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Study Guides for Exams |
| General Advice You will be allowed to use your workbooks during exams, but not your textbooks. To enhance your chances for success on the exam, note the following: Do not mistake the title of the lecture for the general name of a period. Most lectures span a range of periods; for example, "Renaissance Redux" includes both the Baroque and Rococo periods. Be specific when identifying the period of a work--especially since these are frequently printed on the image lists issued in class. On the exam, "Period or Movement" refers to the most specific term you can apply to the work. Again, these are often listed on the image lists; but a work from Akhenaten's time in Egypt tells me more about what you know if you identify it as being from the Amarna period, rather than simply "Bronze Age." If you're teetering between a B+ and an A-, such things can make a difference. Be as specific as possible when identifying a work itself. The title provided on the image list is the one you should use--but make sure you're not including the artist's name as part of your identification. Be careful not to leave off a critical part of a name: "Notre Dame" could be any number of Gothic churches in France--you must indicate whether it's Notre Dame of Chartres or Paris, etc. Learn to recognize characteristics of specific periods: flatness and shallow picture plane and relational perspective in the Middle Ages; emphasis on lighting effects in the Baroque, etc. These can help you earn points for an image even if you don't remember exactly who created it. On the subject of names: The artist responsible for a particular work is not necessarily known, and is never known in the so-called "stone ages" (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic). Beginning in the Classical period, and sporadically thereafter until the Renaissance, names begin to be attributed; when these are known or surmised, they are included on the slide lists. Renaissance artists are generally known by a single name (not a "last" name; sometimes this is a given name, sometimes a nickname); these are printed in bold on the slide list. When asked to name the artist, use the most common name by which he or she is known. Remember, too, that Michelangelo Buonarotti sculpted the David; it is not called the "Buonarotti David"! A good place to look for definitions of art terms for vocabulary purposes is ArtLex: The Art Dictionary. Be sure to understand terms well enough to be able to translate among definitions from different sources, however--since glossaries in art survey textbooks and the definitions I provide in class may differ to one degree or another. Both exams will consist of identification, a map quiz, a vocabulary/terminology list, short answers, and a bonus section. Bonus questions will be drawn from Web explorations, and other web sources linked to the Schedule, as well as from the textbooks. |
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The major part of the exam will consist of 10-20 images, about which you will be asked to indicate the name of the item, the artist(s) responsible for its creation (if known), the era (period, movement) in which it was created, its provenance (where it's from, not where it is now), and the medium (architecture, sculpture, ceramic, mosaic). You will have to be specific if the medium is painting: fresco, oil, tempera. Anything linked under "assignment" on the schedule is fair game for a question--particularly a bonus question. Be able to apply the following terms them where appropriate, recognize a definition, and be able to provde an example. Be able to identify structures by name and location (e.g. Pantheon, Rome; or Erechtheion, Athens Acropolis).
Be able to locate all of the places listed at the bottom of the Map Worksheet. Cities will always be designated by dots; historically significant regions, bodies of water, and countries will be numbered on the exam map. Understand the debt Classicism owes to both the ancient Near East and Egypt; be able to note similarities and differences among Sumerian, Egyptian, Cycladic, Archaic, and Classical works. Because we will have studied the Athenian Acropolis in depth, be able to identify and elaborate upon the various structures and sculptures presented in class (know their purposes and distinguishing features). There is now a worksheet linked to week 3 that can help you do this. Please know the difference between the Parthenon and the Pantheon--and know their names mean and what the buildings were used for. Final The final exam is comprehensive; that is, it covers material from the beginning of the course to the final lecture (the ratio is about 1/3 old and 2/3 new). Therefore, please study the topics and vocabulary listed above, in addition to the following:
As always, the best way to study for this exam is to learn to recognize the movements and their characteristics, and the artists who represent them, and the works that exemplify their principles. But it is equally important to understand why these movements arose in the first place. Be sure to go over the slide lists for weeks 6 through 10, and read any supplementary material. Be able to identify terms and periods covered, especially during the second half of the course, when we discussed the Romanesque (Norman), Gothic, and the Renaissance (including Mannerism), and the Baroque and Rococo periods. Know the historical events and peoples that inspired them, and how these periods are related to those that came before. A continuing theme in the history of art is Classicism, in its many forms--from its beginnings in the fifth and fourth centuries BC/BCE in Greece, to its revision by the Romans, to its rebirth during the European Renaissance. Be able to recognize the differences among works in these periods (be able to tell the difference between a Medieval and a Renaissance treatment of the same subject, for example). Besides the artists, images, and movements we've discussed, you will need to know the following: characteristics of the movements (e.g. what makes a painting Northern vs. Italian Renaissance); the historical, political, and/or technological events that helped precipitate each movement; the historical and philosophical context in which each movement arose; how movements differ from their predecessors; what the new movements owe to their predecessors, as well as to external influences (such as the discovery of the New World during the Renaissance). Be familiar with terms introduced since the last exam: sfumato, Venus pudica, Mannerism, atmospheric perspective (vs. relational and linear perspective) as well as the characteristics of each new movement since the Byzantine period. Know these well enough to be able to categorize a work you have not seen in class within its movement; be sure you know what makes a Michelangelo a Michelangelo, for example, in case I offer bonus points for identifying the movement or artist represented by a work I haven't shown in class. And please know the difference between Romanesque and Gothic (and that Romanesque is called "Norman" in England). Understand the basic principles of manuscript illumination, and the impact of printing technologies on the history of art and design. Know how printing and its tools originated, and why it became necessary. Be able to label a diagram of two basic printing techniques, the elements of an illuminated page, the orders of Classical architecture (all five), the basic components of a basilica, and the elements of a Gothic church (as opposed to a Romanesque church). If you study the images carefully, make sure you complete the image lists, and know the approximate chronological sequence of the periods we have studied, you should be in pretty good shape. For maps, consult the sources listed for the midterm exam. Have all worksheets completed and in your workbook for use on the exam. |