Aim for FiveArt History

Short essay: attribution

Attribution: a standing marble youth

  • Unit 2
  • 5 points
  • About 15 minutes

You attribute a work you haven’t studied (image provided) to an artist, culture, style or object type from the required works, and justify it with specific visual evidence, often adding contextual evidence about the culture that made it. On the exam: Section II, question 5 of 6: a short essay on a work beyond the image set (image provided), with a suggested 15 minutes.

The question and its sources

Short essay: attribution. Suggested time: 15 minutes. On the exam you would see a color image of the work; here it is described in words. Answer each part in complete sentences. The work described is a marble statue now in a museum in New York. It is not part of the required image set.

The work, described in words

Marble statue, about 1.95 meters (about 6 feet 4 inches) tall. It stands on its own, with no back slab or wall behind it.

A nude young man stands stiffly upright, facing straight ahead. His left foot is set forward, but his weight seems to rest evenly on both legs, and his hips and shoulders are level.

His arms hang straight down close to his sides, and his hands are clenched into fists.

His long hair falls down his back in rows of small, bead-like knots and is held by a narrow band tied at the back of the head.

His eyes are large and wide open. His ears are carved as flat, patterned shapes rather than as natural ears.

Broad shoulders narrow to a small waist. The kneecaps, ribcage and stomach muscles are shown as shallow grooves and ridges that make neat, matching patterns on the surface.

Seen from the front, the left and right halves of the figure are nearly mirror images of each other.

Source: Description written for this practice question. On the exam you would see a color image of the work instead.

Suggested time: 15 minutes

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Part (a)

1 point

Attribute the work described to the culture in which it was made. Be as specific as you can.

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (b)

1 point

Using specific visual evidence, justify your attribution by describing ONE relevant similarity between the work described and another work made by the same culture.

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (c)

1 point

Using specific visual evidence, justify your attribution by describing ANOTHER relevant similarity between the work described and another work made by the same culture.

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (d)

1 point

Using specific contextual evidence, explain how the work demonstrates the influence of another culture's art.

0 / 2,500 characters

Part (e)

1 point

Using specific contextual evidence, explain ONE purpose that statues like the work described served in the culture that made them.

0 / 2,500 characters

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