NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 1 of 27
Assessment Schedule – 2010
Art History: Describe the meaning of iconographic motifs (90491)
Evidence Statement
Achievement
Achievement with Merit
Achievement with Excellence
The meanings conveyed through
a range of iconographic motifs in
art works are described.
The ways in which iconographic
motifs are used to convey
meaning are explained.
The importance of iconography in
conveying meaning in art is
evaluated.
 Provides direct responses to the
specific requirements of the
question
As for Achievement, plus:
As for Achievement with Merit,
plus:
 Identifies and describes three
appropriate iconographic motifs in
two appropriately selected art
works, at least one appropriate
motif in each art work
 Uses appropriate art historical
language to describe meanings of
the iconographic motifs which are
relevant to the selected art works
 Uses sufficient relevant
information to clarify descriptions
of the meanings of iconographic
motifs
 Uses appropriate art historical
language to explain the meanings
conveyed by iconographic motifs
in two appropriate art works
 Demonstrates the ability to
understand meanings conveyed
by iconographic motifs in art works
 Explains links between meanings
conveyed by individual motifs and
the overall meaning or content of
an art work
 Explains how the iconographic
motifs give meaning to the
selected art works.
 Discusses and evaluates the
significance and/or effectiveness
of the iconography in conveying
meaning in art in a response
which is directed towards the
requirements of the question.
 Provides perceptive and
comprehensive discussions of the
iconographic meanings of
appropriate art works
 Demonstrates broad and
comprehensive understanding of
art content and context by relating
the iconography to appropriate
contextual information and
evidence
 Evaluates the importance of
iconography in relation to other
factors such as styles, theory or
media
 Demonstrates insight and
understanding of the role of
iconography in the specified
period or art movement
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 2 of 27
Question One: Fourteenth-century Italian Painting
Achievement
Sala della Pace frescoes
 Specific personifications, e.g. an
enthroned, majestic male figure
wearing a crown, representing the
Commune of Siena can be seen
on one wall.
 A cityscape of buildings
represents the ideal city under the
protection of good government.
 Dancing figures represent one of
the seven Mechanical Arts, which
represent the positive human
activities that take place in a wellgoverned community.
Achievement with Merit
Achievement with Excellence
The candidate has explained how
these motifs have been used in
each scene to convey meaning
about government e.g.:
The effectiveness of the
iconography in the Sala della
Pace in conveying meaning and
guidance to those who worked in
the room has been evaluated e.g.:
This fresco programme lines the
walls of the Sala dei Nove, the room
in which Siena’s magistrates met.
The images in the fresco depict the
benefits of good and bad
government together with
personifications of the virtues and
vices that impact upon government
and decision making. The enthroned
figure, which represents the
Commune of Siena, is similar to the
Enthroned figure of Jesus in a Last
Judgement which would remind the
councillors that their decisions would
be judged in heaven.
The members of the Sala dei Nove
sat on benches around the wall in
this room. The frescoes were on
three sides of the room while the
fourth wall was made up of a row of
windows that looked out on the
Campo, the central piazza of Siena.
In this way the Nine were presented
with an effective message about the
effects of good and bad government
in their city. This message was
emphasised by the similarity
between the painted piazza and
palazzo in the fresco and the real
world which surrounded the Palazzo
Publicco
The panorama of the surrounding
city and landscape presents a vivid
image of the prosperity of Siena and
the harmony of a life in a world
dominated by wise government and
peace. The stream of merchants
bringing bulging sacks of produce
into the painted city clearly indicates
the benefits of a peaceful world that
allows farmers to work undisturbed.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of iconographic motifs
in two named paintings of events
in the life of Jesus, e.g.:
The candidate has explained how
these motifs have been used to
convey meaning about different
aspects of the life of Jesus e.g.:
Duccio’s Crucifixion
The two selected art works show
important aspects of the life of
Jesus. Duccio’s Crucifixion depicts a
key event in the life of Jesus – his
crucifixion and death, which is seen
by Christians as Jesus’ self-sacrifice
for the sake of humanity. Jesus’
nude body conveys his human
vulnerability while his golden halo
symbolises the divine side of his
nature. Pietro’s work illustrates
another important aspect of the life
of Jesus – that he was born as a
human baby and shared the events
and experiences of an ordinary
human life. The gestures and gaze
of Pietro’s Jesus convey an
impression of Jesus as a cute and
ordinary baby.
The extent to which iconography
in fourteenth-century Italy was
effective in conveying a sense of
the humanity of Jesus has been
evaluated. e.g:
 The near-nude figure of Jesus
hangs on the cross, his head
drooping forward in death.
 Blood spurts from the side of
Jesus to symbolize the blood shed
by Jesus’ death and the
wine/blood of communion.
Pietro Lorenzetti, Pieve Altarpanel,
1320
A small child sits on his mother’s
arm, pulling at her veil and looking
up at her in a pose that indicates the
human nature of the baby Jesus.
The dual nature of Jesus is an
important aspect of Christian belief.
Jesus is said to have been born of a
human mother, the Virgin Mary, and
a divine father, God, the Holy Ghost.
This miraculous nature is somewhat
incredible and the visualisation of
this concept has been an important
aspect of Christian art. In the
fourteenth century, Franciscan and
Dominican teaching was changing
the nature of Christian imagery from
the spiritual and remote iconography
used in medieval gothic and
Byzantine Christian art towards
human and naturalistic depiction of
Christian figures and events. The
changing emphasis is very obvious
when one compares the depictions
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 3 of 27
of Jesus on a twelfth century crucifix
by Cimabue and Giotto’s crucifix in
Sta Maria Novella. Cimabue’s is
linear and flat and symbolises the
spiritual side of Jesus while the
rounded, naturalistic figure of Jesus
with his reddish head emphasises
the humanity of Jesus as preached
by the new monastic orders.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 4 of 27
Question Two: Fifteenth-century Painting
Achievement
The Expulsion of Adam and Eve
 Both figures are naked because
nudity was used to identify Adam
and Eve.
 Eve’s pose – venus pudica, of
classical art, a pose used to
convey meanings of respectability
and chastity in classical statues:
her hands cover her sexual
features in an iconographic
gesture denoting shame; her head
is held high – an iconographic
gesture of pride.
 Adam’s pose – hands cover face
in an iconographic gesture of
suffering and shame; his head
hangs down in an iconographic
gesture of sorrow and regret.
Uccello, The Profanation of the
Cross, 1467–68
 The Jewish money lender wears
bright red fashionable clothes
which show that he is not a good
Christian figure (because he
doesn’t wear classical robes).
 The widow who pawns the Host
wears a dark blue/black cloak over
her head, similar to the drapery
worn in paintings of the Virgin
Mary. This conveys the idea that
she is sacrificing herself in order
to care for her children.

Achievement with Merit
Achievement with Excellence
 The iconography in the given
painting clearly depicts the
consequences, which were
heaped on Adam and Eve after
they betrayed God by eating the
forbidden fruit. A large classical
arch on the left marks the
boundary of the Garden of Eden
and an angel in the sky above
points away from the gate to show
that Adam and Eve are being
expelled. The iconographic
gestures of the two figures
demonstrate their individual
reactions to this event.
