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Chapter 4 – Line
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The Starry Night, by Vincent van Gogh, indicates the power of the artist’s _______
line.
a) expressive
b) analytical
c) classical
d) contour
2. Pat Steir’s series The Drawing Lesson Part 1, Line # 1 is about what type of line?
a) various artists’ unique expressive lines
b) implied lines
c) classical line
d) lines of sight
3. Titian’s Assumption and Consecration of the Virgin demonstrates the power of:
a) stained glass.
b) color.
c) gender associations with line.
d) lines of sight.
4. How is Sol LeWitt’s line (p. 64) best described in his work, Wall Drawing No. 681 C?
a) personal
b) romantic
c) analytic
d) soft contour
5. Hung Liu’s paintings, such as Three Fujins (p. 69), rely on contrasts between two very
important elements:
a) yin and yang.
b) her love of Mao’s Cultural Revolution and her need to paint.
c) carefully drawn structural lines and uncontrolled drip lines
d) All of the above.
6. The organization of visual elements in an artwork is called:
a) an outline.
b) a still life.
c) a retrospective.
d) a composition.
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7. Lines that create a sense of movement and direction are called:
a) continuous line.
b) contour lines.
c) implied lines.
d) construction lines.
8. In House (p.57), how does Jaune Quick-to-See Smith evoke the simplicity of
traditional Native American lifestyles that have disappeared?
a) complex metaphors and dynamic lines
b) simple black outlines and ironic messages
c) kinetic forms and gestural brushstrokes
d) political activism and romantic imagery
9. What cultural conventions (p. 74) did Robert Mapplethorpe challenge in his
photographic portrait of female bodybuilder, Lisa Lyon?
a) the role of religion in art
b) the use of classical models in modern photography
c) the belief that line is the most important element in art
d) the traditional representation of the female nude
10. Hung Liu studied and taught to paint with a strict classical line that is associated with
the style of:
a) the expressionists.
b) abstract expressionism.
c) post-impressionism.
d) Russian Social Realism.
11. When a style of line becomes associated as an artist’s work, we say it is:
a) autographic.
b) calligraphic.
c) static.
d) generic.
12. Cezanne’s The Basket of Apples is full of what appear to be “mistakes” but are
actually________.
a) attempts to animate the picture plane
b) ways to make the composition more dynamic
c) artistic choices meant to engage the imagination of the viewer
d) all of the above
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13. What is generally the preferred medium of Andy Goldsworthy?
a) oil paint
b) bronze
c) clay
d) natural materials found on-site
14. Which of these visual elements is most obvious in Andy Goldsworthy’s Hazel
Leaves?
a) line
b) shape
c) texture
d) space
15. Line can define space by _____________.
a) creating texture
b) indicating the edge of a 2-d shape or 3-d form
c) creating value
d) all of the above
16. In Giacometti’s Man Pointing, our eye is directed down his right arm and past his
pointed finger to some imagined point of interest beyond. This is an example of which
formal element?
a) contour line
b) texture
c) implied line
d) perspective
17. Line can be used to delineate edges of form in space, imply movement, and
____________.
a) create value by hatching and cross-hatching
b) be expressive of emotion or an idea
c) create color fields
d) a & b
18. When an artist’s mark-making style, particularly his/her use of line, is recognizable,
like Van Gogh’s in The Starry Night, we say it is _____________.
a) too personal
b) analytical
c) autographic
d) indecipherable
19. How would you describe Sol LeWitt’s use of line in Wall Drawing No. 681 C?
a) precise
b) controlled
c) logical
d) all of the above
20. Jacques-Louis David’s The Death of Socrates is set up in a system of right angles on
a grid structure. How does this affect the content of the piece?
a) it doesn’t, it’s purely coincidental
b) it refers to the passion of the moment
c) it reiterates the rationality of Socrates’ actions
d) it is merely a compositional consideration
21. Which of these pieces illustrates the use of “expressive” line?
a) Gaudier-Brzeska’s Female Nude Back View
b) Van Gogh’s The Starry Night
c) David’s Study for the Death of Socrates
d) a & b
22. Hatching and cross-hatching are ways of turning line into______________, or three-
dimensional, modeled space.
a) color
b) value
c) actual texture
d) a & b
Short Answer Questions
23. Historically, many cultural assumptions have been made about line. The concept of
24. According to Sayre, line is above all “an artist’s most _______ tool.”
25. What is the content of Jaue Quick-to–See Smith’s House?
26. Matthew Ritchie’s No Sign of the World is a multi-layered drawing that makes use of
many types of lines. What do you think he means when he says, “Often, you’ll see
27. Hung Liu’s Relic 12 juxtaposes an image of a Chinese courtesan with the characters
for “female” and “Nu–Wa” in a red box in the middle of the canvas. Who is Nu–Wa?
Essay Questions
28. Compare and contrast the use of line in the works of Vincent van Gogh and Sol
29. Compare and contrast figures 88 and 89. How do these 2 images challenge our
expectations and preconceptions about the figure in the Western world? How does the
use of line in these two images contribute to our understanding of the figures intentions?