CHAPTER 13 The Early Renaissance
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. Which best describes Renaissance humanism?
a. study of human nature
b. human-based culture
c. revival of Classical texts
d. a Christian bias
Answer: c
2. Leonardo Bruni was
a. a humanist.
b. chancellor of Florence.
c. a historian.
d. all of these: a humanist, a historian, and chancellor of Florence.
e. None of these answers is correct.
Answer: d
3. Which two cities were most at the forefront of early humanism?
a. Venice and Rome
b. Florence and Padua
c. Rome and Florence
d. Siena and Florence
e. Siena and Padua
Answer: b
4. In the 15th century, the ________ of Florence were the great patrons.
a. Urbini
b. Innocenti
c. popes
d. Medici
Answer: d
5. Which is NOT a feature of Bruni’s tomb?
a. Its sculptor was Marzocco.
b. Lions are a part of its iconography.
c. It merges Christian and Classical motifs.
d. The effigy of Bruni lies on a bier.
Answer: a
6. Who of the following was NOT a condottiere?
a. Federico da Montefeltro
b. Sir John Hawkwood
c. Erasmo da Narni
d. Niccolò da Tolentino
e. Leon Battista Alberti
Answer: e
7. Which author goes with which text?
a. Dante – History of the Florentine People
b. Brunelleschi – Commentarii
c. Alberti – Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects
d. Masaccio – De Pictura (On Painting)
e. Bruni – Laudatio of the City of Florence
Answer: e
8. Which are some of the reasons for Ghiberti’s victory in the competition of 1401?
a. His relief was less expensive to cast and more monumental than Brunelleschi’s.
b. His relief was less expensive and more graceful.
c. His relief was more expensive, but also more elegant.
d. His relief was more monumental, more original, and he had political connections.
Answer: b
9. Ghiberti’s style is
a. aligned by orthogonals of true perspective.
b. realistic.
c. classically inspired.
d. All these answers are correct.
Answer: d
10. Which best defines “foreshortening”?
a. reduction in scale
b. placing a smaller object in front of a larger object
c. a twist at the waist
d. depicting a form in perspective
Answer: d
11. Which is NOT a feature of the Hospital of the Innocents?
a. arcades
b. round arches
c. Doric columns
d. pediments
e. bays
Answer: c
12. Brunelleschi did many things, but he did NOT
a. design the dome of Florence Cathedral.
b. study ancient buildings and monuments in Rome, rediscovering antique proportions and
measurements.
c. work in Florence.
d. use the Colosseum as his model for the Ospedale degli Innocenti.
Answer: d
13. Which of the following is NOT a feature of Brunelleschi’s design for the Church of Santo
Spirito?
a. Latin cross plan
b. a flat ceiling
c. chapels on three sides
d. stained-glass windows
e. round arches
Answer: d
14. ________ is credited with the Renaissance invention of linear perspective.
a. Ghiberti
b. Brunelleschi
c. Uccello
d. Leonardo da Vinci
Answer: b
15. Which of the following is true of one-point perspective?
a. Orthogonals converge at the vanishing point.
b. Orthogonals run from right to left on the picture plane.
c. Orthogonals are at right angles to the floor of the painted space.
d. Orthogonals are not used.
Answer: a
16. The artist whom Vasari accused of being too obsessed with perspective was
a. Piero della Francesca.
b. Mantegno.
c. Uccello.
d. Masaccio.
e. Brunelleschi.
Answer: c
17. The term paradiso as used in reference to Ghiberti’s doors means
a. the Garden of Eden.
b. the illustration of Dante.
c. the space between a cathedral and its baptistery.
d. the dome of the cathedral.
e. the dome of the baptistery.
Answer: c
18. The medal of John VIII Palaeologus was cast by
a. Alberti.
b. Matteo de’ Pasti.
c. the Byzantine emperor.
d. Pisanello.