The importance of iconography in
conveying meaning about the
subjects in fifteenth-century
Italian narrative painting has been
evaluated e.g.:
 Uccello uses composition and
setting as well as iconographic
devices to convey meaning in this
work The white bread stands out
against the black wall to draw
attention to its significance and the
emptiness of the centre of the
painting emphasises the
hopelessness of the widow’s
position. The contrast between the
clothes of the two figures sets up
a contrast between the avaricious
moneylender and the humble,
lonely widow.
 A noticeable feature of The
Expulsion is the naturalism of the
form and emotion of the two nude
figures in this painting. Masaccio’s
rounded, naturalistic figures are
used to place the well-known story
in a human context - the very
human gestures of grief and
suffering are most effective in
evoking an emotive response from
the viewer and Masaccio’s
iconography clearly describes the
consequences for sin and
disobedience. The different
iconography of the figures was
also an important way of
distinguishing between the sins of
Adam and Eve – Eve’s pose with
her head held high and a grief
stricken expression does not
convey the remorse which is
apparent in Adam’s pose with his
hands hiding his face and his
head bent low.
 The narrative in Uccello’s later
painting is less reliant on
conventional iconography. Unlike
Masaccio, Uccello has not used
conventional religious
iconography; instead he has
depicted this legend in a
contemporary setting, using
iconography from contemporary
daily life. The simple poses and
gestures of these figures makes
the narrative easy to read,
however the use of traditionally
iconographic colours such as red
and black highlights the struggle
of good and evil which is the point
of the story. Uccello’s use of
iconographic motifs and colours to
tell his story may indicate the
importance of iconography in his
narrative painting however it is
obvious that Uccello has placed
more importance on his
contrasting treatment of space
and composition to dramatise his
narrative and ensure an emotive
response from the viewer. Uccello
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 5 of 27
‘s similar methods in other works
such as The Deluge may indicate
that iconography became less
important later in the fifteenth
century.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of appropriate
landscape-related iconographic
motifs in two named paintings
e.g.:
 The depiction of landscape motifs
in this work contribute to the
overall meaning of The
Resurrection. Jesus is a universal
symbol of rebirth and this is
symbolised by the wintry dead
trees on the viewer’s left and the
young green leaves on the trees
on the right. The upright nature of
Jesus and the strength of his
message are conveyed by the
straight tree trunks that mirror his
upright pose. Rebirth is also
symbolised by the dawn light that
streaks the sky and the freshness
of the morning, which is conveyed
by the lush grass and plants in the
landscape.
The extent to which landscaperelated iconography was effective
in conveying meaning in
fifteenth-century Italian painting
has been evaluated, e.g.:
Plero della Francesca’s
Resurrection, c1459
 The vegetation and contours of
the landscape behind Jesus are
taken from the landscape of
Northern Italy; the familiarity of
these elements is used to remind
viewers that Christian concepts
like the resurrection have
relevance to the contemporary
world.
 The trees on the viewer’s left have
no leaves whereas the trees on
the viewer’s right have new green
leaves. This contrast is used to
symbolise the new life of Jesus as
he rises from the dead.
Botticelli’s Primavera, 1479–81
 Oranges on the trees refer to the
fruit on the Medici coat of arms
and signify that the allegory
depicted in this painting is about
the Medici family.
 The Primavera is an early
example of mythological painting
in Florence. The figures in the
painting are personifications used
to convey the meaning of a
complex allegory about goodness
and abundance. The oranges in
the trees symbolise the Medici
family who preside over the
flowers and plants, which flourish
under their benevolent guidance,
symbolised by the figure of Spring
with her cornucopia of flowers.
 A feature of fifteenth-century
Italian painting was the growing
interest in landscape. Although
this development of landscape
painting reflected Flemish
influences as well as Alberti’s
writings about the importance of
landscape in classical art, it also
reflected an important aspect of
contemporary religious thought.
The teachings of St Francis and St
Dominic had led to an increased
interest in the human side of
Christianity and landscape-related
iconography was extremely
important in conveying the human
contexts of Christianity.
 Masaccio’s Tribute Money was the
first fifteenth-century Florentine
painting to use the local landscape
in a painting. Here the familiar
landscape is used to convey the
relevance of Christianity to the
contemporary world, a very
important Christian concept Jesus
and his disciples are shown
standing in the Arno valley,
imagery which was very effective
in involving the Florentine viewer
in the events in the painting.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 6 of 27
Question Three: Italian Renaissance Sculpture
Achievement
East Doors of the Baptistery
 Self Portrait of Ghiberti on the
frame indicates his Renaissance
self- awareness and pride in his
work and the new Renaissance
regard for the identity of an artist
 Top Left panel depicts the story of
Adam and Eve who are shown as
two naturalistic nude figures being
given life by a personified Creator
Achievement with Merit
 The Self Portrait shows that
Ghiberti is proud of his work and
wants to be recognised as the
artist. His patrons obviously
agreed and this self portrait is an
early example of an artist signing
his art work. It demonstrates how
the role of an artist had
developed.
 The ten panels on these doors
illustrate significant stories in the
Old Testament. In each panel,
Ghiberti has used conventional
iconography to depict the Biblical
story In the case of the upper left
hand panel, God the Father is
easily identified by his classical
robes and long hair and beard. On
the left he leans over the naked
body of Adam, whose idealised
naturalism conveys his innocent
perfection. This contrasts with the
half-hidden view of Adam on the
right, whose recoiling figure
demonstrates his fear of the
punishment being dealt to him.
Achievement with Excellence
The significance of iconography
in conveying meaning about the
importance of the Baptistery in
Florence has been evaluated,
e.g.:
This iconographic programme refers
to historical events from the pagan
period, which preceded the birth of
Christ. According to Christians,
Christ’s birth, death and resurrection
brought new life to Christians and
assured them of redemption from
sin. This story had major
significance for the Baptistery
because the Baptistery was where
babies were baptised and women
purified after a birth. These
ceremonies welcomed the innocent
child into the church and cleansed
women after labour so that they
could enter a church. In this way the
sin of Eve would be redeemed and
people could look forward to
heavenly paradise after death.
There is a significant relationship
between these doors and Ghiberti’s
earlier set of doors, and the
iconography is also significant
because these doors faced the
cathedral across a small piazza
which was nicknamed "Paradise" by
Florentines.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings conveyed by
iconographic motifs in two named
sculptures of the Virgin Mary,
e.g.:
The candidate has explained how
these motifs have been used to
convey meaning about the Virgin
Mary e.g.:
The effectiveness of iconography
in conveying a sense of the
spiritual importance of the Virgin
Mary in Italian Renaissance
sculpture is evaluated e.g.:
Donatello, Pazzi Madonna
 A half-length Madonna is shown in
profile, cradling her baby with two
hands. The baby’s face nuzzles
into his mother’s in an image
which conveys familiar human
emotions of maternal love and
tenderness.
Michelangelo, Pieta, 1497–99
 The seated figure of the Virgin
holds the dead body of her Son on
her lap. Her head is bowed and
she wears an expression of
resigned sadness, which conveys
her grief as well as her
acceptance of God’s will.
