Contextual Essay Art History

Artists manipulate materials and ideas to create an aesthetic object, act or event.

The Essential Question for Big Idea #1 is: What is art and how is it made?

This is one of the most important art history tips.

Each of the Big Ideas is closely connected to an Essential Question, and to several Learning Objectives.

AP Art History is the equivalent of a two-semester college-level art history survey course, covering art from the Paleolithic era through today.

According to the College Board, Advanced Placement Art History explores the nature, uses and meaning of art, its creation and audience responses.The tenth content area covers a very short time period, but art from around the globe.This speaks to a significant change in the world in recent years—access to travel and information mean that geography is less of a consideration in the contemporary art world.Hint: Biography databases often include much of this information when you look up the artist. She is a portrait artist of much acclaim from the late 1700s. The portrait is in National Museum of Women in the Arts. This AP Art History study guide provides you with the tools you need to succeed on the exam—and to get the score you want!Describe features of an artistic tradition and/or change in a single work of art or a group of related works. Explain how and why specific traditions and/or changes are demonstrated in one or more works of art. Analyze the influence of a single work of art or group of related works on works of art produced around the same time or later. The Essential Question for Big Idea #3 is: How do we describe our thinking about art? Identify a work of art with key identifiers, including artist or culture, date, and material. Analyze how formal qualities of the work and/or content of a work of art brings about a response from the viewer. Consider how contextual factors lead to different interpretations of art. Justify attribution of an unknown work of art, using formal qualities and comparisons to other works. Analyze relationships between different works of art based on their similarities and differences.AP Art History is divided into ten distinct content areas.Essential Questions in art history will help to guide your work in the class and your preparations for the big test day.Learning objectives help you to understand what the College Board thinks that you should take from your studies in this course—we’ve paraphrased those below for you!In many cases, art in these regions developed somewhat independently, with only occasional influences from other cultures.In these content areas, a long period of time is covered in a narrow geographic area.