Art History Questions

Video 1

Questions

1 Who is Robert Edsel?

Edsel is the author of Saving Italy (2013). The book was distributed by W. W. Norton and appeared on the New York Times blockbuster list. Sparing Italy recounts the sensational story of the Monuments Men’s endeavors to find and recoup that nation’s countless art treasures that had been taken by the Nazi (The National WWII Museum)

2 Which episode concerning a work of art during World War II stood out to Edsel?

Remarkable and chivalrous work of the men who served in the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives (“MFAA”) part during World War II was the most concerned scene. He raised public awareness of the significance of protecting civilization’s most significant artistic and social fortunes from the armed clash but joining these statements of man’s most prominent creative accomplishments into Italians history.

3 What were the allied leaders determined to do to Italy in Aug. 1943?

On July 10, 1943, the Allies started their intrusion of Axis-seized Europe with arrivals on the island of Sicily, off Italy’s mainland. This was to end the Allied triumph of Sicily and winning the supposed Race to Messina.

4 Who were the allies? (this one you will have to google the answer).

The allies included, Japanese Americans, African Americans, New Zealanders, Canadians, Poles, Moroccans, French, Indians, and Algerians.

5 Which city was mentioned as a main target of the allies? (this is where The Last Supper is located)

Messina.

6 How far from the painting, The Last Supper, did one of the bombs land?

An Allied bomb caused the rooftop and a wall of the refectory to crumple. The bomb landed merely 80 feet from the painting. The structure was totally destroyed: The rooftop collapsed, the shelter crumbled, and whole wall smothered.

7 Why did the wall on which this painting is not collapse?

Aiming to protect Leonardo’s work over the attacks, authorities had protected it with sandbags and scaffoldings years prior. The safety measure had been taken by numerous churches and museums across Italy when war broke out.

8 How was the stature of David protected?

Statues, for example, Michelangelo’s David were enclosed in block towers to shield them from shrapnel and bombs.

Video 2

Questions

1 What did Mark Clark mean when he said it was like fighting a war in an art museum?

According to The National WWII Museum Part 2, it was not good enough to wreck one of the art treasures of the world. The Venus Fixers battled to save that museum while avoiding German mines and Allied bombs, outfitted with exceptionally whimsical weapons.

2 Who gave the order to try to save cultural treasures during World War II and when?

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who ahead of the lead up to D-Day in 1944 directed his officers to shield historical landmarks and cultural areas which were a symbol to the world they were battling to safeguard.

3 At which Abbey was the order first tested?

Abbey of Monte Cassino

4 What order did Kesselring give when the Germans were leaving Flornece?

Kesselring ordered the use heavy artillery, grenades and mortars, armored vehicles, flamethrowers and other specialized battle tools against the partisans.

5 Why was Ponte Vecchio saved?

Hitler ordered his team to save Ponte Vecchio when the Nazi authorities were attacking all bridges in Florence to prevent the Allies in 1944.

6 What did the Germans destroy in attempt to deny allied access to the city of Florence?

Florentine bridges were obliterated on his orders and, notwithstanding booby-trapping of the old bridges, the demolished antiquated historical central precinct at its two closures, so as to defer the italy advancement over the River Arno.

Video 3

Questions

1 Why were Italian works of art not looted by the Germans during World War II.

The Germans were able to loot Italian works.

2 Why did they start looting?

Looting began with the strategies of the Axis nations, mainly Nazi Germany and Japan, which efficiently looted occupied regions.

3 Which Italian city was a warning that this looting was occurring?

Naples which had been exposed to in over 100 airstrikes.

4 Which 2 Italian cities were by passed by the German troops and not looted?

Trieste and Istria

5 Where were most of the works of art from Florence hidden from the Germans?

Alto Adige

6 Who became the guardian angel for these works of art?

Rodolfo Siviero.

According to the YouTube Video, the heritage of Rodolfo Siviero is associated with his long-lasting endeavors to preserve, save and return the works for Italy and taken during or after World War II. Siviero held that art workers were not a trophy intended to top off the museums of winning nations, but they were a basic resource of a nation’s own identity (The National WWII Museum).

7 What did this guardian angel do in an attempt to survive?

Siviero had to deal with the Italian government, which he believed was giving less consideration to recuperating its dispossessed artistic fortunes.

8 What was an important component in the negotiation of surrender by the Germans in Italy?

The German Instrument of Surrender was the authoritative archive that affected the elimination of Nazi Germany and stopped World War II in Europe. The complete content was marked in Karlshorst, Berlin, the evening of 8 May 1945 by agents of the three armies of the Allied Expeditionary Force and Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) together with the Supreme High Command of the Soviet Red Army, with the U.S and French delegates being witnesses. There were three language forms of the acquiescence record – German, English, and Russian – with the English and Russian versions declared, in the content itself, as the main definitive ones.

Works Cited

The National WWII Museum. Saving Italy: A Conversation with Robert Edsel, Monuments Men Author: Part 1, The Last Supper. YouTube. 2013. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=6&v=JHODvpXXEV0&feature=emb_logo

The National WWII Museum. Saving Italy: A Conversation with Robert Edsel, Monuments Men Author: Part 2, The Last Supper. YouTube. 2013. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=183&v=MCcibdaYUoQ&feature=emb_logo

The National WWII Museum. Saving Italy: A Conversation with Robert Edsel, Monuments Men Author, Part 3, Karl Wolff. YouTube. 2013. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k93NJmuJ9wc&feature=emb_logo