Advanced Placement Art History
Syllabus
Course Description:
AP Art History is designed to provide a similar curriculum as an introductory Art History college
course. This course will emphasize an understanding and knowledge of architecture, sculpture,
painting, as well as, other art forms within the diverse historical and cultural contexts. Students
will examine major art forms throughout history. They will learn to critique master works of art
using artistic vocabulary. Students will learn to analyze what they see with intelligence and
sensitivity to the work. Students will also use critical thinking skills to problem-solve current
issues that effect Art in our world today. A result of successfully completing this course and
passing the AP Art History Exam, with a score of 3 to 5, many colleges and universities offer
advanced placement credit. Colleges vary on exam scores needed to receive credit. Go to
Collegeboard.com to determine what colleges recognize Advanced Placement and the scores
needed to receive credit at a specific university.
Note: No prior exposure to Art History is required. However, students who have done well in
courses in the arts “humanities”, language arts, and history are especially encouraged to enroll.
Goals:
1. Increase student awareness of the visual arts and their relationship to the culture of its
time.
2. Develop the ability to recognize and communicate aesthetic factors inherent in various
forms of visual art.
3. Develop the ability to write critical essays, including comparing and contrasting various
artwork.
4. Develop students’ ability to use proper art vocabulary when expressing opinions and
ideas about art.
5. Provide direction for taking quality notes from a lecture by exposing them to a collegetype classroom environment.
6. Enable students to make connections to their own artwork through better understanding
art from the past.
Art History Discussion Themes:
1. The study of art history as a consideration of: style, iconography, iconology
2. Understand, respect and tolerate varying styles through broadened awareness of the art
production.
3. Identification of modern and contemporary art forms and issues along with consideration
of historical antecedents.
Course Objectives:
Students will:
1. Recognize significant art forms in each time period.
2. Take notes from illustrated lectures in a manner that will provide a study guide (and
similarly, take notes from their textbook)
3. Compare/contrast two works of art from different time periods by using style, medium,
significance, and form.
4. Visit local and regional museums to see first hand master works of art. Students will be
responsible for specific tasks in relation to museum visits, (sketching, research paper,
scavenger hunts etc.).
5. Use 25, or more, new words appropriately from the vocabulary list
6. Define, “What is Art?”
Course Requirements:
Students’ progress will be evaluated by visual, verbal, and written examinations with homework
assignments in the following areas:
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Identifying works of art
Identifying the media of works of art
Knowing facts contained in particular art movements relevant to the history of art
Using the language of the artist
Comparing and contrasting vastly different areas and/or time periods
Creating projects and oral presentations
Taking the AP Art History Exam in May
Assessments:
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Written examinations
Special reports
Journal (related to slide identification)
Creative projects
Oral presentations
Homework
Class participation
Grade Criteria: (Each Semester)
Percentage of Grade
Quizzes (6 best marks)
Tests (2)
Final Exam
Compare/Contrast Reports (3)
Homework/Notebook
Class Participation
15%
20%
20%
20%
15%
10%
AP Art History may include:
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Slide presentations on the history of art
Demonstrations on processes, techniques and media
Lectures on the language of the artist
Museum trips with guided and unguided tours
Journal writing of museum and gallery experiences throughout the year
Research papers
o Comparisons of themes in art
o Contemporary and/or controversial art-related topics
o Independent and/or original research
Supplemental lectures, trips, and seminars
Games such as Art Bingo, Jeop”art”y, Art Deck, Charades, Art Talbot
Oral presentations
o Groups present term paper topics as a newscast team.
o Academy Awards for best artist of the time period.
Developing study skills: check class notes, assign group essay and occasional
“pop” quiz to check on reading
Textbook assignments to supplement lectures
Mock art auctions with masterpiece reproductions
Study parties/review sessions with themes in preparation for tests and slide ID
quizzes
o Toga Roman Review-students make their own laurel wreaths for this Art
History review and discussion.
o Michelangelo’s birthday party
Seminars and discussions involving critical thinking on issues in aesthetics
Cultural awareness and diversity appreciation (music, food and video
presentation are especially interesting when studying the art of India, China,
Japan, Mexico and the Americas
Research current archeological sites that have discovered artwork and architecture
Trips abroad to other countries to experience their art and culture
Course Overview:
Gardner, Art Through The Ages, 11th Edition
Semester 1: Art History Brief Overview (75 days)
Page Numbers
xxxiii
1. Overview, Books, Intro (3)
2. Ancient Art (2)
Chapter 1: The Birth of Art; Africa Europe, and the Near East in the 1-16
Stone Age.