These two depictions of the Virgin
Mary show key aspects of her life.
Donatello’s image shows Mary as
an ordinary mother who loves and
cares for Jesus in the same way as
all human mothers cherish and care
for their children. In Michelangelo’s
work, Mary is shown in a role that is
not so ordinary, that of a mother
who mourns over her dead child.
This image illustrates the tragedy of
Mary’s experience as the mother of
Jesus and the sacrifice she made as
a mother who had to leave her son’s
fate to God’s will.
Mary has a very important role in the
religious dogma of the Catholic
Church, and during the Renaissance
the Marian Cult grew in popularity
and emphasis. This meant that Mary
became one of the most popular
subjects in religious art and it
encouraged the development of
conventional iconography to convey
Mary’s importance and spiritual
significance. The two selected
images convey meaning about
Mary’s role and spiritual
significance. Donatello’s image
emphasises her humanity because,
as all people knew, Mary was a
human woman who was chosen by
God to give birth to Jesus. The
humanity of Mary was a significant
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 7 of 27
aspect of the duality of Jesus and
the Christian story. Michelangelo’s
figure demonstrates another
significant aspect of Mary’s role –
her piety and acceptance of God’s
will which are also important aspects
of the iconography used in images
of the Annunciation such as
Donatello’s Cavalcanti Annunciation.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 8 of 27
Question Four: High Renaissance and the Development of Mannerism
Achievement
Achievement with Merit
Achievement with Excellence
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs used to convey spiritual
meaning e.g.:
The candidate has explained how
these motifs have been used to
convey spiritual meaning in each
painting, e.g.:
The Last Supper
 In Leonardo’s The Last Supper,
Christ is depicted as the focal
point in perspective and in the
iconographic arrangement of the
three windows. This placement
symbolises the Trinity and
provides a calm, stability to the
whole painting, which conveys a
sense of the stability of the
Christian order in the universe.
This has been reinforced by the
orderly arrangement of the objects
in front of Jesus, which contrasts
with the disordered objects in front
of the astonished apostles.
The candidate has evaluated the
extent to which iconography was
effective in conveying meaning
about the spiritual beliefs of the
Roman Catholic Church, e.g.:
 The head of Jesus is silhouetted
against a window so that light
radiates around his head to form a
halo. The painting contains
several references to the number
3, which represents the Holy
Trinity. The apostles are seated in
groups of three, there are three
windows behind Christ’s head and
the shape of Christ resembles a
triangle.
Michelangelo The Creation of Adam,
1508–12
 God is identified by his
conventional iconography of the
aged man with flowing grey hair
and beard and wearing flowing
drapery. The grey hair and beard
are iconographic motifs that
convey a sense of wisdom.
 In The Creation of Adam
Michelangelo has used
conventional iconography to
identify the figures of Adam and
God and convey meaning about
their relationship. Adam’s nudity
conveys a sense of his original,
innocent state when he was
created. His youthful innocence is
contrasted with the age of God,
which is used to convey a sense
of his wisdom. Adam’s weakness
is also conveyed by his reclining
pose, while God’s spiritual power
is symbolised by his dynamic
pose, and the figures that shelter
behind him, inside his billowing
cloak, convey a sense of the
divine world of Heaven, which he
inhabits.
 Much of the iconography within
Leonardo’s The Last Supper
reinforces the sacred dominance
of Christ and Christian belief. His
iconography is effective in
portraying many of the spiritual
themes of the event, however
Leonardo also used the
expressions of his figures to
convey the spiritual atmosphere of
the dramatic announcement of
betrayal. This means that the
spiritual impact of this painting is
not completely reliant on the
effectiveness of the iconography.
 Michelangelo’s use of
conventional iconography enabled
viewers to identify the characters
involved in the stories and read
the events that were depicted.
Therefore this depiction of the
Creation of Adam is not
innovative, and the artist has
relied on grandeur of size and
physicality to provide impact and
to emphasise the spirituality of the
event taking place.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs in two named High
Renaissance art works that depict
supernatural or miraculous
events, e.g.:
The candidate has provided a
plausible explanation of how
iconographic motifs have been
used to convey meaning in each
work, e.g.:
 The candidate has evaluated
the importance of iconography
that depicts supernatural or
miraculous events in
encouraging religious faith in
this period, e.g.: The depiction
of miraculous and spiritual aspects
of Christianity presents a
challenge for artists as these
events occur over time and
involve a change or dramatic
revelation. Iconography allowed
characters identity, purpose and
potential to be made known to
viewers without it being disclosed
to the other characters in the
Raphael, The Transfiguration, 1513
 Golden light, which surrounds the
figure of Jesus in the upper part of
the painting, represents the divine
force that Jesus reveals at this
moment.
 In the bottom right, a small child
stretches his arm up towards
Jesus, his face and gesture clearly
showing his amazement at this
 In The Transfiguration, Raphael
has used symbolic iconography
like the golden radiance and
floating figure of Jesus in the
upper part of the painting to both
tell the story and convey meaning
about the miraculous nature of this
event. This meaning is enhanced
by the reactions of the human
apostles and other figures in the
darkened lower part of the
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 9 of 27
divine sight.
Raphael, The Liberation of St Peter
from Prison, 1513
 An angel with large wings bends
over the sleeping figure of St
Peter. The angel is identified by its
wings, which are symbolic of the
angel’s role as a messenger who
travels to earth from God in
heaven.
 A bright yellow light radiating out
from the angel is a holy light,
which signifies the holy nature of
the angel and the fact that a
miracle is taking place.
painting who convey their awe and
astonishment.
 In The Liberation of St Peter, the
angel is shown twice: firstly,
bending over to release the
sleeping Peter from his chains and
secondly, outside of the barred
enclosure, leading Peter down the
stairs. In the central image, the
golden light that surrounds the
angel is seen through the bars of
the gaol to emphasise the
miraculous freeing of St Peter
taking place.
narrative.
 Paintings depicting miraculous
events like the story of St Peter’s
liberation from prison and the
Transfiguration had a similar
educational function – that of
showing that a miracle had taken
place in a real human
environment. A convincing miracle
was an encouragement to
believers that such supernatural
events were possible in their own
lives. The familiar symbols of the
angel and a holy light effectively
convey this sense of miracle in
both of Raphael’s works.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 10 of 27
Question Five: Venetian Art
Achievement
The Assumption of the Virgin
 Mary is dressed in her
conventional robes – a red dress
to signify her heavenly nature and
a blue cloak to indicate her saintly
qualities.
 A billowing golden circle of angelic
forms in the upper part of the
painting symbolises heaven.
Giorgione, Castelfranco Altarpanel,
1504
 The Madonna is shown seated in
an elevated throne in the centre of
the painting. They are surrounded
by a golden glow which signifies
Mary’s divinity.

Achievement with Merit
Achievement with Excellence
The candidate has explained how
iconographic motifs have been
used to convey different
meanings about the Virgin Mary,
e.g.:
The candidate has evaluated the
importance of iconography in
conveying a sense of Mary’s
spiritual role in the Catholic
Church in this period, e.g.:
These two paintings illustrate two
aspects of the varied roles
associated with the Virgin Mary.