Answer: d
19. Which is NOT a new, Renaissance feature of Masaccio’s Holy Trinity?
a. a barrel-vault with coffers
b. architectural forms established by Brunelleschi
c. donors
d. a memento mori
e. one-point perspective
Answer: d
20. Masaccio
a. maintained strict monochrome paintings and avoided contrast in light and dark.
b. used complex, dramatic settings.
c. embellished his scenes with sumptuous drapery.
d. clearly defined his light sources so that shadows were logical and realistic.
Answer: d
21. Masaccio created the barrel vault in the Holy Trinity by using ________ perspective.
a. atmospheric
b. linear
c. intuitive
d. herringbone
Answer: b
22. Which of the following is nearest to the sense of chiaroscuro?
a. gradual shading
b. high contrast of light and dark
c. shadow
d. silhouetting
Answer: a
23. Atmospheric perspective depicts near and far according to
a. diminution in size.
b. increase in size.
c. degrees of clarity.
d. haziness in the sky.
Answer: c
24. Which of the following is a correct match?
a. Masaccio – Famous Men and Women
b. Brunelleschi – one-point perspective
c. Castagno – Holy Trinity
d. Alberti – medal of John VIII Palaeologus
e. Mantegna – Rucellai Palace
Answer: b
25. Which of the following is NOT a correct match?
a. Rimini – Tempio Malatestiano
b. Brancacci Chapel – Florence
c. Sant’Andrea – Mantua
d. Gattamelata – Ravenna
e. Sir John Hawkwood – Florence Cathedral
Answer: d
26. Which is NOT a 15th-century development?
a. illusionism
b. mythological subject matter
c. one-point perspective
d. an increase in literacy
e. stained-glass windows
Answer: e
27. The Camera Picta (or Camera degli Sposi) of the Ducal Palace in Mantua decorated
a. an audience chamber.
b. the chapel.
c. a room for a wedding.
d. the marchesa’s private study.
Answer: a
28. The frescoes of the Camera Picta of the Ducal Palace in Mantua were painted by
a. Fra Filippo Lippi.
b. Andrea Mantegna.
c. Leonardo da Vinci.
d. Sandro Botticelli.
Answer: b
29. In Mantegna’s Parnassus, which god does NOT appear?
a. Apollo
b. Vulcan
c. Mars
d. Juno
e. Venus
Answer: d
30. The artist that refined oil painting with techniques including mixing pigment with linseed oil
and using tiny brushes was
a. Jan van Eyck.
b. Paolo Uccello.
c. Gentile da Fabriano.
d. Leonardo da Vinci.
Answer: a
31. ________ was NOT included in Jan van Eyck’s Ghent Altarpiece.
a. The Adoration of the Lamb by All Saints
b. The figure of God/Christ
c. Christ on the cross
d. Adam and Eve
Answer: c
32. St. Luke was the patron saint of
a. artists.
b. book binders.
c. weavers.
d. stonemasons.
Answer: a
33. Hugo van der Goes’s Portinari Altarpiece has
a. rich colors and a somber mood.
b. a confined sense of space.
c. a flat, gold background worked with a pattern punch.
d. dim colors and a somber mood.
Answer: a
34. The Ghent Altarpiece is a
a. diptych.
b. panel.
c. polyptych.
d. triptych.
Answer: c
35. The subject of Man in a Red Turban is believed to be
a. Cosimo de Medici.
b. Jan van Eyck.
c. Philip the Bold.
d. Rogier van der Weyden.
Answer: b
36. The most outstanding examples of the new Flemish style of painting included all of the
following EXCEPT
a. Giovanni Bellini.
b. Jan van Eyck.
c. Hans Memling.
d. Rogier van der Weyden.
Answer: a
37. Match the artist with the work.
a. Robert Campin –Ghent Altarpiece
b. Botticelli –Mérode Altarpiece
c. Rogier van der Weyden – St. Luke Depicting the Virgin
d. Ghirlandaio –Portinari Altarpiece
Answer: c
38. Grisaille means
a. imitation sculpture.
b. gesso.
c. foreshortening.
d. contrapposto.
e. oil painting.
