Deck 12: The Early Renaissance: Return to Classical Roots

Question 1

Who of the following founded the Vatican Library, an institution virtually unrivaled today for its holdings of manuscripts and books?

A) Fra Savonarola
B) Pope Pius I
C) Pope Nicholas V
D) Pope Sixtus IV

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following Italian states did NOT sign the Peace of Lodi in 1454?

A) Florence
B) Genoa
C) Milan
D) Venice

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The most significant consequence of Renaissance warfare was the

A) introduction of cannon.
B) use of mercenary soldiers.
C) creation of alliances.
D) development of diplomacy as an alternative to war.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Laura Cereta, in her own defense, claimed that she

A) was superior intellectually to other women.
B) thought just as a man does.
C) was a typical woman in that she is capable of learning.
D) could outthink any man.

Question 5

The Peace of Lodi, signed in 1454,

A) ended the Hundred Years' War between England and France.
B) brought on several decades of peace in the Italian peninsula.
C) resulted in the expulsion of the French from Italy.
D) made the papacy the most powerful state in Italy.

Question 6

Which humanistic scholar made himself the leading voice of Florentine Neoplatonism by reconciling Platonic philosophy and Christian teachings?

A) Lorenzo Valla
B) Marsilio Ficino
C) Leonardo Bruni
D) Vittorino da Feltre

Question 7

The signori in early Renaissance Italy were the

A) paid soldiers of fortune who operated independent armies.
B) advisers to the popes at court in Rome.
C) autocratic rulers of the Italian states.
D) begging monks in the mendicant holy orders.

Question 8

The late-fifteenth-century popes

A) initiated a series of reforms aimed at improving the morals of the clergy.
B) supported the conciliar movement.
C) were patrons of Renaissance culture.
D) held aloof from Italian politics.

Question 9

The most prominent center of the early Renaissance was

A) Venice.
B) Rome.
C) Florence.
D) Siena.

Question 10

Early Renaissance scholars were especially attracted to the writings of

A) Aristotle.
B) the Stoics.
C) Cicero.
D) the Greek dramatists.

Question 11

Pope Pius II is remembered as

A) the pope who reformed the monastic orders.
B) the patron of arts for Florentine painters.
C) a scholar and clever political leader.
D) the leader of a plot to unseat the patriarch of Constantinople.

Question 12

The status of women during the early Renaissance in Italy

A) declined significantly as they lost financial power.
B) did not appreciably improve, despite increased opportunities for education.
C) changed dramatically, as they won new political rights.
D) improved socially, as they were allowed to marry whomever they chose.

Question 13

Which literary scholar exposed the Donation of Constantine as a forgery?

A) Laura Cereta
B) Lorenzo Valla
C) Leonardo Bruni
D) Vittorino da Feltre

Question 14

Among its other definitions, the term studia humanitatis means

A) practical guidelines for taking care of the socially disadvantaged.
B) humane studies in military warfare.
C) a curriculum for monks who are searching for interpretations of the Bible.
D) a concern with the literary culture of Greco-Roman antiquity.

Question 15

Who was considered the most representative of the Renaissance popes because of his interest in Greek and Roman classics and in writing poetry himself?

A) Pius II
B) Nicholas V
C) Sixtus IV
D) Innocent III

Question 16

Which is the term for singing without instrumental accompaniment?

A) a cappella
B) motet
C) imitation
D) chanson

Question 17

Who directed the Platonic Academy?

A) Cosimo de' Medici
B) Pico della Mirandola
C) Marsilio Ficino
D) Sandro Botticelli

Question 18

What was a civic humanist?

A) a civil servant loyal only to the ruling family of an Italian city-state
B) a hired soldier of fortune in charge of the civilians in an Italian city-state
C) a proponent of the idea that an educated citizenry enhanced the civic community
D) a member of a pope's inner circle of advisers

Question 19

Ficino, the leader of Florence's Platonic Academy,

A) reconciled Greek and Byzantine thought.
B) harmonized Platonic and Aristotelian thought.
C) wrote a treatise on painting.
D) developed a spiritual interpretation of love.

Question 20

Vittorino da Feltre contributed to the early Renaissance as a

A) painter who first used linear perspective.
B) literary scholar who studied comparative texts.
C) sculptor who reintroduced contrapposto.
D) founder of a school for humanistic studies.

Question 21

Which of the following ended the Great Schism?

A) the Concordat of Worms
B) the Magna Carta
C) the Council of Constance
D) the Fourth Lateran Council

Question 22

In comparison with the changes occurring in architecture and sculpture, those that transpired in early Renaissance painting were

A) more radical and far reaching.
B) less innovative.
C) about the same in terms of styles and techniques.
D) less influential on later artistic developments.

Question 23

Fra Angelico painted with a sense of the new style of the Renaissance, as evidenced by

A) his mastery of depth.
B) his use of drab colors.
C) his inclusion of gold foil in his paintings.
D) the absence of religious symbols in his paintings.

Question 24

Who of the following won the competition to select a sculptor for the north doors of Florence's Baptistery?

A) Masaccio
B) Lorenzo Ghiberti
C) Donatello
D) Filippo Brunelleschi

Question 25

Pico della Mirandola was a

A) modest individual who refused to speak out for his views.
B) monk who denounced the Florentine art movement.
C) scholar trained and expert in many disciplines.
D) follower of mystical and pietistic learning.

