Early Renaissance Art & Architecture Quiz

Tempera is a fast-drying painting medium made by mixing pigments with egg yolk. It produces opaque layers with limited blending ability and was widely used in medieval and early Renaissance panel painting before oil paint dominated.

Giotto’s Virgin & Child Enthroned revolutionized early Renaissance art through naturalistic volume, emotional expression, and spatial depth. His work moved Italian painting away from the flat Byzantine style toward believable human presence and three-dimensional form.

Giotto painted the Arena Chapel frescoes, using expensive pigments and creating narrative cycles of the lives of Christ and the Virgin. His use of emotion, composition, and spatial depth set foundational standards for Renaissance painting.

Brunelleschi engineered the dome of Florence’s Duomo using innovative double-shell construction and herringbone brickwork. It became a landmark achievement blending Gothic scale with Renaissance geometry and scientific problem-solving.

Brunelleschi designed San Lorenzo for the Medici family, using pietra serena stone, balanced proportions, and classical vocabulary. It became a model for early Renaissance architecture emphasizing clarity, regularity, and human-scaled space.

Pietra serena is a smooth gray sandstone native to Florence. It defined early Renaissance interiors through clean structural lines and visual contrast against plastered walls. Its refined appearance became symbolic of Florentine architectural identity.

A pilaster is a flat, decorative column attached to a wall. It mimics classical column orders while serving primarily an aesthetic rather than structural purpose, commonly used in Renaissance palaces and churches.

The Palazzo Medici Riccardi facade uses rusticated stone, classical arches, and progressively lighter upper stories following the Roman Colosseum’s pattern. Its massive yet ordered appearance reflected Medici wealth and political power.

Alberti designed Palazzo Rucellai with mathematically proportioned pilasters and clear application of the Colosseum principle. It demonstrated a more scholarly, humanist approach to classical architecture compared to Michelozzo’s earlier palace.

Ghiberti created the East Doors of the Florence Baptistry, known as the Gates of Paradise. His panels used linear perspective, detailed modeling, and continuous narrative to create visually compelling biblical scenes.

Donatello’s David was the first free-standing male nude since antiquity. Cast in bronze, it revived classical contrapposto and introduced psychological realism to Renaissance sculpture.

Pollaiuolo’s Hercules & Antaeus showcases anatomical tension and dynamic struggle. He was known for his interest in musculature and movement, reflecting early Renaissance fascination with the human body.

Pollaiuolo’s Battle of the Ten Nudes is an engraving famous for its anatomical precision and energetic poses. It demonstrates early Renaissance experiments with intaglio technique and human form.

Masaccio’s Brancacci Chapel frescoes redefined painting through perspective, natural light, and emotionally convincing figures. His work influenced generations of Renaissance artists.

Masaccio’s Trinity employs linear perspective to create a barrel-vaulted space that seems real. It is one of the earliest masterpieces demonstrating mathematically precise depth.

Perugino’s Delivery of the Keys uses idealized figures and high Renaissance spatial clarity. It symbolizes apostolic authority and is foundational to Sistine Chapel decoration.

Botticelli’s Birth of Venus depicts Venus emerging from the sea, embodying beauty and humanist allegory. Its elegant lines and mythological subject reflect Florentine Neo-Platonism.

Piero della Francesca created the Diptych of Battista Sforza and Federico da Montefeltro, known for calm geometry, atmospheric landscape, and psychological dignity.

Mantegna’s Camera Picta employs illusionistic perspective, oculus, and playful putti to create a convincing painted room. It is a hallmark of Renaissance trompe-l’oeil.

An oculus is a round architectural opening, often at a dome’s apex, used to admit light and symbolize heavenly space. It appears in classical and Renaissance structures.

A balustrade is a protective railing of small posts topped with a handrail, common in Renaissance architecture and used on balconies, stairs, and terraces.

A putto is a small, often winged child figure symbolizing love, playfulness, or divine presence, widely used in Renaissance art.

Sacra conversazione depicts the Virgin and Child among saints in a unified, informal space, contrasting earlier compartmentalized altarpieces.

Robert Campin’s Merode Altarpiece shows the Annunciation in a Flemish domestic interior, using oil paint for detail and symbolism.

Van Eyck’s Annunciation blends meticulous detail, symbolic color, and rich oil technique, hallmarks of northern Renaissance painting.

Van Eyck’s Arnolfini Wedding is a detailed portrait loaded with symbolic objects, acting partly as a legal or ceremonial document.

In art, deposition refers to the removal of Christ’s body from the cross, commonly depicted in Renaissance religious works.

The apostle John is often shown with youthful face, curly hair, and red garments, making him identifiable in group scenes.

De Claris Mulieribus is a 1402 illustrated manuscript of notable women, created with ink and tempera on vellum.

Vellum is fine parchment made from treated animal skin, historically used for manuscripts before the widespread adoption of paper.