Chapter 14: The Arts of Ancient America; From Alaska to the Andes 385-414
Chapter 15: Early African Art; South of the Sahara
415-426
3. The Ancient Near East (3)
Chapter 2: The Art of the Ancient Near East, The Rise of Civilization 17-42
4. The Art of Ancient Egypt (5)
Chapter 3: The Art of Ancient Egypt, Pharaohs and the Afterlife
43-76
5. The Art of Aegean (2)
Chapter 4: The art of the Prehistoric Aegean, Minos and the Heroes of
77-96
Homer
6. The Art of Greece (8)
Chapter 5: The Art of Ancient Greece, Gods Heroes and Athletes
97-160
7. Non-Western Art (10)
Chapter 6: The Ancient Art of South and Southeast Asia, Path to
161-186
Enlightenment
Chapter 7: The Art of Early China and Korea, Daoism, Confucianism,
187-214
And Buddhism
Chapter 8: The Art of Early Japan, Sacred Statues and Secular Scrolls
215-230
8. The Art of the Etruscans (2)
Chapter 9: The Art of the Etruscans, Italy before the Romans
231-244
9. The Art of Ancient Rome (7)
Chapter 10: The Art of Ancient Rome, From Seven Hills to Three
245-300
Continents
Chapter 11: The Art of Late Antiquity, Pagans, Christians, and Jews 301-324
Chapter 12: The Art of Byzantium, Rome in the East
325-358
10. Art of Islam (1)
Chapter 13: Islamic Art, Muhammad and the Muslims
359-384
11. Medieval Art in the West (8)
Chapter 16: Early Medieval Art in the West, Europe after the Fall of 427-452
Rome
Chapter 17: Romanesque Art, The Ages of Pilgrims and Crusaders
453-486
Chapter 18: Gothic Art, The Age of the Great Cathedrals
487-532
12. Early Renaissance, Italy (12)
Chapter 19: The Fourteenth Century in Italy, From Gothic to Renaissance
533-558
Chapter 20: Fifteenth-Century Art in Northern Europe and Spain
559-588
Of Piety, Passion and Politics
Chapter 21: Fifteenth-Century Italian Art, Humanism and the Allure of
589-634
Antiquity
13. High Renaissance and Mannerism (12)
Chapter 22: The High Renaissance and Mannerism, Beauty, Science and
635-688
Spirit in Italian Art
Chapter 23: Sixteenth-Century Art in Northern Europe and Spain, The
689-718
Age of Reformation
Semester 2: Art History Brief Overview (60 days)
1. Baroque and Rococo Art (8)
Chapter 24: Baroque and Rococo Art, Of Popes, Peasants, Monarchs,
and merchants
2. Later Non-European Art (4)
Chapter 25: The Later Art of South and Southeast Asia, Religious
Change and Colonial Rule
Chapter 26: The Art of Later China and Korea, Incursion, Restoration
And Transformation
Chapter 27: The Art of Later Japan, From the Shotguns to the Present
3. Neoclassicism, Romanticism (5)
Chapter 28: Neoclassicism through the Mid-Nineteenth Century, The
Enlightenment and Its Legacy
4. Rise of Modernism (15)
Chapter 29: The Later Nineteenth Century, The Rise of Modernism
5. Arts of the Americas after 1000 (5)
Chapter 30: Native Arts of the Americans after 1000, Before and after
the Conquistadors
6. Non-European Art Continued (5)
Chapter 31: The Arts of Oceania, Elders, “Big Men”, Cheifs, and Kings
Chapter 32: Later African Art, Exploration, Colonization, and
Independence
7. Twentieth Century (15)
Chapter 33: The Early Twentieth Century, The Triumph of Modernist
Chapter 34: The Later Twentieth Century, The Emergence of
Postmodernism
8. Review (3)
9. Final Project
719-788
789-802
803-816
817-834
835-888
889-940
941-960
961-978
979-1000
1001-1072
1073-1138
Language of Art:
Elements of Design:
Line: vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved,
zigzag
Shape: 2-D, circle, square, rectangle,
triangle
Form: 3-D, sphere, cube, prism, pyramid
Color: primary, secondary, complementary,
warm/cool, tint/shade
Value: dark vs. light
Texture: rough, smooth, bumpy, etc.
Space:
Principles of Design:
Balance: symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial
Contrast:
Emphasis:
Movement:
Rhythm:
Unity:
Pattern:
Art History Vocabulary:
A.
B.
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D.
E.
F.
G.
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I.
J.
K.
L.
M.