Question 26

Brunelleschi solved the problem of the dome for the Florentine cathedral by

A) constructing a dome of wedged stones as in the Pantheon in Rome.
B) employing sets of diagonal ribs based on the pointed arch.
C) using reinforced rods and a new type of concrete.
D) borrowing the classical post-and-lintel model.

Question 27

Early Renaissance Neoplatonism

A) was essentially the same as late Roman Neoplatonism.
B) could not be made compatible with Christianity.
C) taught that Platonic love was superior to erotic love.
D) failed to capture the attention of many thinkers and artists.

Question 28

Brunelleschi's most lasting work is the

A) dome on the Santa Croce church.
B) dome on the Florentine cathedral.
C) bell tower next to the Florentine cathedral.
D) city hall of Florence.

Question 29

Linear perspective in painting means

A) a way to create a sense of three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface.
B) how to put more than four objects in a painting.
C) what the artist does when he uses lines to define an object on the canvas.
D) those lines will always run horizontally in a painting.

Question 30

According to Ghiberti in his Commentaries, regarding his doors on the Florentine Baptistery, he

A) wanted to create a highly illusionary work of art.
B) hoped to make a clear presentation of a biblical story.
C) cared very little as to how the public would react.
D) felt indebted to the medieval styles of sculpture.

Question 31

The fourteenth-century painter who most inspired early Renaissance artists was

A) Cimabue.
B) Giotto.
C) Masaccio.
D) Pisano.

Question 32

Botticelli's early paintings were influenced by

A) Aristotelianism.
B) Neoplatonism.
C) Epicureanism.
D) Stoicism.

Question 33

Masaccio's Holy Trinity fresco offers stylistic similarity to the work of

A) Botticelli, the painter.
B) Brunelleschi, the architect.
C) Pico della Mirandola, the philosopher.
D) Cosimo de' Medici, the patron of arts.

Question 34

Which member of the second generation of Florentine painters was heavily influenced by Fra Angelico in such works as The Flagellation?

A) Piero della Francesca
B) Bellini
C) Botticelli
D) Leonardo da Vinci

Question 35

Central to the thought of Pico della Mirandola was the belief that

A) individuals have free will and thus can raise or lower themselves.
B) all human beings are morally imperfect.
C) all human beings must trust in God's mercy for salvation.
D) God helps those who help themselves.

Question 36

In building the Pazzi Chapel, Brunelleschi

A) put a Gothic spire on the chapel.
B) turned to Gothic sculpture for decorations.
C) adhered to classical design and proportions.
D) copied the basilica floor plan

Question 37

The early Renaissance style was launched by artists who wanted to

A) continue in the late Gothic style.
B) embrace the medieval past.
C) capture but not copy the classical style.
D) create elaborate, ornate works of art and architecture.

Question 38

Ghiberti's panels for the east doors of the Florentine Baptistery

A) depict scenes from the New Testament.
B) were cast so as to fit inside Gothic quatrefoils.
C) show his debt to classical ideals.
D) are known as the "Gates of Hell".

Question 39

Which of the following pairs of characters appears in Fra Angelico's Annunciation?

A) Peter and Jesus
B) James and John
C) Mary and Gabriel
D) Joseph and Mary

Question 40

The visual arts of the early Renaissance followed the classical ideals of

A) balance and harmony.
B) grandiosity and flamboyance.
C) abstraction and subjectivity.
D) sentimentality and prettiness.

Question 41

How did Brunelleschi change the direction of architecture during the early Renaissance? Use one of his buildings as an example.

Question 42

The Venetian school of Renaissance painting

A) was concerned with lines and the balance of figures on the canvas.
B) was clearly influenced by the Persian miniature paintings.
C) wanted to explore the effects of light and air.
D) was not interested in religious or biblical subjects.

Question 43

What is meant by "humanistic studies"? What were its origins?

Question 44

Leonardo da Vinci is called a "Renaissance man" because he was

A) a model of courtly behavior.
B) intellectually curious about nearly every subject.
C) deeply influenced by Neoplatonism.
D) a strict classicist.

Question 45

Discuss the impact of Neoplatonism on the Italian Renaissance. Who was the major voice of this movement? What were his contributions?

Question 46

Botticelli's early paintings are famous for their

A) Christian themes.
B) female nudes.
C) realistic landscapes.
D) chiaroscuro effects.

Question 47

Who were the signori? Discuss their roles and impact on the Italian city-states and small principalities.

Question 48

What brought about the changes that led to Renaissance music? Who were the leading composers of the early Renaissance, and what were their contributions?

Question 49

What was civic humanism? What were its ultimate goals?

Question 50

Was Pope Pius II representative of the Renaissance popes of the fifteenth century? Explain.

Question 51

In what ways did the history of the Medicis reflect broader political trends in the early Renaissance?

Question 52

Trace military and diplomatic developments in the Italian peninsula from 1400 to 1494. What impact did these events have on society and culture?

Question 53

Innovations in early Renaissance music came from the influence of

A) rediscovered classical compositions.
B) the seductive harmonics of English music.
C) the tradition of Byzantine music.
D) the use of mathematical proportion in composition.
Essay Questions

Question 54

Which of the following identifies a multivoiced song set to Latin text other than the Mass?

A) chanson
B) motet
C) madrigal
D) ballade

Question 55

How did the chief ideas common in early Renaissance intellectual life manifest themselves in the arts? Use two examples from painting, sculpture, architecture, or literature to support your arguments.