CHAPTER TWENTY
RENAISSANCE ART IN
FIFTEENTH-CENTURY ITALY
20
Multiple Choice
1. What subject was often painted in refectories of religious communities?
A. Annunciation
B. Nativity
C. Last Supper
D. Prodigal Son
2. The family of artist Andrea della Robbia is best known for its
A. distinctive glazes and ceramic production.
B. skillful metalworking practice.
C. elaborate carved woodwork on cassoni.
D. revival of the lost-wax method of bronze casting.
3. Pollaiuolo’s primary concern in The Battle of the Nudes (Fig. 20-29) seems to have been
A. exploring the medium of engraving.
B. the detailed analysis of movement.
C. the use of linear perspective.
D. traditions of realism used in Roman portraiture.
4. Who won the competition to design the new doors for the Baptistery in Florence (Fig. 20-3)?
A. Donatello
B. Ghiberti
C. Masaccio
D. Nanni di Banco
5. Why is Florence considered the cradle of the Italian Renaissance?
A. its proximity to ancient ruins that inspired Renaissance artists
B. the many wealthy merchants who were patrons of the arts
C. its competitive atmosphere, which encouraged innovation
D. its political and economic dominance among fifteenth-century Italian cities
6. What detail in Ghirlandaio’s Nativity and Adoration of the Shepherds (Fig. 20-33) references
the new interest in Classical subjects?
A. the symbolic use of certain flowers
B. the Christ child placed on the ground
C. the rugged depiction of the shepherds
D. the architectural details surrounding Mary
7. What feature of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi recalls the design of ancient Roman homes?
A. the rusticated exterior
B. the open loggia used to conduct business
C. the rounded arches of the windows
D. the placement of rooms around a central courtyard
8. Which most influenced the architecture of Venice?
A. Classical
B. Gothic
C. Byzantine
D. Islamic
9. What was the primary reason for the delayed construction of the dome of Florence Cathedral?
A. political instability
B. funding for the project ran out
C. lack of engineering know-how
D. a shortage of skilled masons and builders
10. How did the Foundling Hospital in Florence reflect the political nature of artistic production
in Florence?
A. Brunelleschi won the commission in a public competition.
B. It was a public demonstration of social responsibility of a wealthy guild.
C. Its reliance on Classical form underscored Florentine power and status.
D. It reinforced the role of the church as the dominant artistic patron.
11. Ghiberti’s doors for the east side of the Baptistery in Florence were so admired that they
came to be known as the
A. Gates of Paradise.
B. Golden Arches.
C. Gateway to Heaven.
D. Doors to the Kingdom.
12. Masaccio used linear perspective in the Trinity with the Virgin (Fig. 20-19) to create the
illusion
A. that the donors are real people in the chapel.
B. of a deep barrel vault extending behind the figures.
C. of an actual burial beneath the painted figures.
D. that the figures are integrated into a single space.
13. What does art historian Michael Baxandall believe influenced Botticelli’s paintings?
A. the increasing influence of Netherlandish art
B. the slow movements of Florentine dance
C. the courtyards and gardens of Venetian palaces
D. the city’s desire to demonstrate civic virtue and pride
14. Which characterizes the work of Piero della Francesca that can be seen through careful
formal correspondences in Baptism of Christ (Fig. 20-38)?
A. visually perplexing scenes
B. calm and peaceful stasis
C. richly patterned images
D. several light sources
15. The Brancacci Chapel was dedicated to which of the following?
A. Saint Peter
B. John the Baptist
C. Jacob
D. St. Sebastian
16. The members of which fifteenth-century Florentine family were powerful and influential
patrons of the arts?
A. Narni
B. Montefeltro
C. Bellini
D. Medici
17. In the Foundling Hospital, Brunelleschi carved the architectural detailing of his interior
spaces in
A. pietra serena.
B. marble.
C. wood.
D. intarsia.
18. What was the name for a piece of fifteenth-century Italian furniture that was used to store
clothing and was decorated with elaborate woodcarvings and painting?
A. camera picta
B. chapels
C. cassoni
D. all’antica
19. Which work reflects the taste among the wealthy for collectibles that were reminiscent of
ancient Greece and Rome?
A. Infant in Swaddling Clothes (Fig. 20-7)
B. The Four Crowned Martyrs (Fig. 20-12)
C. Equestrian Statue of Erasmo da Narni (Fig. 20-15)
D. Hercules and Antaeus (Fig. 20-28)
20. Which building created by Pope Sixtus IV greatly enhanced Rome’s place as a center of
Renaissance art?
A. Palazzo Medici-Riccardi
B. Sistine Chapel
C. Brancacci Chapel
D. Ospedale degli Innocenti
21. Which Florentine painter was also a Dominican monk?
A. Verrocchio
B. Masaccio
C. Fra Angelico
D. Donatello
22. In contrast to Donatello, Verrocchio portrayed his David as a
A. proud, engaging adolescent.
B. fully armored soldier.
C. muscular Greek warrior.
D. triumphant young shepherd.
23. The detailed landscape, symbolic details and luminous palette of Bellini’s St. Francis in
Ecstasy (Fig. 20-45) is reminiscent of
A. Trecento art.
B. Roman art.
C. Flemish art.
D. Gothic art.
24. In Lippi’s Portrait of a Woman and a Man (Fig. 20-26), what does the male sitter point to,
which perhaps identifies him?
A. the Bible
B. a wedding ring
C. the town of Siena
D. a heraldic device
25. Along with pilasters, carved cupboards, and niche-filled statues, the Studiolo of Federico da
Montefeltro (Fig. 20-37) also featured a squirrel, the symbol of
A. the church.
B. an ideal ruler.
C. the Virgin Mary.
D. the artist.
Short Answer
1. What were Cosimo de’ Medici the Elder’s primary concerns for the commission of the Medici
Palace (Fig. 20-9) in Florence?
2. What was the role of the condottieri in fifteenth-century Italy?
3. Explain Brunelleschi’s design for the Florence Cathedral (Fig. 20-5). Be specific in your
explanation.
4. Discuss the commission of the Foundling Hospital.
5. Consider the artistic career of the sculptor Donatello, and discuss the reason for his success.
6. Why did Ghiberti win the commission for the Baptistery of Florence?
7. Identify a specific commission that drew artists to Rome in the fifteenth century. Name an
artist that was part of this commission, and describe his contribution to the project.
8. How does Fra Angelico inspire meditation in Annunciation (Fig. 20-23)?
9. What did the period that historians now call “the Renaissance” mean for artists and patrons in
fifteenth-century Italy?
10. How were the palaces of Venice designed and where were they built?
Essay
1. Compare and contrast the composition and system of linear perspective of Virgin and Child
Enthroned, With SS. Francis, John the Baptist, Job, Dominic, Sebastian, and Louis of Toulouse
(Fig. 20-44) and Trinity with the Virgin, St. John the Evangelist, and Donors (Fig. 20-18).
2. Explain the evolution of patronage in fifteenth-century Italy. Identify specific patrons and
discuss their commissions.
3. Discuss the style, narrative, and composition of The Last Supper (Fig. 20-25), and describe
how the ideals of the Renaissance are present.
4. Discuss the interpretations for Botticelli’s Primavera (Fig. 20-34) and Birth of Venus (Fig. 20-
35). Consider the role of the patron in these works.
5. Discuss the use of perspective, linear and atmospheric, in Perugino’s Christ Giving the Keys to
St. Peter (Fig. 20-20).