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Quizzes > History

AP Art History practice test: master key works and movements

Quick, free AP Art History quiz. Instant results with answer explanations.

Editorial: Review CompletedCreated By: Rook NelsonUpdated Aug 23, 2025
Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
Paper art collage of sculpture painting abstract shapes on golden yellow background for free Art History AP practice quiz

This AP Art History practice test helps you review key works, movements, and themes while building speed on exam-style multiple-choice questions. After you finish, sharpen recall with an art history knowledge quiz, target a key period with a focused Renaissance quiz, and see where you need more study.

The Venus of Willendorf is an example of art from which prehistoric period?
Mesolithic
Neolithic
Bronze Age
Paleolithic
The Venus of Willendorf dates to about 25,000 BCE during the Paleolithic period, characterized by hunter-gatherer societies producing small portable sculptures. Its exaggerated female form is typical of fertility figures from this time. It was discovered in Austria in 1908 and remains a key example of Paleolithic art.
Which ancient civilization built the Great Sphinx of Giza?
Roman
Egyptian
Greek
Mesopotamian
The Great Sphinx at Giza was carved by the ancient Egyptians during the Old Kingdom, around 2500 BCE. It represents a lion's body with a pharaoh's head, likely Khafre. It stands as one of the largest monolithic statues in the world.
The Parthenon, dedicated to Athena, is located in which city?
Athens
Istanbul
Rome
Corinth
The Parthenon sits atop the Acropolis in Athens and was built in the 5th century BCE. It served as a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena Parthenos. Its Doric columns and sculptural decorations are hallmarks of Classical Greek architecture.
The Roman Colosseum was primarily used for what purpose?
Gladiatorial games
Senate meetings
Religious rites
Marketplace
The Flavian Amphitheater, known as the Colosseum, opened in 80 CE and hosted gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. Its elliptical structure could seat up to 50,000 spectators. The design influenced stadium architecture for centuries.
Which style characterizes Byzantine mosaics?
Abstract patterns only
Gold backgrounds and frontal figures
Naturalistic perspective
Landscape emphasis
Byzantine mosaics often feature gold leaf backgrounds and stylized frontal figures to convey spiritual otherworldliness. They appear in churches such as San Vitale in Ravenna. The flat, symbolic style contrasts with earlier naturalism.
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts which historical event?
The Fall of Rome
Crusades
Black Death
Norman Conquest of England
The Bayeux Tapestry, from the 11th century, narrates William the Conqueror's 1066 invasion of England. It is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 meters long. Its sequential imagery provides key insights into medieval events.
Which architectural feature is characteristic of Gothic cathedrals?
Rounded arches
Corbelled vaulting
Flying buttresses
Post-and-lintel
Gothic cathedrals (12th - 16th c.) utilized flying buttresses to support tall walls and large stained-glass windows. This innovation allowed for greater height and luminosity. Iconic examples include Notre-Dame de Paris.
Which artist painted the Mona Lisa?
Michelangelo
Leonardo da Vinci
Raphael
Titian
Leonardo da Vinci completed the Mona Lisa around 1503 - 1506. It exemplifies High Renaissance ideals of balanced composition and sfumato technique. It resides in the Louvre Museum, Paris.
Donatello's sculpture of David was revolutionary because it was the first free-standing nude statue since antiquity.
False
True
Donatello's bronze David (c. 1440) revived the classical tradition of free-standing nude sculpture after the Middle Ages. It signifies Renaissance rediscovery of antiquity's aesthetics and humanism. Its contrapposto stance echoes ancient prototypes.
Which painting technique uses pigments mixed with egg yolk?
Fresco
Gouache
Oil
Tempera
Egg tempera, used throughout the Middle Ages and early Renaissance, combines pigment with egg yolk. It dries quickly to a matte finish and allows fine detail. Many early Italian panel paintings use this medium.
Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel ceiling depicts scenes from which book?
Dante's Divine Comedy
The Bible
The Iliad
The Aeneid
Michelangelo painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling (1508 - 1512) with scenes from Genesis in the Old Testament. Iconic panels include The Creation of Adam. The work exemplifies High Renaissance fresco technique.
Raphael's School of Athens is an exemplar of which art movement?
Mannerism
Renaissance
Baroque
Romanticism
