Answering other questions about nineteenth-century 2D art
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Figure 3 Figure 4
The above paintings portray the chief generals of __________.
the Battle of Waterloo
the Battle of Yorktown
the Battle of Agincourt
the Battle of Gettysburg
Explanation
These two paintings portray the most famous generals of early nineteenth century Europe. The painting in Figure 3 portrays Napoleon Bonaparte, as painted by Jacques-Louis David, and the painting in Figure 4 portrays Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, as painted by Sir Thomas Lawrence. These two men met in battle numerous times, most famously at Waterloo in 1815, in Southern Belgium. There, Wellington's allied forces soundly defeated Napoleon's Grand Army of France, forcing him into a second and more permanent exile.
Figure 3: Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jaques-Louis David (1801)
Figure 4: Portrait of Sir Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington by Sir Thomas Lawrence (1814)
Figure 1 Figure 2
The figure in the painting shown in Figure 2 is presented in a pose that makes him appear __________.
serene
haughty
confident
imposing
Explanation
The use of the many Japanese images behind the central figure suggest a sense of chaos, but the individual's pose suggests serenity and calm. This is an intentional choice by the artist, Vincent van Gogh, so that his subject, Père Tanguy, can have his serene nature enhanced. The comfortable setting and the relaxed position of the arms also strongly contribute to this sense.
Figure 1: The Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh (1889)
Figure 2: Portrait of Père Tanguy by Vincent van Gogh (1887-8)
Pictured above is a work entitled Impression, Sunrise.
The effect of this work on an audience is best described as __________.
creating an impression
showing what a sunrise looks like
creating a surrealistic effect on psychology
didactically avant-garde
Explanation
Monet was intending only to capture the feeling of the sunrise and expresses it in only a semi-realistic way. It is not surreal because it lacks the nonrealistic and fantastical quality. It is of this earth, but is not meant to be incredibly realistic.
JMW Turner's The Slave Ship was created to advance the causes of what political movement?
Abolitionism
Women's Suffrage
Temperance
Chartism
Explanation
Although romantic in sweep and not fully representational in form, JMW Turner's painting portrays a ship throwing over a number of dead bodies to lose weight during a storm. Titled The Slave Ship, the painting was a deliberate political statement by Turner, who was an ardent abolitionist, an opponent of slavery. Although painted after the British Empire had banned slave trading, Turner hoped that displaying the work in front of Prince Albert, Consort to Queen Victoria, would make the Royal Couple promote abolitionism worldwide when it was first exhibited in 1840.
Image is in the public domain, accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Slave-ship.jpg
What artist's Jug in the Form of a Head sculpture, which is missing an ear, is believed to be inspired by his traumatic relationship with Van Gogh?
Gauguin
Cezanne
Degas
Renoir
Matisse
Explanation
The sculpture is a reflection of Gaugin's uneasy relationship with Van Gogh. The two became friends when Van Gogh and his brother purchased several of Gaugin's paintings. They went on to work together for nine weeks at Vincent's Yellow House, during which time their friendship cooled. The night Van Gogh cut his ear off, the artist had earlier confronted Gaugin with a razor blade. The sculpture shows Gaugin's ear cut off as a reference to his former friend.
Pictured above is a work entitled Impression, Sunrise.
Roughly when was this work painted?
The late nineteenth century
The early nineteenth century
The late eighteenth century
The early twentieth century
Explanation
The work was completed in 1872 and marks the beginning of the Impressionist movement in France.
Impressionist artists __________.
focused on showing natural light and movement
frequently painted still-life images in private studios
began developing their style in Moscow
were immediately embraced by the Salon and the public
were untrained amateurs who captured the public's imagination
Explanation
Impressionism as a movement began in Paris, France, and it was initially rejected by the Salon there. Impressionists were trained artists and they often worked outdoors as they tried to capture natural changing light.
Pictured above is the Arnolfini Portrait, and can be found at the Website of National Gallery, London.
The painting was most likely commissioned by __________.
Mr. Arnolfini
the King of the Netherlands
the local Bishop
Jan van Eyck
Explanation
The painting, of the Northern European Renaissance, is of Giovanni Arnolfini and his young wife, and the detail of the characters and their home suggests it was commissioned by the couple, likely the husband, for their wedding.
The artistic movement known as Impressionism was reacting against what establishment that set standards in French culture?
Le Salon de Paris
L'ecole des Beaux Arts
Le Sorbonne
Le Exposition Universelle de 1889
Le Salon d'Automne
Explanation
The Salon was the absolute pinnacle of the French art world from 1725 to 1890. In the late nineteenth century, the committee in charge of what art work was shown at the Salon valued grand historical and dramatic landscape paintings done in a clean realist style. The Impressionists desired to make paintings of vivid emotion with visible brushstrokes about scenes of everyday life.
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 3 is a painting of __________
Rouen Cathedral.
the Palace of Versailles.
Hotel des Invalides.
the Pantheon.
Explanation
This painting is one of a series of paintings by Claude Monet that is a study of the front of Rouen Cathedral in different light, with this one taking place in direct sunlight. All of the Impressionists were highly interested in the different effects of light, but Monet went farther than his fellow Impressionists. The avant-garde artistic approach, including incomplete and highly visible paint lines, is contrasted with the subject of the painting, a Gothic cathedral in Rouen, Normandy.