ART HISTORY QUIZ QUESTIONS

Prehistoric Art

Refers to art introduced prior to the development of literacy.

Blombos Cave

Site in South Africa where the first known art objects, dating to 77,000 years ago, were discovered.

Iconography

The objective study of images and symbols.

Post-and-Lintel Architecture

Architecture exemplified by structures like Stonehenge.

Parietal Art

Art made on cave walls or stone.

Venus of Willendorf

A portable figure from the paleolithic period symbolizing female fertility.

Sumerians

The civilization that developed the first system of writing.

Standard of Ur

An ancient artifact made of lapis lazuli, not discovered in a temple.

Lamassu

A mythical creature with bird wings, a crown, the body of a bull, and a human head.

Register

A horizontal band used to organize a visual narrative.

Votive Figures

Ancient Sumerian figures placed in temples as stand-ins for the worshipper.

Law Code of Hammurabi

Contains laws along with a prologue and epilogue addressing the legacy of the king.

Shamash

The god of justice in ancient Babylonia.

Ziggurat

A type of temple built using mudbrick in ancient Mesopotamia.

Mastaba

A flat, one-story funerary temple in ancient Egypt.

Canon of Proportions

A system used by Egyptians to create the image of the ideal human form.

Menkaure and Queen

An Egyptian art piece depicting ideals and virtues associated with the monarch.

Middle Kingdom

Characterized by independent rule and military battles in ancient Egypt.

Old Kingdom

A period of political stability, military expansion, and architectural advancements.

Akhenaten and Family

A sculpture where Aten takes the form of a solar disk.

Great Pyramids

Monumental structures likely not built using a crane system.

Kouros

An idealized depiction of the human body used as grave markers in ancient Greece.

Archaic Period

Marks the shift from wood to stone in temple construction.

Amphora

A jar with an egg-shaped body used for storing oil and wine.

Votive Offerings

Small bronze sculptures used as gifts for the gods.

Temenos

An enclosed sacred area reserved for worship.

Architrave

The lower portion of the entablature in classical architecture.

Frieze

The upper portion of the entablature containing triglyphs and metopes.

Parthenon

A temple dedicated to Athena Parthenos.

Late Classical Period

Characterized by male figures having taller, slender proportions.

Agora

An open space in a Greek town used as a gathering place or market.

Acropolis

A religious sanctuary in ancient Greece.

Early Classical Period

Marked by the defeat of Persian armies.

Laocoon and His Sons

Characters from the Iliad associated with the Trojan War.

Doryphoros

A sculpture associated with contrapposto from the high classical period.

Temple of Demeter in Naxos

The earliest surviving example of a Greek archaic temple that used stone and optical refinements.

Erechtheion

Marks the mythical contest between Poseidon and Athena.

Canon

Original title for the Doryphoros sculpture.