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In Yoruba art, the most important body part portrayed in statuary is the .
head
hand
arm
heart
Explanation
The Yoruba culture of Southern Africa is one of the key artistic hubs of the region, and produces remarkable works in sculpture, jewelry, and masks. One chief feature is the usual focus on the head, which the Yoruba traditionally believe is the home of the entirety of the person. This belief is best reflected in Yoruba busts, which do not even feature necks or shoulders, only the head itself.

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
What culture was The Stele of Hammurabi associated with?

Babylonians
Assyrians
Persians
Egyptians
Aztecs
Explanation
The Stele of Hammurabi is associated with the Babylonians, and dates back to 1792-1750 BCE.
Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code\_of\_Hammurabi#/media/File:Milkau\_Oberer\_Teil\_der\_Stele\_mit\_dem\_Text\_von\_Hammurapis\_Gesetzescode\_369-2.png
All of the following are architectural features of a mosque except .
muezzin
minaret
minbar
qibla wall
Explanation
A "minaret" is a tower on a mosque from which a crier, or muezzin, calls the faithful to prayer. A "minbar" is a podium for a reader of the Koran. The "qibla wall," found in the prayer hall, points the believer towards Mecca.
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.
The sides of a door or window frame, often decorated with sculpture in medieval churches, is called a .
jamb
portal
tympanum
cornice
Explanation
The side of a window frame or doorway in a medieval church is called a jamb. In medieval churches, the portal (or entrance way) often was elaborated with decorative sculpture on every available surface, including the jamb and the tympanum, the semi-circular or triangular wall space over a door.
Which style emerged in France between 1140 and 1270, dominating the artistic mood of Europe for nearly 400 years? The movement is historically associated with the re-urbanization of Europe and, in its late period, an increasing aesthetic of secularity.
Gothic Architecture
Romanesque Architecture
Byzantine Architecture
The International Style
Explanation
The Gothic style emerged from France, was the longest lasting European architectural movement, and is associated with the rise of the Great cities in Europe. Romanesque and Byzantine architecture are rooted in other regions and were highly religious for the duration of their dominance. The International Style was a very brief phenomenon, and is distinguished by its unique, elongated rendering of the human figure.

This Cathedral, built in France in 1211, is an example of which style of architecture?
Gothic architecture
Romanesque architecture
Renaissance architecture
Art Deco
Baroque architecture
Explanation
This cathedral, known as the Reims Cathedral, was built in France in the year 1211. It very accurately depicts the popular architectural trends that were popular in that time period, which is now known as the Gothic period. This period took place between the 12th and 16th centuries. Features popular in Gothic architecture that can also be seen on this cathedral are:
-
Vertical length over horizontal length. Gothic buildings tended to be slender and tall.
-
Pointed arches
-
Spires and towers, especially when they come in doubles.
-
Ornate façades
-
Rose windows
Image citation: Photo taken by bodoklecksel (2006) https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Reims\_Kathedrale.jpg
The was a basilica church that was converted into a mosque in 1453 following the Ottoman invasion of Turkey.
An image of the building is shown below.
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Hagia Sophia
Sistine Chapel
Blue Mosque of Sultan Ahmet
Crystal Mosque
Wazir Khan Mosque
Explanation
This is an image of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.
It was first a Greek Basilica church under Constantine and converted to a Mosque when the Turks invaded and occupied Istanbul in 1453.
This is the only answer choice that fits the historical context of being converted to a mosque in this region (Istanbul, Turkey/Greece). Though the Blue Mosque is in Istanbul, it was built after the occupation.
Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hagia\_Sophia\_Cathedral.jpg

This sculpture is an example of what artistic movement?
Futurism
Fauvism
Cubism
Abstract Expressionism
Surrealism
Explanation
While it may bear some similar principles to movements like Surrealism and Cubism, the sculpture's emphasis on the energy of a body in motion is a prime example of Futurism, of which Boccioni was a leading artist. Fauvism is not applicable to sculpture, dealing instead with the color palette of paintings, and Abstract Expressionism largely did away with representational figures, even somewhat abstracted ones like the sculpture in question.
Image is in the public domain: http://www.wikiart.org/en/umberto-boccioni/unique-forms-of-continuity-in-space-1913