Advanced Placement Art History—Florida Virtual
Pre-Requisites: Due to the mature content, this course is recommended for students in grades
10, 11, and 12 in conjunction with or upon successful completion of World History.
Credits: 0.5 (per segment)
Estimated Completion Time: 2 segments / 32-36 weeks
Earliest Start Date: July 2015
Description
Within AP Art History, students will explore the interconnections between art, culture, and
historical context using critical analysis through the critical lenses of artistic expression, cultural
awareness, and purpose. Using a defined art historical skill set and reflective learning, students
will analyze relationships across cultures with a global lens. The examination of how people
have responded to and communicated their experiences through art will enable students to think
conceptually about art ranging from prehistoric to contemporary. Students will be active
participants, engaging with art and its context as they read, research, and collaborate to learn
about art, artists, art making, and responses to and interpretations of art.
Follow the link below for the Department of Education description of this course:
http://www.cpalms.org/Public/PreviewCourse/Preview/2784
Follow the link below for the College Board description of this course:
https://apstudent.collegeboard.org/apcourse
Major Topics and Concepts
Major Topics and Concepts: List of topics broken down by segment and gallery.
Segment One
Gallery One—Introduction to Art History
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An overview of art history and the purpose and function of the analysis of art within its
cultural context
Global and chronological themes and subthemes in art history
An introduction to the College Board Advanced Placement Art History Framework
Formal analysis of the art process through the principles and elements of design
The College Board AP Art History Exam breakdown—what to expect, type of
assessments on the exam, how the exam assesses the students’ application of art historical
skills, and how the exam is scored
Understanding how to read and interpret architectural plans
Global Prehistory starting with Asia and Africa
Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic Periods
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Human expression of the natural world prior to written record
Ceramics, painting, sculpture, and architecture representative of utilitarian art
Gallery Two—Indigenous Americas
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Ancient America and Native North America—Olmec, Maya, Mexica (Aztec), and
Central Andes
Art of the Indigenous Americas as a representation of the retention of pre-Hispanic
traditions.
Overarching artistic traits of Indigenous Americas—unity with the natural world, cosmic
geometry, Shamanism, animal-based media, incorporation of trade materials, and
spiritual utilitarianism
Integration of terrestrial and plant imagery within architecture to represent power and
hierarchy within the culture and community
Status, power, gifts, visual memory, and revival represented within art of the Ancient
America and Native North American cultures
Trade resulting in exotic materials within artistic themes of interdependence and dualism
Exploration of Ancient America and Native North America within the context of
colonization, persecution, genocide, and marginalization
Gallery Three—Asia
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Secular and non-secular art produced from West Asia’s dominant Islamic culture
Sacred spaces of West and Central Asia as a result of cross-cultural fertilization
Connection of West and Central Asia through Buddhist and Islamic traditions
Architectural innovations and monuments driven by religious function and pilgrimages
Two-dimensional design favored in West Asia, while metalwork thrived in West and
Central Asia
Visual traditions of South, East, and Southeast Asia among the oldest, identified by the
interconnectedness of humans with the natural and spiritual world
Universal search for spiritual development within Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and
Sikhism, resulting in unified visual representations
Buddhist reliquary stupas, ink paintings, pagodas, and rock gardens representing the
overlap of secular and non-secular art
Gallery 4—The Pacific
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Diversity in the Pacific resulting from ecological situations, social structure, and external
influences such as commerce, colonialism, and missionary activity
The Pacific as defined by geographical location and its art as representative of materials
carried and exchanged
Three sections of the Pacific—micro, poly, and mela, each defined by individual
ecologies and sociological systems
Art of the Pacific as narrative and utilitarian expressing beliefs, social relations, essential
truths, and information within the creation, performance, and the destruction of art
Wrappings, ritual dress, and tattoos as symbols for human interaction with deities
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Architectural design and shared and rarified spaces reinforcing social order
Sacred spaces announcing and containing legitimacy, power, and life force.