The Virgin Mary was the human
mother of Jesus Christ and, as such,
she had a significant role in Catholic
Church history and belief. This role
had grown during the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries as the cult of
Mariology grew, and by the
sixteenth century, the Virgin Mary
was one of the most popular themes
in Venetian art and a huge body of
conventional iconography was used
to depict her many roles.
Titian has depicted the end of
Mary’s earthly life, after her death
she is said to have been carried up
to Heaven. In this version she is
shown rising up above the dull,
shadowy earth and rising up to the
golden realm of heaven.
Giorgione’s painting is a variation of
the sacre conversazione motif, and
shows Mary in the presence of two
saints. She is seated above them, in
what appears to be a vision of her
as she may appear in Heaven,
seated alongside Jesus.

Some of Mary’s roles focus on her
human qualities and present her as
an ideal of motherhood and
femininity for women to aspire to.
This is the role and meaning
effectively conveyed in many
devotional altar panels like Bellini’s
small Madonna and Child works.
In other works, like The Assumption,
attention is focused on Mary’s lofty
role as Queen of Heaven, sitting at
the right hand of Jesus in Heaven
on Judgement Day. This glorification
of Mary was an important aspect of
the Catholic Counter Reformation,
and in this respect the use of
iconography to enhance and glorify
the role of Mary was extremely
significant for the Catholic Church.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs in two named paintings of
mythological subjects, e.g.:
 The Rape of Europa is an
emotional subject, which shows
Europa being carried away by
Jupiter who has taken the form of
a white bull. They are surrounded
by cupids and in the foreground,
one rides a dolphin, the attribute
of Venus, in a painting which
conveys the power and passion of
love.
The significance of mythological
iconography as a device for
conveying meaning in Venetian
art has been evaluated, e.g.:
Titian, Rape of Europa, 1559–62
 The white bull is Jupiter in
disguise, the bull symbolises his
power and strength and also male
sexuality.
Titian, Danae, 1554
 A naked young woman is lying on
a bed; her nude form links her to
depictions of reclining nude
Venuses which convey meanings
about love and sex.
 A shower of golden coins falls
from the sky towards the figure on
the bed. The falling coins
 Danae depicts another story about
Jupiter’s seduction of a woman,
however, in this case the relaxed
pose of Danae and the falling
coins combine to convey
suggestions of prostitution. This
meaning is enhanced by the
depiction of the old woman who
has her apron open to catch the
The popularity of mythological
iconography is one of the
characteristics of the sixteenth
century, where it seems to be
associated with the luxurious, lush
paintings and sculptures used to
decorate palazzo and public
buildings. These paintings draw on
classical legend and myth for
iconographic programmes that were
designed to celebrate their patrons
and often to titillate. The themes of
both of these paintings have been
interpreted in sensuous fashion to
provide gorgeous images of female
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 11 of 27
symbolise Jupiter because he took
the form of this golden shower to
seduce Danae.
coins.
beauty and vulnerability to delight
their rich aristocratic owners. It is
true that both of these myths may
also be interpreted as conveying
meaning about the political strength
of their owners and their states;
however this meaning seems to be
a lesser consideration than the
overall titillation provided by these
paintings.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 12 of 27
Question Six: Northern Renaissance Art
Achievement
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs in two portraits, e.g.:
The Arnolfini Marriage
 The chandelier has one lit candle
that represents the all seeing
wisdom of God.
 The sandals of the couple have
been removed to signify that they
are standing on holy ground.
 The small dog represents the
notion of fidelity.
Jan Van Eyck, The Madonna with
Chancellor Rolin
 Chancellor Rolin kneels in front of
a small lectern on which an open
Bible sits. The kneeling pose and
the Bible convey a sense of his
piety and religious faith.
Achievement with Merit
Achievement with Excellence
The candidate has explained how
iconographic motifs have been
used to convey information about
the subjects in each portraits,
e.g.:
The extent to which iconography
was effective in conveying a
sense of the personality and
status of the subjects in Northern
Renaissance portraits, e.g.:
In both paintings references are
made to the financial status of the
subjects and their religious
character through the select
placement of exotic and expensive
objects or iconographic references
to God.
Both images effectively demonstrate
the wealth and status of these
subjects but these are surface
meanings and there is little in either
portrait that conveys any clear
indication of personality.
 The Arnolfini Marriage contains
many symbolic references to the
relationship of marriage being
celebrated or witnessed between
the couple. These gestures and
motifs combine to convey an
image that documents the union of
the couple and their families’
business interests that is taking
place.
 The portrait of Chancellor Rolin
combines imagery that conveys a
sense of his Christian humility,
such as his simple white surplice
and the fact that he is kneeling,
with symbols of wealth and
comfort to convey a portrait of a
man who is both wealthy and
Christian.
 The status of the couple in The
Arnolfini Marriage is effectively
conveyed by iconographic
indicators that point to both their
financial position and spiritual
beliefs.
 The portrait of Chancellor Rolin
followed a set pattern for
devotional portrait images of
church leaders and statesmen.
Rolin was the powerful, secular
Chancellor of Burgundy whose
wise statesmanship was reflected
in the prosperous market towns
and fields that can be seen
through the windows at the rear of
the painting. The painting
effectively records these skills as
well as his sense of Christian duty
however it does little to tell us
what sort of personality he had.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs in two named art works
that depict religious ceremonies
or rituals, e.g.:
The candidate has provided a
plausible explanation of how
iconographic motifs are used to
convey meaning in each work,
e.g.:
Rogier van der Weyden, Seven
Sacraments Altarpiece 1445–50
 These two works use iconography
in different ways to demonstrate
church rituals.
The candidate has evaluated the
effectiveness of this iconography
in conveying meaning about the
beliefs associated with the
religious ceremonies and rituals
in this period, e.g.:
 The clergy in this image are
identified through iconographic
clothing that is white, symbolising
purity.
 The angels in the painting are
identified by their wings.
 The angels are coloured
according to the different ritual
they represent. Each ritual is
symbolised by a specific colour.
Black for Extreme Unction (last
rites), white for the purity of
baptism.
Jan van Eyck, Ghent Altarpiece,
1432 (central panel)
 In Van der Weyden’s painting,
people act out the rituals whilst
symbolically coloured angels
indicate the nature of the ritual.
 In Van Eyck’s work the whole
ritual is conveyed by symbolic
iconography. The dove is a
traditional symbol of the Holy
Spirit, the blood of the Lamb who
represents Christ is caught in a
cup. This cup is the one used in
the church ritual of Holy
Communion where the wine
symbolises the blood of Christ.
 There is a big difference in the
ways meaning is conveyed in the
two selected paintings.
 Although symbolic motifs are an
important aspect of Van Der
Weyden’s painting, the actions of
the figures and their settings are
extremely important in conveying
meaning about The Seven
Sacraments.
 Van Eyck has been much more
reliant on the effectiveness of the
symbolic and mystic iconography
in conveying meaning about
communion and
transubstantiation.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 13 of 27
 The lamb on the altar represents
Christ the ‘lamb’ of God.