Answer: a
39. Which does NOT appear in the Arnolfini Portrait?
a. a dog
b. a mirror
c. sandals
d. fruit
e. a vase of lilies
Answer: e
40. Which does NOT appear in Botticelli’s Birth of Venus?
a. a scallop shell
b. the mother of Venus
c. waves
d. a nymph
e. flowers
Answer: b
Key Works
Bernardo Rossellino, tomb of Leonardo Bruni, Santa Croce, Florence, 1444
Filippo Brunelleschi, Sacrifice of Isaac, competition panel for the east doors of the Florence
Baptistry, 1401–1402
Lorenzo Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac, competition panel for the east doors of the Florence
Baptistry, 1401–1402
Thorn Puller (Spinario), Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome, c. 1st century B.C.
Exterior of Florence Cathedral, begun late 13th century
Filippo Brunelleschi, Hospital of the Innocents, Piazza di Santissima Annunziata, Florence,
begun 1419
Filippo Brunelleschi, interior of Santo Spirito, Florence, planned 1434
Lorenzo Ghiberti, Meeting of Solomon and Sheba, detail of the east door of the Baptistery
(showing perspective lines), 1450–1452
Lorenzo Ghiberti, Self-Portrait, from the east door of the Florence Baptistery, 1424–1452
Lorenzo Ghiberti, Gates of Paradise, east door, Florence Baptistery, 1424–1452
Piero della Francesca, Flagellation, c. 1460
Leonardo da Vinci, perspective study for the background of the Adoration of the Magi, c. 1481
Paolo Uccello, perspective drawing of a chalice, c. 1430–1440
Andrea Mantegna, Dead Christ, c. 1500
Pisanello, medal of John VIII Palaeologus (obverse and reverse), 1438–1439
Masaccio, Holy Trinity, Santa Maria Novella, Florence, c. 1425
Masaccio, Holy Trinity, c. 1425, showing perspective lines
View of the Brancacci Chapel (after restoration), looking toward the altar, Santa Maria del
Carmine, Florence, 15th century
Left side of the Brancacci Chapel, Santa Maria del Carmine, Florence (after restoration, 1989)
Masaccio, Expulsion from Eden, detail of the Brancacci Chapel, left pilaster
Medici Venus, 1st century A.D.
Masaccio, Saint Peter, detail of the Tribute Money from the left side of the Brancacci Chapel
Gentile da Fabriano, Adoration of the Magi, altarpiece, 1423
Donatello, Saint Mark, shown in its original Gothic niche on the outside wall of Or San Michele,
Florence, with a teaching Christ above and the Evangelist’s lion symbol below, 1411–1415
Donatello, David, c. 1430–1440
Leon Battista Alberti, Rucellai Palace, Florence, c. 1446–1450
Leon Battista Alberti, exterior of the Tempio Malatestiano, Rimini, designed 1450
Matteo de’ Pasti, foundation medal of the Tempio Malatestiano, Rimini, 1450
Leon Battista Alberti, Sant’Andrea, Mantua, 1470–1493
Nave of Sant’Andrea, Mantua, 1470–1493
Andrea del Castagno, Youthful David, c. 1450
Andrea del Verrocchio, David, early 1470s
Andrea del Castagno, Famous Men and Women, Villa Carducci at Legnaia, 1450
Andrea del Castagno, Dante, detail of Famous Men and Women, Villa Carducci at Legnaia, 1450
Andrea del Castagno, Pippo Spano, detail of Famous Men and Women, Villa Carducci at
Legnaia, 1450
Paolo Uccello, Sir John Hawkwood, Florence Cathedral, 1436
Andrea del Castagno, Niccolò da Tolentino, Florence Cathedral, 1455–1456
Paolo Uccello, Battle of San Romano, 1440s or 1450s
Donatello, Gattamelata (and detail), 1445–1450
Andrea del Verrochio, Colleone (and detail), c. 1481–1496