Painted between 1509 - 1511 in the Vatican, The School of Athens visually embodies Renaissance ideals of harmony, proportion, and classical knowledge. It depicts philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle in a grand architectural setting. Raphael's use of linear perspective is exemplary.
Which Baroque painter is known for dramatic chiaroscuro and scenes of everyday life?
Bernini
Rembrandt
Rubens
Caravaggio
Caravaggio's work (late 16th - early 17th c.) features stark contrasts of light and shadow (chiaroscuro) and realistic depictions of ordinary people. His paintings like The Calling of St. Matthew revolutionized Baroque artistry.
Which feature distinguishes Rococo art from Baroque?
Strict classical order
Religious austerity
Dramatic Tenebrism
Ornate lightness and pastel colors
Rococo (early 18th c.) is characterized by playful, ornate decoration, pastel palettes, and lighthearted themes, departing from the seriousness and grandeur of Baroque. It flourished in French salons. Works by Fragonard and Boucher exemplify the style.
In which city is the Musée d'Orsay, home to many Impressionist masterpieces?
Madrid
London
Paris
Berlin
The Musée d'Orsay in Paris houses French art from 1848 to 1914, including major Impressionist works by Monet, Renoir, and Degas. The museum occupies a former railway station on the Seine. It provides context for late 19th-century developments.
Edouard Manet's Olympia caused scandal due to its depiction of:
A reclining nude confronting the viewer
A battle scene
A peasant wedding
A mythological scene
Manet's Olympia (1863) depicts a nude courtesan gazing boldly at the viewer, challenging traditional idealized nudes. Its frank realism and modern setting provoked shock at the Salon. It marks a shift toward modern art.
Which Post-Impressionist artist is known for swirling brushwork and starry skies?
Henri Toulouse-Lautrec
Georges Seurat
Paul Cezanne
Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh's Starry Night (1889) features dynamic, swirling strokes and vibrant color contrasts. It embodies his emotional approach to painting. The work was created during his stay in an asylum at Saint-Rémy.
Georges Seurat's technique of painting with tiny dots of color is called:
Impasto
Fauvism
Pointillism
Sfumato
Seurat pioneered Pointillism (Neo-Impressionism) in the 1880s, applying dots of pure color that blend optically at a distance. His work A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is a prime example. This method was informed by contemporary color theory.
Which artist is associated with Fauvism and bold, non-naturalistic color?
Camille Pissarro
Edgar Degas
Paul Gauguin
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse led the Fauvist movement (c. 1905 - 1908), emphasizing vivid, unnatural colors and simplified forms. His work Woman with a Hat shocked critics at the 1905 Salon d'Automne. Fauvism influenced later modern art developments.
Which movement is Marcel Duchamp's Fountain (a readymade) most associated with?
Dada
Expressionism
Cubism
Surrealism
Duchamp's Fountain (1917) exemplifies Dada's anti-art stance by presenting a porcelain urinal signed 'R. Mutt' as sculpture. It challenged definitions of art and artist's role. Dada emerged during WWI to satirize bourgeois culture.
Which Cubist artist is known for pioneering collage techniques?
Wassily Kandinsky
Kazimir Malevich
Henri Matisse
Pablo Picasso
Picasso's 1912 Still Life with Chair Caning is among the first collages, incorporating oilcloth and rope. His Synthetic Cubism phase experimented with mixed media. This innovation redefined painting's boundaries.
Which artist's work launched the Abstract Expressionist movement in New York?
Willem de Kooning
Barnett Newman
Jackson Pollock
Mark Rothko
Jackson Pollock's drip paintings of the late 1940s, such as Number 1, 1949, epitomize Abstract Expressionism with their energetic, all-over compositions. His technique emphasized process and gesture. Pollock became a leading figure in postwar American art.
Which Pop Art artist recreated images from comic books and advertisements?
Keith Haring
Andy Warhol
Claes Oldenburg
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein's large-scale paintings mimic comic-strip aesthetics with Benday dots and bold outlines. Works like Whaam! (1963) comment on mass media culture. He was a key figure in 1960s Pop Art.
Georgia O'Keeffe is best known for paintings of:
Abstract drip paintings
Cityscapes
Large-scale flowers and Southwestern landscapes
Cubist still lifes
O'Keeffe's enlarged flower paintings and desert scenes from New Mexico reflect American Modernism. Her intimate, magnified flora challenged viewers' perceptions. She cultivated a distinct personal style in the early 20th century.
Which 20th-century movement focused on pure randomness and automatism?
