Chapter 5 – Art from 200 to 1000
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The term “Middle Ages” was invented during the Italian Renaissance to suggest that
the period embracing these centuries was an interruption between the new golden age
of the Renaissance and the age of:
a. Byzantine iconoclasm.
b. Romanesque renascence.
c. classical Greece and Rome.
d. all of these.
e. none of these.
2. In the Synagogue reconstruction at Dura Europos, the decoration of the shell over the
niche signifies:
a. the ruler’s seat.
b. a holy place.
c. the site for the treasury.
d. all of these.
e. none of these.
3. In the Byzantine apse mosaic Transfiguration of Christ from the monastery of St.
Catherine, Christ is shown surrounded by:
a. an almond-shaped halo.
b. a mandorla.
c. blue light.
d. all of these.
e. none of these.
4. In the Incarnation page from the Book of Kells, we see:
a. whorl patterns.
b. colored frames.
c. interlace.
d. all of these.
e. none of these.
5. The reassuring hand gesture of the Buddha of the Shaka Triad from the Golden Hall at
Horyuji is called the:
a. abhaya mudra.
b. kondo manua.
c. chumon desine.
d. all of these.
e. none of these.
6. In the Carolingian period image of Saint Matthew from the Gospel Book of Archbishop
Ebbo of Reims, we see the revival of classical elements in the:
a. toga.
b. modeling.
c. spontaneous technique.
d. all of these.
e. none of these.
7. The plan of the Carolingian monastery at St. Gall included:
a. a refectory.
b. a cloister.
c. novitiate housing.
d. all of these.
e. none of these.
8. The third church of the monastery at Cluny was the largest church in Europe, and
was the mother church of a reformed order of:
a. Franciscans.
b. Dominicans.
c. Benedictines.
d. all of these.
e. none of these.
9. The Buddhist temple called Borobudur was:
a. sited in central Java.
b. designed legendarily by a divine architect.
c. originally considered sacred by Hindus.
d. all of these.
e. none of these.
10. The purpose of the Buddhist temple Borobudur has been interpreted as a(n):
a. symbolic mountain.
b. stupa.
c. mandala for meditation.
d. all of these.
e. none of these.
Fill–in–the-Blank Questions
11. In the Hindu relief at Mahamallapuram, both form and iconography express
____________.
12. Hundreds of earthenware figures called ____________ once encircled the huge
mound tombs of the Japanese yamato rulers.
13. In Europe during the tenth century, “lay” artists in cities began to gather themselves
into professional organizations, like trade unions, called ____________.
14. As seen in The Three Hebrew Youths in the Fiery Furnace, the frontal figures stand amid
flames with their arms raised in a position of ____________.
15. In the San Vitale mosaic of Justinian, Archbishop Maximianus of Ravenna and
Attendants, Justinian’s placement communicates his position as head of ____________
and ____________.
16. Characteristic of Anglo-Saxon metalwork, such as the Sutton Hoo purse cover, is the
use of a complex pattern composed of a single line that intertwines and overlaps to
completely fill the available space, called ____________.
17. The program of statues and paintings in the kondo at Horyuji makes the temple a
terrestrial representation of the Buddha’s ____________.
18. One common element of Islamic mosques from all periods is the marking of a wall
that indicates which direction Muslims should turn when they pray, called the
____________.
19. On the Buddhist Temple of Borobudur in Java, the inner and outer walls at each
level are covered with carved panels illustrating the path toward ____________.
20. Chinese painting derives from the art of ____________.
True-False Questions
21. During the period covered by this chapter, the Japanese state defined itself as a
political institution—named Yamato.
22. Throughout the period covered by this chapter, religious books were written by
hand, usually on treated animal skins called vellum or parchment.
23. When the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople in 1453, they converted all
Christian churches, including Hagia Sophia, into burial shrines.
24. In Moses Giving Water to the Tribes at Dura Europos, Moses stands in a relaxed
contrapposto position.
25. The exterior of Old St. Peter’s was elaborately and exquisitely adorned with precious
materials, including gold, jewels, and mosaics.
26. Pendentives are curving triangular segments that transition from square plan
supporting piers to the circular base of a dome.
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27. Chang’an was based on principles of symmetry and axiality, and was the first totally
planned Chinese city.
28. The Hindu Kailasantha Temple at Ellora, India is actually an achievement in
sculpture.
29. The interior space of the Mosque at Córdoba functioned as a place for liturgical
worship.
30. Li Cheng, artist of the Chinese landscape painting Buddhist Temple in the Hills after
Rain, lived a poor, illiterate, worldly life.
31. What fact explains why in The First Sermon Buddha is seated on a throne decorated
with lions?
32. What was the central rite of the Medieval Christian church and what did it reenact
and promise?
33. What does the word catacomb mean, and from where is it derived?
34. At Santa Costanza, what is symbolized by the cross circumscribed by the circular
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35. Why did the Naiku Shrine complex at Ise become the center for imperial rites and
thus take on a political function?
36. Why was care taken in the creation of a mosaic to adjust each tessera so that its
surface was at a slight angle to that of the neighboring tesserae?
37. The Tang Dynasty is notable in the history of Chinese ceramics for what
characteristics?
38. At the Buddhist Horyuji complex near Nara, Japan, after entering through the
chumon, why would a pilgrim make a lateral turn?
39. What influential Carolingian architectural innovation in church design is evident in
the Plan of St. Gall Monastery?
40. In his painting Sailboat in the Rain, Xia Gui does what instead of concentrating on
literal depiction?
Essay Questions
41. What did Procopius say about the effect Hagia Sophia had on an observer, and what
meaning does it suggest?
42. In the Christian tradition, what is the Transfiguration? What and who did it involve?