 From the sky a dove, representing
the Holy Spirit, illuminates the
scene.
 Van der Weyden’s narrative
depiction of ritual is more
accessible to viewers who lack an
in depth understanding of
Christian iconography, and
therefore this painting would be
more effective than Van Eyck’s
work, which is ineffective in
conveying meaning if one does
not understand the complex
symbolism of imagery such as the
lamb on the altar.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 14 of 27
Question Seven: Cubism and Abstraction
Achievement
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs used to convey spiritual
meaning in two art works, e.g.:
Kandinsky, Improvisation 28
(second version) 1912
 Iconographic motifs signifying the
Cataclysm can be seen on the
right. These include images of a
boat and waves that indicate a
global deluge.
 On the right an embracing couple,
a shining sun, and celebratory
candles have been depicted to
convey a sense of paradise and
redemption.
Kandinsky, Improvisation 30, 1913
 Two canons at the bottom right
convey meaning about war and
violence .
 A church on the hill on the left
conveys a spiritual meaning in the
painting.
Achievement with Merit
Achievement with Excellence
The candidate has provided a
plausible explanation of how
iconographic motifs have been
used to convey spiritual meaning
in each art work, e.g.:
The effectiveness of iconography
in conveying spiritual meanings
in abstract art, e.g.:
 Kandinsky has made a direct use
of iconographic motifs to convey
spiritual and apocalyptic meanings
in the two selected works.
 Both works contain symbols of
violence such as the canons and
the battle ships as well as the
serpent, a religious symbol of evil.
 In Improvisation 28, the viewer is
shown the choice between a
global cataclysm on the left and
global redemption and paradise
on the right.
 In Improvisation 30, the
relationship between religious
belief and violence is more
specific with the symbol of the
church placed diagonally opposite
the canon, which appears to be
firing at the church. This conveys
the meaning of violence attacking
religious harmony.
 Conveying a sense of spirituality
was an important aspect of art for
Kandinsky and he wrote about his
ideas about this in two essays –
‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’
and ‘On the Question of Form’.
 Eventually this led him to explore
the possibilities of abstract
painting in which the iconographic
possibilities of line, form and
colour were very important.
 The effectiveness of Kandinsky’s
iconography was somewhat
limited by its reliance on the
viewer’s awareness of the ideas
behind it. For example, the
mountains of Kandinsky’s
paintings were supposed to
convey a sense of Rudolf
Steiner’s belief that artists could
build a spiritual pyramid that would
reach Heaven.
 While the uplifting qualities of
Kandinsky’s mountains may be
apparent to the general viewer, it
is unlikely that Steiner’s ideas will
be effectively conveyed to anyone
other than fellow Theosophists.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs in two named cubist or
abstract art works by different
artists that relate to war and/or
technology, e.g.:
The candidate has provided a
plausible explanation of how
iconographic motifs have been
used to convey meaning about
war and/or technology in each art
work, e.g.:
The extent to which iconography
was an important means of
conveying artists’ beliefs and
experiences of war and/or
technology has been evaluated,
e.g.:
Balla, Speeding Auto, 1913
 Both these works use motifs of
speeding machinery combined
with devices like fragmentation to
convey the impression of speed,
technology and power.
 These two works deal with
common Futurist themes –
movement, modern technology,
modern life and cities and, in
Severini’s case, war.
 The repeated wheels in Speeding
Auto connect with other motifs,
such as a steering wheel and
bonnet, to convey an image of a
car. This image symbolises
modernity because cars were new
and exciting and a method of
transport that was faster than any
previous form of personal
transport.
 The Futurists were stimulated and
excited by these developments
and believed that science and
technology were going to improve
life for people and were going to
create a new type of man –
technical masters.
 The car was an iconographic
symbol of machinery and new
inventions and modernism.
 The car was also a symbol of
modern life and a rejection of the
past.
 The sweeping repetitive frames
are devices that suggest speed
and movement.
Severini, Armoured Train in Action
(Train blinde en action), 1915
 The canons, guns and soldiers are
powerful iconographic motifs of
war.
 The fragmented landscape is a
 The Futurists glorified modem
technology, and Severini’s image
 Marinetti’s Manifesto praised
machines and speed and said that
machinery was power and
technology represented progress.
 The Futurists were a group who
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 15 of 27
device used to suggest force,
speed and movement.
of a speeding train symbolises the
momentum of new technology as
it cuts through the countryside,
which represents the known world.
wanted a revolution to destroy old
cultures and replace it with a new,
modern, mechanical one.
 Both of the selected works use
iconographical motifs to convey
these ideas however these are
less effective than the painterly
devices such as fragmentation in
conveying the Futurist message.
 Balla’s work is an apparently
straightforward depiction of a
speeding car that is moving
across the picture from right to
left. A sense of increasing speed
is conveyed by the diagonal lines
of the fragmentation, which leads
our eye towards the left of the
painting. The use of fragmentation
effectively creates strong visual
tension, which conveys a sense of
the noise created by the car and
its impact on life in the modern
world.
 The noise and speed of a car was
a new, modem phenomenon, and
Balla uses it to create an effective
image of the impact of modem
technology on the world.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 16 of 27
Question Eight: Fauvism and Expressionism
Achievement
The candidate has described the
meanings of three child-like
iconographic motifs used in two
art works, e.g.:
Paul Klee, The Little Tale of a Little
Dwarf
 The little figure in the front of the
painting has a big round head with
large eyes and nose and its body
looks like a curved triangle. It
looks like a child’s drawing of a
doll and you think about fairy
stories.
 The star in the top left is another
child-like motif, which also makes
the painting seem like a fairy story
and the painting seems to be set
at night.
Achievement with Merit
 Klee’s child-like imagery is used
differently in these two paintings.
 In the given plate he has used a
lot of motifs that could have been
found in a story book, and these
things create a mysterious,
shadowy world of night- time,
stars and a scary staring animal,
which is all about night time and
the dreams and nightmares that
children have.
 Senecio is the type of image that
children paint in school when they
are asked to paint a face, and it
makes us think about the way
adults look down at children with
their big eyes and closed adult
faces.
Paul Klee, Senecio, 1922
 This painting shows a large
circular head with big oval eyes
and two red squares as her
mouth. This looks like a child’s
drawing of a face and makes you
think about how children see
people.
Achievement with Excellence
The effectiveness of this
iconography in expressing ideas
about Western culture in the early
twentieth century has been
evaluated, e.g.:
 The use of child-like imagery was
part of the primitivist movement in
early twentieth-century European
art. Klee was one of several artists
who believed that children had an
innate wisdom and artistic ability
and he said that he wanted to
paint "as though newborn,
knowing absolutely nothing about
Europe."
 For this reason, he and other
artists such as Gabrielle Munter,
used child-like imagery to create
paintings which conveyed a sense
of the spiritual world which many
early European philosophers
thought was becoming lost in
modern industrial western culture.
 The romantic, fairytale-like
qualities of many of Klee’s
primitivist works contrasted
strongly with the harsh tribal
primitivism of Die Brucke.