Gallery 5—Ancient Near East and Africa
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Sumerian, Akkadian, Neo-Sumerian, Babylonian, Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and Persian
cultures
Religious art and architecture of the Ancient Near East
Emergence of stylistic elements such as hierarchical scale, registers, historical narratives,
and formal sculpture of humans interacting with gods
Architecture of the Ancient Near East housed places of worship and protection to
represent the power and authority of the rulers
Predynastic Egypt including the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms
Artistic representations of royal figures and divinities serving a funerary function and
representing order, stability, and permanence
Figural representation correlated with cultural placement, characterizing separation
between the deified and lower classes
Predynastic Egypt driven by an elaborate funerary sect represented by the incorporation
of mythological and religious symbolism
The artistic and cultural revolution of the Amarna period
African art resulting from human beliefs and interactions motivated by behavior,
containing and expressing belief, and validating social organization
African art expressing the supernatural and used daily and ritually
Art and cultural practices as purposeful, with cultural protocols to ensure the artistic
experience (meant to be sung, danced, and presented holistically) and produce expected
results
Education, civic responsibility, and adulthood as represented by the creation,
manipulation, and interpretation of art
African art misinterpreted as primitive, anonymous, and static
Africa’s global interaction resulting in dynamic intellectual and artistic traditions
Segment Two
Gallery Six—Ancient Mediterranean
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Art of the Aegean—Cycladic, Minoan, and Mycenaean cultures as driving influences in
Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art and architecture
Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art and architecture identified by stylistic changes
categorized according to styles, governments, or dynasties
Ancient Greek art throughout the Geometric, Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods
characterized by proportions and spatial relationships, expression of societal values, and
harmony and order
Humanism
Roman art, including the Republican, Early Imperial, Late Imperial, and Late Antique
Periods
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Etruscan and Roman art characterized by iconographical eclecticism and portraiture that
represent imperial values and power
Ancient Greek and Roman art as foundational for later Europe artistic and cultural
traditions
Gallery Seven—Early Europe and Colonial Americas
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Medieval art divided geographically by regions, governing cultures, and identifiable
styles
Medieval art, including Late Antique, early Christian, Byzantine, Islamic, Migratory,
Carolingian, Romanesque, and Gothic
Medieval art motivated by the requirements of Jewish, Christian, or Islamic worship, elite
or court culture, and learning
Icons and reliquaries facilitating a divine connection
Cross-cultural fertilization facilitated through trade and conquest
Religiously functional architecture with ground plans and elevations designed around
worship and including symbolic numbers, shapes, and ornament
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Theological rejection of figural imagery on and within religious structures or objects as prevalent
in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity
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Romanesque and Gothic periods marking the initiation of globalization and the
emergence of the Atlantic World in conjunction with the development of the Americas
The Atlantic World, comprising Western Europe—Italy, Spain, France, Germany,
England, Belgium, and the Netherlands
The Americas, comprising the Caribbean, the Western and Southwestern regions of the
U.S., Mexico, Central America, and South America
Pilgrimages driving new patronage and architectural innovations in the Romanesque and
Gothic periods
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Gallery Eight—Early Modern Atlantic World
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A revival of antiquity defining the Renaissance with the incorporation of classical
models, enhanced naturalism, Christianity, pageantry, and more formalized artistic
training
Rise of the academy
Artistic production determined by corporate and individual patronage
Development of linear and atmospheric perspective, composition, color, figuration, and
narrative all increasing the illusion of naturalism
Art as propaganda, commemorative, didactic, devotional, ritual, recreational, and
decorative
Baroque art representing the polarization of north and south western European due to the
Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation
Art production in the Spanish viceroyalties representing a hybridization of European and
indigenous ideas, forms, and materials
Industrialization, urbanization, scientific inquiry, economic upheaval, migrations, and
wars concluding the 18th century
The Enlightenment, characterized by belief in progress, the Industrial Revolution, and the
emergence of a new wealthy middle class, and satirical expressions within art
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Rococo as evidence of the infiltration of aristocratic art, prompting the call for moral art
and Neoclassicism as a reaction and new emphasis on human rights expressed in
Romanticism
Gallery Nine—Later Europe and Americas
