All AP Art History Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Asian 2 D Art
Which of the following is NOT a key symbol in Buddhist iconography?
Lotus
The Lion
Trees
The Wheel
Trees
The Lion symbolizes Buddha's royal status. The Wheel denotes Buddha's law. The Lotus is a symbol of Buddha's natural origins. Trees are not a key symbol in the iconographic scheme of Buddhist art.
Example Question #1 : Asian 2 D Art
Fan Kuan's Travellers Among Mountains and Streams exemplifies Northern Song painting in its use of which of the following?
Shading
Ink and color on silk
Composite or multiple perspectives
Hanging scroll format
Varied brushstrokes
Composite or multiple perspectives
Monumental landscapes during the Northern Song dynasty are characterized by their use of three distinct perspectives in the composition: high distance, level distance, and deep distance.
Example Question #1 : Analyzing Asian 2 D Art
White and Red Plum Blossoms, by Ogata Kōrin, is notable among Japanese art for its use of _________________.
gemstones
gold leaf
oil paint
watercolor
gold leaf
Instead of painting in golden hued paint on the screen in his White and Red Plum Blossoms, Ogata Kōrin inlays actual gold leaf onto his work of art, having the gold dominate the work of art. This use of non-paint or ink materials in creating screens was a signature element of the Rinpa school, who also utilized items such as mother of pearl, although gold leaf was by far the most frequent material included in Rinpa school work.
Artwork from Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ogata_Korin_-_RED_AND_WHITE_PLUM_BLOSSOMS_(National_Treasure)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Example Question #2 : Analyzing Asian 2 D Art
The work shown here is an example of a Japanese _____________.
woodblock print
folding screen
handscroll
hanging scroll
folding screen
Folding screens are a central part of Japanese art due to their use in Japanese domestic architecture as dividers between different spaces. This meant that screens such as White and Red Plum Blossoms by Ogata Kōrin were central decorative objects in houses during the Edo Period of Japanese history. Ogata Kōrin's work was one of the key developments of folding screens as an art form.
Artwork from Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ogata_Korin_-_RED_AND_WHITE_PLUM_BLOSSOMS_(National_Treasure)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Example Question #1 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Asian 2 D Art
"Ukiyo-e" is a Japanese term for a piece of art produced through the use of __________.
screen printing
embroidery
woodblock prints
calligraphy pens
woodblock prints
Ukiyo-e was the dominant form of Japanese art in the Edo period (1603-1867), and was aimed largely at the newly dominant upper middle classes by featuring images of geishas, sumo wrestlers, and kabuki actors. Ukiyo-e works were made from woodblock prints that allowed the artist to imprint a similar image on many different pieces of paper after creating just one block. Its handmade nature, however, allowed the pieces to be hand colored and shifted each time a new one was made.
Example Question #2 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Asian 2 D Art
Chinese paintings made before 1900 were usually displayed on __________
wooden panels
wood-framed canvas
hanging scrolls
bare walls
hanging scrolls
Chinese paintings, whether fashionable court paintings or more individualistic works from the literati, were traditionally presented on hanging silk scrolls. These scrolls were both easily portable and impressive in their scope, as they could be quite large. The manufacture of the scrolls themselves was considered an art form.
Example Question #21 : 2 D Art Beyond European Artistic Traditions
The above image is a woodblock print, meaning it __________.
can only be shown in a large format
can be easily replicated in the same form
can be enlarged and miniaturized easily
cannot be moved from the place it was first drawn
can have its colors easily changed
can be easily replicated in the same form
The woodblock format, popular throughout Asia, is an artistic format that is produced by having a large piece of wood cut into and dyed by the artist. Thereafter, this woodblock can be printed onto canvas or paper, making it extremely easy to duplicate the work of art again and again.
Example Question #2 : Asian 2 D Art
__________ is a quintessential characteristic of the Japanese Ukiyo-e style.
Ink on parchment
Woodblock prints
Handscrolls
Highly textured and detailed floral motifs
Accompanying literary text
Woodblock prints
Woodblock was characteristic of the Ukiyo-e style, particularly the lack of depth and shadow. Literary text was not characteristic of this period, as it was common in the Heian period (i.e. Tale of Genji).
Ink on parchment could be considered an answer, since many artists did render drafts and sketches on paper with ink; however, the period is known for the woodblock.
Example Question #21 : 2 D Art Beyond European Artistic Traditions
The work shown here is executed in the medium of _______________.
a woodblock print
watercolor painting
etching
stone carving
a woodblock print
Under the Wave off Kanagawa is perhaps the most well-known Japanese woodblock print, from one of the form’s masters, Katsushika Hokusai. Japanese woodblock printing was produced by carefully carving an image onto a fine grained piece of wood, then applying ink to the block of wood and stamping the block onto a piece of paper. This allowed for works of art to be copied onto multiple pieces of paper and distributed quite widely.
Image accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Katsushika_Hokusai,_published_by_Nishimuraya_Yohachi_(Eijudō)_-_Under_the_Wave_off_Kanagawa_(Kanagawa-oki_nami-ura),_also_known_as_the_Great_Wave,_from_the_series_T..._-_Google_Art_Project.jpg
Example Question #2 : Asian 2 D Art
The Burning of the Sanjo Palace is a thirteenth-century handscroll from __________.
Vietnam
China
Japan
Korea
Japan
The Burning of the Sanjo Palace is one of the more famous and most representative works of classical Japanese art. This handscroll painting, done about one hundred years after the event it depicts, features swift brushstrokes to emphasize movement, has a strong use of diagonals, and presents largely undifferentiated figures. All of these are classic hallmarks of Japanese handscroll painting from the Kamakura period.
All AP Art History Resources
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