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3.2: Art of the Middle Ages
1. The Dura Europos synagogue contains ________.
a. a shrine for the Torah
b. more than one hundred stories in oil paint
c. a large statue of God
d. ancient Roman baths
e. relief carving of Classical myths
2. The Dura Europos synagogue is from this period.
a. Late Antiquity
b. Byzantine
c. Romanesque
d. Gothic
e. none of these answers
3. The fresco panel in the Dura Europos synagogue depicting the biblical exodus of the Jews from
Egypt (3.2.3) does so as a continuous narrative. Find another artwork in the book that tells a story,
either another continuous narrative, or one that has separate scenes, or selects only a part of the
story. How does each one communicate the events in the narrative to the viewer? Which do you
think tells the story more effectively?
4. The earliest examples of Christian art have been discovered in ________.
a. catacombs d. Hagia Sophia
b. Dome of the Rock e. Dura Europos
c. Chartres Cathedral
5. Christ as the Good Shepherd was a common theme in early Christian art.
6. The small pieces of glass that make up mosaics are called ________.
a. tesserae d. magi
b. icons e. repoussé
c. flakes
7. The sixth-century Christ icon from the monastery of St. Catherine at Mt. Sinai (3.2.6) is a good
example of perfect symmetrical balance.
8. In the sixth-century Christ icon from the monastery of St. Catherine at Mt. Sinai (3.2.6), the artist
represented the dual nature of Christ as both human and god.
9. The sixth-century Christ icon in this chapter (3.2.6) survived the outbreak of iconoclasm that swept
the Byzantine Empire in the eighth and ninth centuries by being protected in the monastery of St.
Catherine on Mount Sinai, in the middle of the Egyptian desert. Find out more about Byzantine
iconoclasm and describe the events of this turbulent period. Who was involved? Where did it
happen? Why did religious images, such as the Christ icon, so disturb the iconoclasts?
10. Iconoclasm is the destruction of images.
11. The Emperor Justinian I can be linked to which of the following major works of architecture?
a. Hagia Sophia in present-day Turkey
b. San Vitale in Ravenna
c. the monastery of St. Catherine at Mt. Sinai
d. all of the previous answers
e. none of the previous answers
12. The Church of San Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, is from this period.
a. Byzantine d. Late Antiquity
b. Gothic e. none of the other answers
c. Romanesque
13. What is the medium used for the depiction of Theodora and Attendants in the Church of San Vitale
in Ravenna, Italy?
a. fresco painting d. collage
b. mosaic e. spray paint
c. metalwork
14. The actions of Theodora and her assistants in the mosaic depicting them in the Church of San
Vitale in Ravenna, Italy, bear no relation to the religious ceremonies held in the church.
15. All Islamic manuscripts include a page with a portrait of Allah.
16. The decorative elements in manuscript illumination can also function to guide the reader, for
example to signify headings or breaks in the text.
17. The scribe responsible for making the Lindisfarne Gospels was ________.
a. Hildegard of Bingen d. the King’s favorite nobleman
b. a bishop named Eadfrith e. St. Luke
c. an unknown nun
18. Manuscripts in the Middle Ages were produced in factories in which hundreds of duplicate pages
were made quickly using a printing press.
19. “Cross and Carpet” pages were used only in Islamic manuscripts.
20. The frontispiece of the Liber Scivias (3.2.12) shows Hildegard of Bingen ________.
a. burning as she asks forgiveness for her sins
b. receiving a vision from heaven
c. surprised as a river of blood breaks through the ceiling
d. speaking with God face-to-face
e. researching astronomy
21. The manuscript painting of The Ascent of the Prophet Muhammad on his Steed from a copy of
Nizami’s Khamsa (3.2.13) demonstrates how human figures are sometimes shown in Islamic art.
22. The manuscript painting of The Ascent of the Prophet Muhammad on his Steed from a copy of
Nizami’s Khamsa (3.2.13) shows Muhammad and the angel Gabriel surrounded by flames. These
flames are symbolic rather than literal.
23. The process used to create the beaten-silver face of the twelfth-century reliquary of the Head of
Saint Alexander (3.2.14) is called ________.
a. repoussé d. hatching
b. gilding e. intaglio
c. tesserae
24. Reliquaries often look like the body part they contain.
25. The Dome of the Rock is located in ________.
a. Constantinople d. Ravenna
b. Jerusalem e. Arles
c. Rome
26. Muhammad’s tomb is located under the Dome of the Rock.
27. The Dome of the Rock was built on a site sacred to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
28. Once a religious building—such as the Dome of the Rock—is built, it is never altered or added to
by later generations.
29. The tall towers surrounding a mosque, from which the faithful are called to prayer, are called
________.
a. minarets d. Meccas
b. mihrabs e. tesserae
c. Kaabas
Match the term with its definition:
a. a tower on a mosque
b. a prayer niche oriented toward Mecca
c. a form of abstract pattern
d. a cube-shaped building in Mecca
e. a kind of Arabic script
f. direction of Mecca
g. pulpit
30. mihrab
31. Kaaba
32. kufic
33. minaret
34. arabesque
35. qibla
36. minba
36. ANS: G DIF: Level 1
37. What style is the Church of Sainte-Foy at Conques, France?
a. early Christian d. Gothic
b. Byzantine e. none of the other answers
c. Romanesque
38. In the sculptures of the tympanum above the west door of the Church of Sainte-Foy in Conques,
France, the artist used hierarchical scale to designate the importance of Christ.
39. Which term refers to part of a church doorway?
a. lintel d. archivolt
b. jamb e. all of the other answers
c. tympanum
40. The floor plan of the Romanesque Church of St. Foye in Conques, France, is ________.
a. an English rose d. a Greek cross
b. a Latin cross e. a tree
c. a circle
41. The structure of Romanesque churches recalls architectural elements from ________.
a. ancient Greece d. ancient Rome
b. Southeast Asia e. Anglo-Saxon England
c. Mesopotamia
42. Which two Gothic architectural innovations allowed cathedral walls to be built higher than before?
a. apses and illuminations
b. flying buttresses and rib vaults
c. transepts and ambulatories
d. stained-glass windows and altarpieces
e. none of the other answers
43. If you were to build a cathedral with a huge stained-glass window covering nearly an entire wall,
you would use these architectural features to ensure the building’s structural stability.
a. flying buttresses d. transepts
b. naves e. labyrinths
c. tympanums
44. Consider Chartres Cathedral. What is the history of the site and the church? How does the design
of the church reflect the values and needs of Christians? How was/is the space used by worshipers?
What symbolism is shown in the art of the church (the building, its windows, sculpture, etc.)?
45. Write a comparison essay describing the requirements, function, and design of both a cathedral and
a mosque.
46. Cimabue’s student was ________.
a. Eadfrith d. St. Matthew
b. Giotto e. Justinian
c. Hildegard
47. Styles of architecture and painting from the Middle Ages are not at all related to each other.
48. Compare Cimabue’s Virgin and Child Enthroned (3.2.26) with Giotto’s artwork of the same
subject, painted just thirty years later (3.2.27). How do the artists handle the arrangement and
volume of the figures? How does each create a sense of depth in their composition?