N.
O.
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Q.
R.
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U.
V.
W.
Z.
aerial perspective, aesthetic, agora, allegory, altar, altarpiece, apprentice, amphora,
amphitheater, ancestor worship, animal style, animism, angular, anthropology, aqueduct,
archaeology, arena, archaic, ascetic, asymmetry, atrium, austere, axial approach
banquet, bapistry, barbarian, barrel vault, baroque, basilica, beaker, buttress
caryatid, camera obscura, cella, centaur, celestial, chiaroscuro, chivalry, citadel, classic,
clerestory, code (as in Code of Hammurabi), codex (codices), coffer (as in coffered
ceilings), collage, colossal, column, commemorative, component, conceptual,
contrapposto, convention, corbelled arch, Corinthian, crenellation curvilinear
Doric, detail, dynasty
effigy, eclectic, elongation, embellishment, encaustic, engraving, entablature, entasis,
enthroned, equestrian, essence, evaluate, exaggeration, expressionist
façade, Fauve, fetish, feudalism, flutes (fluting), flying buttress, font, Flemish, forum,
fossil, fresco, frieze, foreshortening frontal, funerary
gate 9as in Ishtar Gate), Gaul, genre, gesso, gospel, Greek Key, groin vault, guild
Hellenic, Hellenistic, herald, heraldic, “horror vacui”, husbandry, humanism, hypostyle
hall
icon, iconography, ideal, Idyll, illuminate, illusionism, impasto, impressionism, interlace,
innovative, Ionic, intaglio
jamb, journeyman, juxtaposition
“ka”, keystone, kore, kouros, krater, kylix
labyrinth, linear perspective, lintel, lithography, lost wax, lyrical
mannerism, manuscript, mastaba, master, megalith, megaron, mercantile, metallurgy,
metope, minaret, minimalist, minotaur, monastery, mosaic, mosque, motif, mural
narrative, naturalism, nave, necropolis, Neoclassic, Neolithic, niche, nocturne, nomad,
nuance
obelisk, optical, order
pagan, pageantry, painterly, Paleolithic, palette, papyrus, parchment, pathos, pastoral,
patron, pediment, pendentive, pensive, personification, Pharaoh, pier, pilaster, podium,
portal, post and lintel, predella, prehistoric, primitive, pointillism, psalter, putto (putti),
pylon, pyramid
quatrefoil, quattrocento
rape (abduction), Reformation, relic, relief, repertoire, repousse, retinue, ribs, ribbed
vaulting, Rococo, rustic
sarcophagus, satire, satyr, scribe, secular, sensuous, serpentine, site, society, Sphinx, stele,
stupa, style, stylize, stylobate, sumptuous, symbol, symbolism, symmetric
taper, tapestry tempera, terra cotta, tessera, triptych, trompe l’oeil, tondo, transept,
treatise, Tuscany, tumultuous
underpainting, utilitarian
values, vellum, voluptuous, votive
wash, woodcut, westwork
ziggurat
Required Text:
De la Croix, Horst, et al. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages. New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, 1991.
Hudson, Suzanne; Morrissey-Noonan, Nancy. The Art of Writing About Art. 2002.
Enrichment Text:
Arnason, H.H. History of Modern Art. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall. 1986.
Barnet, Sylvan.A Short Guide to Writing About Art. New York: HarperCollins College, 1992.
Calo, Carole Gold. Viewpoints, Readings in Art History, 2nd ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, date
unknown
Gardiner, Stephen. Inside Architecture. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1983.
Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art. New York: Harper and Row, 1979.
Hartt, Frederick. Art: A History of Painting, Sculpture, Architecture. Englewood Cliffs: PrenticeHall, 1994.
Janson, H.W. History of Art. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1991.
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History, 2nd ed. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001.
www.abramsbooks.com
Strickland, Carol. The Annotated Mona Lisa, 2nd ed. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews and
McMeel, 1992
Taylor, Brandon. Avant-Garde and After, Rethinking Art Now, New York: Harry N. Abrams,
1995
Post AP Exam Activities:
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Build a tombstone which would visually represent your favorite artist.
Sketch or Paint in a style similar to your favorite artist
Visit an artist’s studio
Watch a video – based on an Artist’s life
o “Pollock”
o “My Left Foot
Group Mural Project
Graphic Design, photo editing - Student photos (heads only) attached to Art History bodies,
labeled and grouped together
Trace a famous work of art twice. Copy 1 color like the original, Copy 2 change colors
Create an architectural model based on structures studied over the year. Journal the experience
Student philosophy of art history