Essay Exam Questions:
Exams in this course will be open-book take-home examinations. Students will choose two [2] of the three long essay prompts issued below. Students will haveyour choice as to which essays you will answer. Suggested page length should be a minimum of 5 pages and not to exceed 7 pages in length [inclusive of both essay responses].
As you will have access to the Internet, your Paoletti/Radke textbook as well as lecture notes, the professor expects near-perfect spelling and grammar for long essay exams. The essays must be in a font no smaller than 12-point as well as double-spaced. The essays must be a minimum length of five [5] computer-generated pages and inMS Word format [MAC users please take note!]. Your name should appear at the top of each page. All pages must be numbered.
You should not include digital photographs in this essay for works that appear in the Paoletti/Radke textbook. Please keep in mind that the more you write — the more information the professor will have in order to effectively grade your understanding of the art historical subject matter.
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[The Midterm Exam is worth 30% of your final grade in this course.]
PROMPT:
- The Italian Renaissance of the Quattrocento [1400-1500 CE] relied heavily on the classical style canons of Ancient Greece and Rome, referred to as All’Antica[or “in the antique style”]. In yourlong essay exam answer, select three [3] major works we’ve discussed in class that illustrate how the artist [painter], sculptor or architect referenced works from antiquity. Three [3] Quattrocento works paired with three [3] classical examples.
- While the Quattrocento of the Italian Renaissance, 1400-1500 CE ushered in a radical and catalytic change in the style canon of art, painting, sculpture, and architecture did not make a clean break from the International Gothic style cannon [Think Trecento!]. Subtle traces of the Gothic remained as a bridge to the past, in an effort to cater to the taste and connoisseurship of wealthy patrons who commissioned works during the period we’ve discussed in this class. [Patrons would be: guilds, individuals, and the Catholic Church.] In your long answer exam answer, select three [3] major works we’ve discussed in class, and specifically reference how subtle traces of the International Gothic style are present in these Quattrocento works examples.
- Without doubt, the Italian Renaissance of the Quattrocento [1400-1500 CE] witnessed sweeping and catalytic changes in the design and creation of art [painting], sculpture, and architecture. In your long essay exam answer, select three [3] major works we’ve discussed in class that illustrate how monumental advances in STEM [Science, Technology, Engineering and Math] radically advanced and refined art [painting], architecture, and sculpture in the Quattrocento.