 Klee’s primitivism was expressed
in romantic, fairytale-like paintings,
which were very effective in
evoking thoughts about the simple
rhythms of nature and idealising
the simple spirituality of traditional
Christianity.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs in two named German
Expressionist art works by female
artists e.g.:
The candidate has explained how
these motifs have been used in
each art work to convey female
experiences, e.g.:
The extent to which iconography
used by female artists was
effective in conveying female
experiences in art of this period,
e.g.:
Paula Modersohn-Becker, Kneeling
Mother and Child, 1907
 A kneeling woman holds a
suckling baby. The kneeling pose
conveys some thing sacred about
this subject.
 The nudity of the mother and baby
tells us that this is a very natural
act and reminds us that under our
clothes we are animals.
Gabriele Munter, Kandinsky and
Erma Bossi at the Table, 1912
 This painting shows a man and
woman sitting at a table having a
 Modersohn-Becker’s painting is
about motherhood. She has made
this role seem very important
because she has made the figure
of the woman monumental, and
because the kneeling pose makes
it look like a sacred act that should
be respected by people.
 Munter’s painting shows a simple
domestic scene. The whiteness of
the tablecloth reminds us of the
importance of women’s work –
washing and cleaning. The neatly
organised objects on the world
also convey meanings about the
role of a housewife which was the
The selected paintings are typical of
many art works produced by female
artists in the late nineteenth and
early twentieth centuries, which
focused on female experiences.
This development was part of the
suffragette movement and placed a
new emphasis on the unique role of
women, which had been
marginalised by Nietzsche’s
emphasis on strong men.
Modersohn-Becker’s images of
women were sourced from the
peasants of rural Worpswede and
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 17 of 27
cup of coffee. It is a picture of an
ordinary woman’s life, in the
house, listening to a man.
typical female experience.
her simple, monumental forms
convey a sense of what she called
the “biblical simplicity" of the female
experience. In Old Peasant Woman
this Christian meaning is clearly
conveyed by the old woman’s
crossed hands on her breast
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 18 of 27
Question Nine: Dada and Surrealism
Achievement
Achievement with Merit
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs in two surrealist art works
depicting women, e.g.:
The candidate has explained how
these iconographic motifs have
been used to convey meaning
about women, e.g.:
Miro, Head of a Woman
 The bright colours of Miro’s
painting increases the tension and
movement produced by the blue
curved forms in the centre. The
wide eye and mouth at the top of
the form give the impression of a
head flung back making a lot of
noise. With her arms flung
upwards on either side of her
head, she has a pose of pain and
suffering and we get the
impression of a shrieking noisy
woman whose suffering is so
great that she won’t shut up.
 A red egg-shaped object in the
lower left of the painting is a
female breast and helps to identify
the painting as about a woman.
 A beak-like form on the top left of
the figure seems to be a mouth
and its open shape suggests that
it is always talking.
Salvador Dali, Dream Caused by the
Flight of a Bee Around a
Pomegranate, a Second Before
Waking Up
 The nude figure of a woman
reclines across a floating cliff at
the bottom of the painting. Her
naked pose makes her look like a
sleeping Venus.
 Dali’s image of a woman seems
more peaceful and her carefully
painted figure and open pose are
sexual. Sexual meanings are
supported by the use of other
motifs with sexual meanings such
as pomegranates. She is shown in
peaceful sleep and helps to create
the dreamy atmosphere of this
painting.
Achievement with Excellence
The extent to which the
iconography used to depict
women is effective in conveying
twentieth-century ideas about
women is evaluated, e.g.:
 Although the Surrealist movement
was dominated by strong men like
Dali, there were also some strong
female surrealists such as Dora
Marr, Meret Oppenheimer and
Hannah Hoch, and women were
frequent subjects in surrealist art.
 The woman in Dali’s painting is his
wife Gaia, who dominated his life
and frequently appears in his
works. Many of these works, like
this one, allude to their sexual
relationship and the power she
apparently held over him. Female
sexuality and power were
frequently explored by surrealist
artists, including Man Ray, whose
Le Violin d’Ingres creates a
powerful image of female
sexuality.
 The woman in Miro’s painting
appears to be suffering, her head
thrown back in a gesture of
suffering also used by Picasso in
Guernica. In this way she
represents a familiar and powerful
image of women in the twentieth
century – the grieving mother or
raped woman, which became part
of the iconography of twentiethcentury war or, in this case,
revolution.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs used to convey meaning in
two named representational
surrealist art works, e.g.:
 Magritte’s Key to Dreams has four
carefully painted ordinary objects
on black backgrounds, which look
like blackboards. Under each
object are handwritten words and
the whole things looks a bit like a
schoolroom exercise, and
because the words are wrong it is
a bit confusing.
The extent to which
representational iconography was
effective in conveying surrealist
ideas has been evaluated, e.g.,
Rene Magritte, The Key to Dreams,
1927
 A wooden frame encloses four
black compartments on which
objects have been painted. The
wooden frame is like a window
frame so we seem to be looking
through a window.
 In the top right compartment a
leather bag has been painted.
This is an everyday object that
gives the painting an ordinary
 Delvaux has created a strange,
dream-like world with his carefully
drawn female forms, who seem to
have luxuriant plants growing out
of their heads. The overall
imagery seems to convey ideas of
classical ruins and timelessness.
The nude women remind us of
nudes in art and the ideas
Representational iconography was
extremely important for many
surrealist artists. Sometimes
referred to as the veristic type of
surrealism, representational
surrealism used realistic forms in
locations or combinations which
were impossible. In Delvaux’s
painting, the detailed realism of the
forms increase the sense of
unreality which has been produced
by the eerie lighting, vast landscape
and reduced colour. Together these
devices create a dream-like
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 19 of 27
everyday feel.
Paul Delvaux, The Call of Night,
1930
 Representational objects are used
to create a scene which seems to
be in the winter because the trees
have no leaves. The trees also
look cut off, so it could be after a
disaster.
 Rocks in the background look a bit
like Stonehenge and make it seem
like an ancient world has been
painted.
associated with them such as
truth, and purity. The sculptural
treatment of their forms stops
them having strongly sexual
meanings.
atmosphere and allow the artists to
explore the world of dreams and
subconscious desires, which
fascinated surrealists. Dreams and
the subconscious were important to
surrealists and this imagery was
extremely effective in expressing
this.
Magritte’s painting also explores the
interface between the real and
imagined world using misrelated
words and carefully painted objects.
The confused sense of unreal reality
has been increased by the correct
label underneath the representation
of the sponge. The representational
imagery in this painting reflects
Magritte’s interest in relationships
between word, image and object
which he had written about in an
article in La Revoluion Surrealiste,
saying that when we examine the
differences between words and
objects they highlight the differences
between mind, body and ideas. The
representational iconography used
by surrealist artists was extremely
effective in conveying these ideas.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 20 of 27
Question Ten: Architecture: Modernism to Post-Modernism
Achievement
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
features in two houses by F. L.
Wright, e.g.:
Falling Waters
 The stone of the chimneys is local,
undressed (unpolished) stone
which links the house to its local
environment.
 The cantilevered horizontal
sections echo the rocks beneath
the house and make it look like
the house is part of that rock
formation.
