(Image taken from the public domain: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Reggio_calabria_museo_nazionale_bronzi_di_riace.jpg)

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