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Artists gravitating to new roles in society, leading artistic movements that shifted quickly
as a reaction and rejection to the previous movement
Modernism as an umbrella term enabling new roles and functions and giving audiences
opportunities to experience art in new ways
Modernism, including Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism
Expressionism, Cubism, Constructivism, Suprematism, Abstraction, Dadaism,
Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Performance Art, and
Environmental Art
Photography as art within the context of the Industrial Revolution, with increased
popularity within the middle class
Criticism of the new industrial age leading to the rise of Realism and sympathy toward
the working class
Evolving perception of women as the “male gaze” is applied to images of women outside
of religious contexts
Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, and Expressionism as a rejection of the Modern
Architectural innovations driven by the evolution of needs, materials, and nationalism
Abstraction giving way to Cubism and non-objectivity as shape and color are intended to
communicate meaning and represent Sigmund Freud’s philosophical declarations
Expression, Dadaism, and Surrealism as social commentary
Work of individual artist such as Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, and Jacob Lawrence as a
personal commentary on cultural conventions
Modern visions of architectural space embracing the machine and nature
Depiction of women in a modern world and evolution of the portrayal of women within
Gestural Abstraction, Abstract Expressionism, and Pop Art
Modern and Postmodern architecture as defined through the exploration of the modern
skyscraper and simplicity vs. complexity, anonymity vs. individuality, less is more vs.
less is a bore
The duality of Modernism opening the art world and simultaneously becoming
challenging for audiences and patrons to understand as individualism replaced church and
corporate patronage
Public sale of art as non-elitists collect art
America dominating the art market after the devastation of World War II
Gallery Ten—Global Contemporary
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Global contemporary art as a combination of tradition, technological advancements, and
global awareness
Materials, function, style, and presentation inviting contemplation of how art is defined
and valued
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1980–present categorized by digital works, video-captured performances, graffiti, online
museums and galleries, decline in natural materials, rise in disposable materials, and the digital
divide
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Existential investigations, sociopolitical critiques, natural world, and technical
innovations unifying the vast diversity
Appropriation of cultural and/or sacred objects defying traditional classification by
region, culture, or time
Architecture representing a city’s trademark to embody aspiration and idealism
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Exploration of themes of contemplation, race, identify, stereotypes, appropriation, power, mass
production, spiritual journey, migration, and unification
Required Materials
The AP Art History Framework is a free material provided by College Board that outlines the three big
ideas, three essential questions, twelve learning objectives, ten content areas, and prescribed
artworks taught within the AP Art History course.
https://secure-media.collegeboard.org/digitalServices/pdf/ap/ap-art-historycourse-and-exam-description.pdf?
Course Objectives
Grading Policy
Besides engaging students in challenging curriculum, the course guides students to reflect on
their learning and evaluate their progress through a variety of assessments that replicate and
prepare students for success on the College Board AP Art History Exam. Assessments can be in
the form of multiple-choice quizzes and exams, Discussion-Based Assessments, Snapshot
research-based assessments, collaboration, short and long response writing, and AP Art History
practice exams. This course will use the state-approved grading scale. Each course contains a
mandatory final exam or culminating project that will be weighted at 20% of the student’s
overall grade.
Additional course requirements may exist based on specific expectations for individual courses.
More information can be found in FLVS policy documents, published at www.flvs.net, or by
referring to the course instructor after registration.
Advanced Placement Policy
Students entering high school grades 9–12 have access to Advanced Placement courses that may
result in earning college credit for high school coursework. These courses are used to calculate
overall Grade Point Average (GPA) and typically count extra in the calculation. These courses
are also available at no charge to Florida public school students, whereas they may have a tuition
cost if taken in college. (S. 1003.02, F.S.)
Communication Policy
Communication Policy: To achieve success, students are expected to submit work in each
course weekly. Students can learn at their own pace; however, “any pace” still means that
students must make progress in the course every week. To measure learning, students complete
self-checks, practice lessons, multiple-choice questions, projects, discussion-based assessments,
and discussions. Students are expected to maintain regular contact with teachers; the minimum
requirement is monthly. When teachers, students, and parents work together, students are
successful.
College Board has authorized FLVS to use the AP designation. AP and Advanced
Placement are registered trademarks of The College Board.