Human Body

Question 1

Venus of Willendorf

Answer 1

• prehistoric
• found near Willendorf, Austria
• limestone
• about 4.5”
• has grainy texture
• nude female figure with exaggerated female features
• not the Roman goddess of love
• more emphasis on the body than face (no facial features)
• speculated to be a fertility amulet or talisman for safety during pregnancy
• could represent the ideal, healthy woman

Question 2

Palette of Narmer

Answer 2

• ancient Egypt
• stone
• 2 ft high
• depression held kohl (a carbon substance used to lines the eyes to block out the sun
• ceremonial
• registers separate scenes
• hieratic scale (the king is larger than the sandal bearer) (the king is the same scale as the enemy)
• depiction of a king defeating a rival king to unify the upper Nile and lower Nile
• composite pose
• multiple viewpoints
• intertwined necks of the serpopards represent the unification of the upper and lower Nile
• hieroglyphs
• gods Horus and Hathor

Question 3

King Menkaure and Queen

Answer 3

• ancient Egypt
• dark green stone
• smile similar to archaic smile
• portrait
• poses are very square, frontal, and balanced
• not much motion
• left legs are slightly projected
• king has nemes, fake beard, and kilt
• enigmatic expressions because they are gods
• idealized and perfect-looking

Question 4

Kouros

Answer 4

• Archaic Period
• ancient Greece
• marble
• archaic smile
• balanced weight, frontal, square pose
• left foot projecting slightly
• nude

Question 5

Kritios Boy

Answer 5

• early Classical Greece
• marble
• contrapposto makes him appear in motion
• looking elsewhere
• no archaic smile with an intelligent look (more naturalistic)
• major change in art history

Question 6

Doryphoros

Answer 6

• by Polykleitos
• ancient Greece
• Roman copy of Classical Greek bronze original
• marble
• spear bearer
• contrapposto
• heroic male nude
• canon of Polkleitos (Polykleitos’ scale with a large body and small head)

Question 7

Christ as the Good Shepherd

Answer 7

• mosaic
• Early Christian
• in a lunette (semi-circle)
• in situ
• from Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna, Italy
• depiction of Jesus with sheep (sacrificial lamb) (good shepherd)
• some vestiges of the natural world
• an unnatural pose that marks a shift from Kritios Boy’s naturalism
• sheep are abstracted and their texture and dimension are created with linear lines

Question 8

Lamentation

Answer 8

• by Giotto
• marked a major change
• Proto-Renaissance
• from the Arena Chapel, Padua, Italy
• fresco
• chiaroscuro gives dimension to the figures
• perspective
• foreshortening on the angels
• friends mourning Christ
• Joseph of Arimathea, Mickademas, St. John, Mary, Jesus, Joseph, Mary Magdalene, and other Mary
• landscape (observation of nature)
• people are naturalistic in natural poses
• covered individuals draw in viewers
• drapery appears to project from the painting
• votive commissioned by the Scrovegni family to redeem their father’s soul for moneylending

Question 9

Annunciation with Saints Arsanus and Margaret

Answer 9

• by Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi
• tempera and gold over bole on wood
• medieval
• Gabriel tells Mary in Nazareth that she will birth the Messiah
• little chiaroscuro
• people are not naturalistic, odd body proportions (too long)
• awkward seating (S Curve)
• Gabriel brings an olive branch (symbol for the peace of God)
• no natural setting (heavenly)
• white lilies symbolize Mary’s purity
• seraph(im)- six-winged angels of God that sit around his throne
• prophets with their predictions on scrolls
• words embossed on the wood as Mary and Gabriel’s dialogue

Question 10

The Birth of Venus

Answer 10

• by Sandro Botticelli
• Rennaissance
• tempera on canvas
• Venus born from the sea fully formed on a large shell
• Venus Pudica pose from Classical Antiquity (modest Venus)
• gods of the winds blow her to shore
• greeted by a wood nymph who will give her drapery
• nude female figure
• natural setting with a landscape and seascape (natural world)
• chiaroscuro on the figures and drapery, giving the people volume and dimension
• females are typical of Botticelli (elongated, fair skin, flowing red hair)

Question 11

Ginevra de’ Benci

Answer 11

• by Leonardo
• oil on panel
• Renaissance
• aerial (atmospheric) perspective
• portrait
• a humanist, 16 yr old, female poet of the educated, upper class
• bust-length
• pyramidal composition (Renaissance ideal of balance and harmony)
• face and hair have subtle chiaroscuro
• very accomplished landscape background
• signifiers of her identity on recto (juniper plant that translates to Ginevra in Italian)
• verso has more identifiers (juniper branch) (laurel symbolizing accomplishment) (palm symbolizing virtue) (ribbon inscribed “Virtue Enhances Beauty” in Latin

Question 12

Mona Lisa

Answer 12

• by Leonardo
• Renaissance
• oil on panel
• portrait
• half-length (unusual for regular non-saints)
• pyramidal composition
• chiaroscuro, making her seem volumetric and the drapery seem tactile
• sfumato
• landscape background
• aerial perspective
• Lisa Della Giaconda is subject (commissioned by her husband)
• enigmatic smile and facial expression
• somewhat idealized, though not a great beauty

Question 13

The Creation of Adam

Answer 13

• by Michelangelo Buonarotti
• ceiling vault
• fresco
• Renaissance
• in situ
• Sistine Chapel, Vatican Palace, Vatican City, Rome
• story of the Book of Genesis (the Coming)
• God giving Adam the spark of divine life
• God and Adam facing each other, reaching out
• all figures are human-like
• God and Adam are the same scale because Adam is created in God’s image
• a new attitude that the human body is important and beautiful
• figures are modeled in chiaroscuro, very sculptural and muscled
• figures modeled after heroic male nudes from Classical Antiquity