Piero della Francesca, Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino (after
cleaning), after 1475
Piero della Francesca, Annunciation (after cleaning), c. 1450
Fra Angelico, Annunciation, c. 1440
Piero della Francesca, left wall of the Bacci Chapel, San Francesco, Arezzo, 1450s
Piero della Francesca, right wall of the Bacci Chapel, San Francesco, Arezzo, 1450s
Piero della Francesca, Dream of Constantine (after cleaning), Bacci Chapel, San Francesco,
Arezzo, 1450s
Robert Campin (Master of Flémalle), Mérode Altarpiece (open), c. 1425–1430
Detail of the central panel of the Mérode Altarpiece
Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child with Scenes from the Life of Saint Anne (Pitti Tondo), 1450
Filippo Lippi, Head of a Woman, study for Madonna and Child, c. 1449–1450
Andrea Mantegna, Camera Picta (also known as the Camera degli Sposi), Ducal Palace, Mantua,
finished 1474
Andrea Mantegna, ceiling oculus of the Camera Picta, Ducal Palace, Mantua, finished 1474
Andrea Mantegna, Parnassus, c. 1497
Sandro Botticelli, Mars and Venus, c. 1475
Sandro Botticelli, Birth of Venus, c. 1480
Donatello, Mary Magdalen, c. 1455
Sandro Botticelli, Mystical Nativity, 1500 or 1501
Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece (open), completed 1432
Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece, detail showing the Cathedral of Saint Bavon
Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece, detail of God’s crown
Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece (closed)
Jan van Eyck, Man in a Red Turban (Self-Portrait?), 1433
Jan van Eyck, Arnolfini Portrait, 1434
Jan van Eyck, Arnolfini Portrait, detail of the convex mirror
Rogier van der Weyden, Descent from the Cross, c. 1435–1438
Rogier van der Weyden, Saint Luke Depicting the Virgin, c. 1435–1440
Hans Memling, Tomasso Portinari, c. 1470
Hans Memling, Maria Baroncelli Portinari, c. 1470
Hugo van der Goes, Portinari Altarpiece (open), c. 1470s
Domenico del Ghirlandaio, Adoration of the Shepherds, 1485
Maps, Diagrams, and Projections
Map of leading art centers in Renaissance Italy
Plan of Florence Cathedral (after W. Blaser)
Axonometric section of the dome of Florence Cathedral
Filippo Brunelleschi, plan of Santo Spirito, Florence (after R. Sturgis)
Reconstructed plan of the foreground and praetorium in Piero della Francesca’s Flagellation;
drawing by Thomas Czarnowski
Masaccio, The Holy Trinity, c. 1425, showing perspective lines
Plan of Sant’Andrea, Mantua
Map of northern and central Europe in the Renaissance
Key Terms
aerial (or atmospheric) perspective
aisle
ambulatory
arcade
architrave
basilica
bay
bistre/bister
bust
caryatid
centering
chiaroscuro
choir
coffer, coffering
colonnade
column
contrapposto
convention
corbelling
Corinthian
cornice
Deësis
dome
drum
engaged (half-) column
entasis
Eucharist
façade
flutes, fluting
foreground
frieze
gilding
Gospel
grisaille
guild
isocephaly, isocephalic
lantern
Latin cross
patron
pedestal
pediment
pilaster
polyptych
proportion
putto, putti
quatrefoil
reverse
rib
sarcophagus
sibyl
stained glass
symmetry
tempera
thrust
tondo
transept
trefoil
triptych
type
vanishing point
Window on the World
Perspective in Asian Painting
Key Works
Wu Wei, Pleasures of Fishing, c. 1490
Kuyuk the Great Khan, from a Ta’rikh-i Jahan-gusha of ‘Ata Malik ibn Muhammed Juvayni,
Timurid, Shiraz, 1438