Robie House, 1910
 The horizontality of this house
reflected the vast flat landscapes
in Illinois and created a
harmonious relationship between
the house and its site.
Achievement with Merit
Achievement with Excellence
The candidate has explained how
these features have been used to
convey a sense of each house’s
relationship with its
surroundings, e.g.:
The effectiveness of F. L. Wright’s
architectural features in
conveying a sense of harmony
between house and nature has
been evaluated, e.g.:
 F. L. Wright designed Falling
Waters to look as if it had
emerged from the environment. Its
large concrete floors echo the
rocks on which it was built and the
way the floors of the building are
staggered down the slope makes
it look as if it is part of the waterfall
it has been built above.
 F. L. Wright had a strong sense of
the importance of creating a
positive, organic relationship
between the houses he designed
and the sites on which they were
built. An organic relationship
between house and nature would
create positive living spaces,
which would enhance the lives of
those who lived there.
 Robie House is one of F. L.
Wright’s prairie houses, which
were characterised by wide, deepeaves, and a horizontal profile
built around a central chimney.
These features seemed to embed
the house in its section to create a
harmonious relationship between
house, land and sky.
 This harmony was partly achieved
by the materials he used –
concrete and stone walls,
chimneys and floors made
buildings feel as if they were part
of their surroundings and provided
the timelessness associated with
organic materials rather than
modern synthetic products such
as veneers or steel.
 Large glass windows were
effective in opening interiors up
and creating close relationships
between houses and nature.
 Open-plan interiors were intended
to break down barriers in family
relationships. Family life within F.
L. Wright’s open plan interiors was
concentrated around the large
fireplaces, which were effective in
realising his planned harmony in
terms of firelight and warmth.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
features in two named
functionalist buildings, e.g.:
 The glazed walls of the factory
were functional elements
designed to allow as much
daylight as possible to penetrate
the workshop inside. These
windows show that the AEG
company wanted to provide good
working conditions for its
employees.
The extent to which the use of
iconography to convey meaning
was unimportant for functionalist
architects has been evaluated,
e.g.:
Behrens, AEG Turbine Factory,
1909
 The ends of this building consist of
large, central areas of glass
between concrete pillars. The
curved gables at the top look like
the capital of a column so that the
ends of the building look like
monumental classical columns.
 The sidewalls are made of glass
separated and supported by iron
beams. When you look down the
side it looks like a classical
 The large window areas of the
Bauhaus Building also show that
the Bauhaus understood the
importance of daylight in
workshops. The different window
treatments in other parts of the
building also relate to their
functions – the small windows in
the administration block would
 Sullivan’s words "form follows
function" reflect the main concern
of many twentieth-century
architects like Behrens, Gropius,
Van der Rohe and Le Corbusier,
who believed that a building which
had been well-designed for its
function would also look good.
 Functionalist architects believed
the function of a building should
dominate its design, making it as
economic as possible and doing
away with superfluous decorative
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 21 of 27
colonnade.
Walter Gropius, Bauhaus Building,
1926
 The architecture of this complex
clearly indicates its functions – the
large glazed workshops, the
individual balconies on each
student’s room in the dormitory
block, the small windows and solid
facades of the administration
offices.
make office workers concentrate
on their paperwork while the
balconies in the dormitories gave
each student access to fresh air.
elements.
 Although this philosophy resulted
in urban architecture which was
uniform and seemed to have no
decorative features it would be
incorrect to say that functionalist
architects had no interest in
conveying meaning. In fact, the
very uniformity of functionalist
buildings such as the Seagram
Building was extremely effective in
conveying meaning about the
corporate working environment
and capital. As American
developers said, the sleek glazed
surface of Mies Van der Rohe’s
buildings “meant money", as the
architect was well aware.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 22 of 27
Question Eleven: Modern American Art
Achievement
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs in two feminist art works,
e.g.;
Judy Chicago, Nurturant Kitchen
Woman House, 1972
 The kitchen is a room that
represents the domestic work and
role of the mother.
 It was painted pink because this is
a colour associated with girly
things and this suggests that a
kitchen is a female environment.
Sheet Closet, Woman House, 1972
 The naked female form is a motif
which suggest the sexuality of
women and their vulnerability.
 The body of the woman is divided
and segmented like neatly
arranged sheets a device which
associates the body with the act of
folding and tidying.
Achievement with Merit
The candidate has provided a
plausible explanation of how the
iconographic motifs and/or
devices have been used to
convey meaning in the two art
works, e.g.:
 The Woman House was an
installation which was designed to
be experienced as a spatial whole
Both the kitchen and the sheet
closet integrate aspects of the
female body into rooms to convey
meaning about the stereotype of a
woman’s place being in the home.
 By painting the kitchen pink, the
room is shown to be the domain of
women. The colour also reinforces
the mothering role of women with
the breasts symbolizing breast
feeding. As eggs change into
breasts the association of a
woman’s biological function and
her nurturing role in the kitchen
are melded together.
 The female form in the linen closet
suggests the limits society places
on women.
Achievement with Excellence
The extent to which iconography
used by female artists was
effective in challenging attitudes
to women’s work and social roles
has been evaluated, e.g.:
 Major aims of the feminist
movement of the 1970s were the
highlighting and challenging of
traditional restrictions and
stereotypes placed on women.
 The relationship between biology
and social roles formed the
foundation of Woman House with
its replicated rooms, which
highlighted conventional
stereotypes about a woman’s role.
 The iconography of the rooms was
effective in highlighting the social
roles and limitations placed on
women. The repeated plastering
of eggs and breasts across the
walls of The Nuturant Kitchen
drew attention to stereotypes
about women’s sexuality. Viewed
in isolation The Nurturant Kitchen
may in fact reinforce the role of
women in the kitchen rather than
challenging that social role;
however, when viewed with other
rooms such as the Sheet Closet,
this challenge to traditional
attitudes to women is most
effective.
 The iconography used by female
artists was extremely varied, as
were the methods they used to
challenge the male domination of
society. While the Guerrilla Girls
effectively used female
iconography such as little black
dresses and fishnet stockings, it
should be acknowledged that the
effectiveness of their art was due
to the shocking effects of their
methods such as performance,
billboards and online
presentations.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs in two named art works
about food, e.g.:
The candidate has provided a
plausible explanation of how the
iconographic motifs have been
used to convey meaning in each
artwork, e.g.:
The extent to which iconography
about food was an effective form
of social comment has been
evaluated, e.g.:
Warhol, 200 Campbell’s Soup Cans,
1962
 The motif of a Campbell’s soup
can has been reproduced so
 For both Warhol and Oldenburg
the use of packaged and
processed food were motifs which
 200 Campbell’s Soup Cans is an
effective use of iconography as
the image of food – particularly
supermarket food – was so
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 23 of 27
exactly that it could be mistaken
for an actual soup can.
 The grid-like structure of the soup
cans is a device that replicates the
stacking of cans in a supermarket
isle.
Claes Oldenburg, Pastry Case I,
1961–62
 The carefully depicted pastry case
is an image of a typically high
calorific American food, which can
be purchased in diners and other
food outlets.