Futurism
Surrealism
Suprematism
Constructivism
Surrealism, founded in the 1920s by André Breton, explored the unconscious mind through automatic writing and painting. Artists like Joan Miró and Max Ernst embraced chance in their processes. The movement merged dream imagery with reality.
Which structural system defines International Style architecture?
Load-bearing masonry walls
Timber frames
Corbelled vaulting
Steel or reinforced concrete frames with curtain walls
International Style (1920s - 30s) emphasizes functionalism, minimal ornament, and open interior spaces, enabled by steel or reinforced-concrete skeletons supporting non-load-bearing curtain walls. Key architects include Le Corbusier and Mies van der Rohe.
Which artist created the minimalist sculpture Untitled (Stack)?
Claes Oldenburg
Richard Serra
Donald Judd
Robert Rauschenberg
Donald Judd's work exemplifies Minimalism with geometric forms and industrial materials. His Untitled (Stack) series (1967 - 1969) features identical units mounted vertically on walls. Judd rejected illusion and narrative.
What aspect of the Madonna of Chancellor Rolin by Jan van Eyck demonstrates oil painting's potential for detail and luminosity?
The fresco-like matte finish
Stylized gold leaf halos
The use of linear perspective alone
Intricate reflections in the background fountain
Van Eyck's meticulous rendering of water reflections and translucent drapery in oil paint exemplifies the medium's ability to convey depth and texture. The painting's detailed landscape and architectural elements benefit from oil's slow drying time. This work set a new standard for Northern Renaissance art.
Which element in Michelangelo's Last Judgment demonstrates Mannerist tendencies?
Use of pointillism
Strict symmetry
Balanced classical composition
Agitated poses and elongated figures
Painted 1536 - 1541, The Last Judgment features twisted, elongated bodies and dynamic, crowded composition, hallmarks of Mannerism. Michelangelo distorts classical ideals to convey emotional intensity. This fresco in the Sistine Chapel diverges from High Renaissance harmony.
Which iconographic feature identifies Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa as Baroque art?
Calm, static composition
Emotional intensity and theatrical use of light
Geometric abstraction
Pastel colors
Bernini's Ecstasy of Saint Teresa (1647 - 1652) uses dynamic drapery, dramatic lighting, and emotional expression to evoke spiritual rapture. The sculpture sits in a chapel where hidden windows illuminate the scene. This theatricality exemplifies Baroque grandeur.
In Goya's Black Paintings, what technique intensifies the haunting atmosphere?
Bright pastel palette
Precise pointillism
Gold leaf highlights
Loose brushwork and dark, muted tones
Goya's late murals (c. 1819 - 1823) feature rough brushstrokes and a somber palette of blacks and ochres, conveying a nightmarish quality. Their expressive distortion reflects his despair during political turmoil. They presage 20th-century Expressionism.
Which characteristic of Cézanne's painting innovations paved the way for Cubism?
Use of chiaroscuro to model form
Strict adherence to academic perspective
Emphasis on smooth finish
Reduction of forms to geometric shapes
Cézanne's late works break objects into cylinders, spheres, and cones, emphasizing structural form over illusionistic depth. This analytical approach influenced Picasso and Braque's development of Cubism around 1907. He is often called the 'father of modern art.'
Which aspect of Brancusi's Bird in Space challenged traditional sculpture?
Its reliance on classical iconography
Its figurative naturalism
Its polished, abstract form evoking flight
Use of colorful pigments
Brancusi's Bird in Space (1923) reduces the bird to a sleek, elongated form that suggests motion and flight, departing from representational likeness. Its smooth, reflective surface emphasizes pure form. The sculpture redefined modernist abstraction.
Which painting by Mondrian represents the pinnacle of De Stijl abstraction?
Composition with Red Blue and Yellow
Broadway Boogie Woogie
Victory Boogie Woogie
The Yellow Tree
Composition with Red Blue and Yellow (1930) by Piet Mondrian exemplifies De Stijl's aesthetic of primary colors, horizontal and vertical lines on a white ground. It embodies his search for universal harmony. This abstract language influenced modern design.
Which feature of Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 caused controversy at the 1913 Armory Show?
Religious symbolism
Its realistic detail
Marble medium
Depiction of motion using Cubist fragmentation
Duchamp's work combined Cubist fragmentation with Futurist concerns for motion, showing sequential phases of a descending figure. Shown at the 1913 Armory Show in New York, it shocked viewers unaccustomed to abstract depiction. It marked a turning point in modern art.
