美联社Art History : Analyzing 2D art in global Islamic traditions

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 :2 D Art In Global Islamic Traditions

Ornate calligraphy and designs featuring words and letters are stylistic features of art from__________.

Possible Answers:

Russian culture

Islamic culture

Native American culture

Sub-Saharan African culture

Correct answer:

Islamic culture

Explanation:

In the Quran, images of all kinds are proscribed, as they are too close to idolatry and attempting to act like God. As such, many Islamic artists focused on geometric shapes and calligraphy in their art. Over time, Islamic art began to be highly ornate and developed around these non-representational images.

Example Question #1 :2 D Art In Global Islamic Traditions

165px-Bichitr_-_Jahangir_Preferring_a_Sufi_Shaikh_to_Kings,_from_the_St._Petersburg_album_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

In Bichitr’s watercolor paintingJahangir Preferring a Sufi Shaikh to Kings, the artist expresses the emperor’s supremacy over all aspects of Mughal life—both secular and sacred—in which of the following ways?

Possible Answers:

The painting shows no discernible European design elements, a testament to the Mughal court's distaste for Western culture and promotion of Jahangir's personal artistic tastes above all else

这幅画包括天使画在一个欧洲人style, symbolizing the emperor's dominance over the Judeo-Christian world

Jahangir is pictured as a teacher of his people, instructing them in the humanist tradition

Jahangir is paying his respects to the artist, demonstrating the important court position of painters in the Mughal dynasty and emphasizing the emperor's high degree of cultural refinement and sophistication

The emperor, ringed in a halo of light and pictured at the center of the sun and moon, is seated above international rulers, the artist, and a representation of time itself

Correct answer:

The emperor, ringed in a halo of light and pictured at the center of the sun and moon, is seated above international rulers, the artist, and a representation of time itself

Explanation:

Jahangir is shown as dominant because of his position in the painting-- superior to the artist and rulers from Turkey and England. He passes the Koran to an important Muslim Holy Man, Shaikh Husain, who takes it with reverence. His position at the center of the sun and moon, ringed in a halo of light, and seated atop an hourglass, which symbolizes time, emphasize his eternal importance.

Example Question #2 :2 D Art In Global Islamic Traditions

Which of the following is typically associated with Islamic art?

Possible Answers:

Lunettes

Portraits of Mohammed

Patterns of plants and geometric designs

Images of desert animals

Correct answer:

Patterns of plants and geometric designs

Explanation:

Arabesques, which combine plants and geometric patterns in graceful designs, are a primary feature of Islamic art. Depictions of animals or people are forbidden in sacred buildings. A "lunette" isa semicircle at the end of a cross in early Christian art.

Example Question #51 :2 D Art Beyond European Artistic Traditions

Bahram gur kills the wolf 1336.jpg blog

The work of art shown here was initially part of an illuminated manuscript of___________________.

Possible Answers:

an historical record

an epic poem

a religious scripture

a law code

Correct answer:

an epic poem

Explanation:

The work of art shown here,Bahram Gur fights the Karg, was originally placed in a lengthy illustrated manuscript of the Persian epic poem theShahnama. Recounting and greatly embellishing the deeds and actions of the real Persian kings from ancient history to the present. This image depicts Bahram Gur, a Persian Sasanian King of the fifth century, fighting a legendary beast, the Karg, also known as a horned wolf, adding to his legend and depiction.

Work is in the public domain, image accessed through Wikipedia Media Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Demotte_Shahname_002.jpg

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