 The use of foods of excessive
calorific and indulgent
consumption was an iconographic
symbol for American culture and
American consumerism.
 The forms of cakes and pastries
were suggestive of human forms
wrinkled, bulging and garishly
coated.
conveyed meaning about the
abundance of food and other
goods) in modem American
society.
 Oldenburg’s wrinkled, puffy Pastry
Case I looks a bit like the fat fleshy
bodies of well-fed Americans. In
this way it conveys meaning about
over- consumption.
 In Warhol’s work, the labels of the
cans have been precisely painted
to imitate actual cans. Here the
repeated rows of cans symbolises
the availability of processed food
in American supermarkets and
conveys meaning about the
banality of American lives.
universally understood. Yet in the
context of fine art, the image
would have caused
understandable confusion and
questions. The viewer was
confronted with subjects, forms
and compositions that looked as if
they would be more at home in a
supermarket than on an art gallery
wall.
 The effectiveness of both Warhol’s
and Oldenburg’s use of food
motifs lies in their familiarity and
our association of food to the
everyday and to the body.
Sagging and rearrangeable,
sculptures such as Floor Cone
(1962) were like the human body
as they drooped and sagged. By
grossly enlarging the scale of this
and other familiar objects, such as
Floor-burger (Giant Hamburger),
and by reversing their
characteristics of hard and soft,
rigid or yielding, Pop Artists made
social comments which were
bitingly effective.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 24 of 27
Question Twelve: New Zealand Architecture
Achievement
Achievement with Merit
Achievement with Excellence
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs or devices in two art works
about bicultural issues, e.g.:
 Hotere’s painting brings together
many well-known motifs in New
Zealand culture - the union jack
flag; the letters NZ; black, which
has become the national colour for
New Zealand, but which also
conveys meaning about darkskinned races; and corrugated
iron, a material associated with
New Zealand building. By putting
these motifs together he has
created a work that raises
questions about New Zealand’s
relationships with Great Britain
and the black peoples of the
world, including Maori.
The extent to which iconographic
motifs and/or devices are more
effective than words in conveying
meaning about bicultural issues
in New Zealand has been
evaluated, e.g.:
Hotere, This is a Black Union Jack
 The form of the main motif in the
art work echoes the cross motifs
on the Union Jack, the flag of
Great Britain and reminds us of
that flag.
 The black forms also look like the
upper case letters of NZ and
convey meaning about New
Zealand and New Zealand
identity.
Michael Parekowhai, The Indefinite
Article
 The last two letters of this art work
make up the word HE which is a
Māori word, often used to end
haka.
 Parekowhai’s sculpture uses large
uppercase white letters to form a
phrase I AM HE, which references
paintings by Colin McCahon,
regarded by many as New
Zealand’s greatest artist, and
Māori culture through the use of
the word HE. In this way
Parekowhai raises questions
about Maori identity.
 The exploration of bicultural
issues in New Zealand art is a
popular but relatively recent
theme. New Zealand prides itself
on its biculturalism however many
artists and writers like to point out
that, for many, biculturalism is only
skin deep.
 Hotere’s central motif references
the famous Commonwealth
Games logo of 1974 which
compressed blue and and red
letters (NZ) on a white ground in a
union jack format. Hotere’s black
interpretation, which was intended
to draw attention to other
international sporting events
involving Commonwealth nations
– a South African rugby tour – is
more effective than many of the
long-winded speeches made by
activists. Proof of its effectiveness
is the fact that Hotere produced a
series of Black Union Jack
paintings, which were extremely
popular.
 There are words on Hotere’s
painting, however the text is small
and it is necessary to get up close
to read them: therefore it is
apparent that he has relied on the
graphic form of the union jack and
the rippling corrugated iron for
immediate impact.
 The British Union Jack is one of
the most well-known national
symbols in the world which is why
this monochromatic version is so
arresting.
 The effectiveness of Parekowhai’s
work is, to a large extent,
dependent on the words in his art
work which reference key works in
the history of New Zealand art
which explored Pākehā identity.
Although McCahon was interested
in Māori culture, his use of "I Am"
is seated in western and Christian
culture. Parekowhai has taken
McCahon’s famous words and
incorporated them into a different
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 25 of 27
sort of art work to explore
bicultural issues of identity.
OR
OR
OR
The candidate has described the
meanings of three iconographic
motifs in two named abstract art
works, e.g.:
 At first sight, Gimblett’s painting
seems to be totally abstract and
without meaning however, with
time, the colours and forms in the
work combine to remind the
viewer of New Zealand’s
environment and history – the
green brushstrokes suggest the
native forests of New Zealand and
the superimposed gold can be
interpreted as conveying meaning
about the impact of mining on the
landscape.
The extent to which the use of
iconography to convey meaning
is a significant aspect of modem
New Zealand abstract art has
been evaluated, e.g.:
Max Gimblett, Fern, 1988
 The gold squares on this work can
be interpreted as referring to the
gold mining which brought wealth
to New Zealand in the early days
of European settlement.
 The quatrefoil shape can be linked
to four-leaf clovers, which are
symbolic of luck, or the windows
found in gothic architecture such
as early New Zealand churches.
Milan Mrkusich, City Lights, 1955
 Small blocks of warm and cool
colours can be associated with the
lights of cities with their
rectangular blocks and gridded
road patterns.
 The links between Mrkusich’s
painting and the modem urban
landscape are strong and it is
easy to feel the hustle and bustle
of a busy modern city in the
repeated patterns of colour in the
gridded landscape of this painting.
 When we look at the history of
New Zealand art, true abstraction
is difficult to find. The influence of
early abstract painters like
Kandinsky and Mondrian was slow
to penetrate New Zealand art and
one gets the feeling that the New
Zealand audience was
unreceptive to pure abstraction
until late in the twentieth century.
 The history of abstraction in New
Zealand is one of conflict and
antagonism, featuring
controversies such as that
surrounding Frances Hodgkins’
Pleasure Garden or the later gift of
a McCahon painting to the
National Gallery of Australia.
These controversies suggest that
the New Zealand public preferred
modernist paintings such as the
Group’s simplified landscapes
which conveyed clear and familiar
themes such as the land, rural
identity etc.
 Mrkusich was one of the first
abstract painters to gain
recognition in New Zealand, with
paintings like City Lights. This
work is obviously connected to
Mondrian’s late New York works
with its use of colour and forms to
evoke modern cities with their
electric lights, busy streets, etc in
an abstracted iconography which
is easily accessible. It seems likely
that the meaning conveyed by this
artist’s iconography was an
important factor in his early
popularity as an abstract painter.
 Gimblett’s work is also closely
linked to New York with its graphic
forms and stylish presentation.
Although the iconography in this
work can be interpreted in terms
of New Zealand colours and
themes, this work also stands
alone as an abstract, geometric
work with iconography that does
not clearly convey meaning.
Maybe this is why Gimblett has
chosen to live and work in New
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 26 of 27
York where there is a more
receptive audience for pure
abstract art.
NCEA Level 3 Art History (90491) 2010 — page 27 of 27
Judgement Statement
Achievement
Achievement with Merit
Achievement with Excellence
A
M
E