Which technique characterizes the paintings of Jackson Pollock's drip period?
Action painting by dripping and pouring
Ink wash
Controlled brushstrokes
Traditional glazing
Pollock's drip technique (1947 - 1950) involved flinging and dripping enamel paint onto canvases laid on the floor, emphasizing gesture and the physical act of painting. Critics saw this as the height of Abstract Expressionist innovation.
Which 20th-century movement emphasized ready-made and found objects as art?
Surrealism
Futurism
Dada
Constructivism
Dada (1916 - 1924) artists like Marcel Duchamp and Hannah Höch used readymades and collage to critique conventional art values and war. They embraced chance and anti-art gestures. The movement influenced later avant-garde practices.
Which architectural work by Frank Lloyd Wright exemplifies organic architecture?
Guggenheim Museum Bilbao
Villa Savoye
Seagram Building
Fallingwater
Fallingwater (1935) integrates a house with its natural waterfall site in Pennsylvania, using cantilevers and local stone. Wright's design harmonizes building and environment. It is a masterwork of 20th-century American architecture.
Which minimal art installation by Dan Flavin uses fluorescent light fixtures?
Spiral Jetty
Monument for V. Tatlin
One and Three Chairs
Untitled (to you, Heiner, with admiration and affection)
Dan Flavin's fluorescent light installations from the 1960s, such as the dedication series for friends, use commercially available colored tubes. They transform space through color and light. Flavin's work is central to Minimalism.
In what way does Cindy Sherman's Untitled Film Stills series critique cultural stereotypes?
By portraying herself in staged cinematic archetypes
By painting landscapes devoid of figures
By using abstract expressionist brushwork
By creating minimalist installations
Sherman's black-and-white photographs from 1977 - 1980 feature the artist in various female roles reminiscent of B-movie and film noir characters. The series interrogates the construction of female identity in media and art. It's seminal in postmodern photography.
How does Kara Walker's use of silhouette engage with racial history?
By painting in Cubist fragmentation
By using stark black cut-paper silhouettes to depict antebellum scenes
By creating pastoral landscapes
By employing bright pop colors
Walker's large-scale silhouettes combine elegant forms with brutal imagery of slavery and power. The contrast of black figures against white walls evokes historical ephemera and racial stereotype critique. Her work confronts the viewer with uncomfortable histories.
What conceptual strategy underlies Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds installation?
Laughable performance art
Traditional ink painting techniques
Spiritual minimalism
Mass production by artisans to critique conformity and labor
Ai's 2010 installation at Tate Modern consisted of over 100 million porcelain sunflower seeds hand-painted by Chinese artisans. It comments on mass industrialization, individual labor, and mass consumption. The viewer's engagement with the seeds activates the concept.
Which feature of Yayoi Kusama's Infinity Mirror Rooms explores the concept of infinite space?
Large-scale public murals
Minimalist white canvases
Endless reflections created by mirrors and lights
Use of traditional wood carving
Kusama's installations use mirrored walls, LED lights, and water to create the illusion of boundless space and dotted surfaces. Since the 1960s, she has addressed themes of self-obliteration and infinity. Visitors are enveloped in immersive environments.
How does El Anatsui's use of bottle caps in his tapestries address global issues?
By carving wood in traditional motifs
By sculpting marble busts
By weaving them into textiles referencing colonial trade and consumption
By imitating European oil painting
El Anatsui transforms discarded bottle tops and aluminum into vast, textile-like installations that reference the slave trade, colonialism, and consumer waste. His work blurs sculpture and tapestry. It highlights environmental and socio-historical themes.
In what way does Glenn Ligon's neon text series engage with African American literature?
By using stenciled text from canonical Black writers in neon lights
By sculpting in bronze
By producing black-and-white photographs only
By painting abstract color fields
Ligon's neon works quote writers such as James Baldwin and Zora Neale Hurston, casting their words in glowing text that questions identity, language, and visibility. The materiality of neon contrasts with textual meaning. His practice blends conceptual art and social critique.
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Study Outcomes

