MIDTERM EXAM STUDY GUIDE

The midterm exam will cover chapters 1-11 and this is how it will be constructed:

20 vocabulary terms (match the term to its definition) worth 1 point each.

40 multiple choice questions worth 1 point each

2 essays focussing on conversations we've had in class (The Arnolfini Wedding and Rembrandt's self portraits) worth 15 points each. -I forgot about The Arnolfini Wedding in class. My apologies.

1 essay focussing on a new artwork you have not seen before in this class worth 10 points.

The 20 vocabulary terms will be pulled directly from the "Terms Of The Day" lists I have given you at the beginning of every class period. Study these lists well enough to be able to match each term on the left side of the page with its particular definition on the right side of the page.

The 40 multiple choice questions come from both the class lectures and from the book. There will be a few questions on the test that we never addressed in class; they come directly from the book. These come mostly from the "Printmaking" chapter we weren't able to cover in class. These questions will range from those that test how well you understand the definitions of terms to questions about specific artworks that you have seen, to questions about the artists themselves.

Let me give you four example questions (yes, these will be on the test just as you see them here):

To create Guernica (figure 146), a monumental painting depicting the horrors of war, this artist made many preliminary sketches.
A. Vincent van Gogh
B. Pablo Picasso
C. Henri Matisse
D. Judith Murray

The symbolic meaning of visual signs and imagery is called:
A. content
B. iconography
C. form
D. aesthetics

Art made with a combination of different materials, such as a collage, is referred to as:
A. medium
B. mixed media
C. composition
D. installation

Sharecropper (figure 179) by Elizabeth Catlett is an example of:
A. a linoleum cut
B. an engraving
C. an etching
D. silkscreen

(This one comes from the book. It wasn't mentioned in the class lecture.)

The best advice I can give you on how to study for this portion of the exam is to comb through all your notes you've taken in class, remind yourself of all the main concepts you've learned, familiarize yourself with all the "Terms Of The Day," and to make sure you have read the material in the book. Pay special attention to how each artwork serves as an example to illustrate a concept (in other words, Francisco Goya's painting is an example of art for social causes, Jackson Pollock's Convergence is an example of nonrepresentational art, etc.). Don't just depend on what I have told you in class. Yes, 90% of these questions will come directly from lecture. But you don't want to be thrown off by the questions that are based on the book alone.

The two essay topics focussing on conversations we had in class will be phrased as follows (again, yes, I'm telling you exactly what will be on the test):

1. What symbols and iconography can be seen in Jan van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Wedding? What would those symbols have communicated to the painting’s 15th century audience? What was the purpose this painting was meant to serve?

2. What do these three self portraits tell us about Rembrant’s own use of art as a means of personal expression? Explain how each painting is reflective of a particular time, mood, and status of the artist. What do you see in each painting that gives this indication? How has he chosen to present himself each time? Why?

There will be a printed reproduction of each painting in the exam for you to look at while working on the essays.

The best way to study for these essays is to look at the images themselves (they can all be found on this blog) and think back to those group conversations about them. Also, on this blog I have posted a documentary about Rembrandt's rise to and fall from success. It may be an hour-long program, but it will help you considerably.

The final essay topic will focus on a printed reproduction of a work of art you have not seen in this class yet and it will be phrased like this:

You have not seen the above artwork in this class thus far. Write a response to the work that takes into account what you have learned about art in this first half of the semester. Don’t just describe what you see. Bring this work into conversation with the concepts you have been studying. What type of art are we looking at? How is the composition balanced? Are there symbols and iconography? Etc., etc.

This is meant to test how well you have been paying attention to the concepts you've been learning in this class. If you understand the topics and concepts we've been going over in class well enough to apply them to a work you have not seen before, then you have made good use of your semester. Try practicing on the two images below (no, these will not be on the exam). Think about the wording of the essay topic above and consider what you might write about each of these works:

Study hard, and good luck to everyone. If you have taken good notes, if you have read the chapters, and if you have spent some time really trying to understand the "Terms Of The Day" then this exam shouldn't be difficult for you.

P.S. The exam will be the only thing we do next Friday. So, once you're finished with it, you are free to go.