  1. Identify Iconic Artworks -

    Recall and name major works and artists featured on the Art History AP practice test, reinforcing your memory of key masterpieces.

  2. Analyze Visual Elements -

    Examine composition, color, line, and form in artworks across periods to sharpen your analytical skills for the AP Art History exam review.

  3. Compare Artistic Movements -

    Distinguish defining characteristics of different art movements and contrast their styles and historical contexts.

  4. Interpret Cultural Contexts -

    Apply historical and cultural insights to understand the significance and impact of artworks and architectural feats.

  5. Evaluate Architectural Forms -

    Assess key structural and decorative elements in architectural works, from ancient temples to modern buildings.

  6. Apply Exam Strategies -

    Utilize targeted practice techniques and question approaches to improve accuracy and confidence on AP Art History test questions.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Formal Analysis Toolkit -

    Master the five formal elements - line, shape, color, texture, and space - using the mnemonic "CLIFT" (Color, Line, Interaction of forms, Form, Texture) from Smarthistory.org. Applying this toolkit on each artwork helps you dissect complex compositions during your art history ap practice test.

  2. Chronological Mastery Mnemonic -

    Use "Please Never Make Ice Cream; Let's Party; Really Good; After Midnight; Modern; Contemporary" to memorize periods from Paleolithic to Contemporary, as outlined by Getty.edu's timeline. Locking down these eras and their signature styles streamlines your ap art history exam review and recall under timed quiz conditions.

  3. Iconography and Symbols -

    Identify recurring motifs - like the lotus and papyrus in Egyptian art or the lion in medieval Christian iconography - using The Met's Heilbrunn Timeline examples. Decoding these symbols sharpens your analytical edge on ap art history test questions and essay prompts.

  4. Cross-Cultural Comparison -

    Contrast Greece's Doric Parthenon with Rome's Corinthian Pantheon to see how architectural orders evolved, drawing on resources from the University of Virginia's architectural history collection. Recognizing these shifts equips you for comparative prompts on any practice ap art history test or quiz.

  5. AP Exam Essay Strategy -

    Structure essays around a clear thesis, formal analysis, iconographic evidence, and historical context following the College Board's rubric. Practicing this format on ap art history quiz and practice ap art history test questions builds confidence and precision on exam day.

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