2015-2016

AP Art History Syllabus

Instructor: Mrs. Safranek

Evergreen Park Community High School

ssafranek@evergreenpark.org

AP Art History
Introduction:
The study of Art History invites students to discover the diversity in and connections between
forms of artistic expression throughout history and from around the globe. Students will learn
how people have responded to and communicated their experiences through the making of art by
exploring art in its historic and cultural contexts.
AP Art History is an elective course that is designed to be the equivalent of a two-semester
college course. It is open to sophomores, juniors and seniors. This class will prepare students
for the AP Art History Exam scheduled in May of each year. The curriculum will be mostly
chronological in nature with the insertion of significant cultures that were primary influences to
western art. It will provide a deep understanding of the social, political, religious and historical
cultural events surrounding the specific era in which each piece of art, to be studied, was created.
Students will conclude the course with the skills to analyze a work of art using formal, intrinsic
and extrinsic knowledge to evaluate the intent of the artist. Students will demonstrate the ability
to recognize individual artists styles and techniques. Finally, they will acquire an appreciation
for aesthetic and cultural influences that define the role art plays in the timeline of history.

Curricular Requirements
CR1a

Students and teachers use a college-level art history textbook.

CR1b

Students and teachers use primary sources of different types.

CR1c

Students and teachers use secondary sources.

CR2

The big ideas and essential questions in the AP Art History Course and Exam
Description are used as a conceptual foundation for the course.

CR3

Each of the 10 AP Art History content areas in the AP Art History Course and
Exam Description receives explicit attention.

CR4

Students have opportunities to engage with all 12 course learning objectives

in the AP Art History Course and Exam Description through specific
assignments and activities.

CR5

Students are provided opportunities to analyze works of art both visually and
contextually.

CR6

Students are provided opportunities to analyze interpretations of works of art from

primary or secondary sources.

CR7

Students are provided opportunities to analyze relationships between works of

art across cultures and from different content areas.

CR8

Students have opportunities to use enduring understanding and essential

knowledge statements as a foundation to conduct research on a specific work of
art.

CR9

Students are provided opportunities to experience actual works of art or

architecture.

Textbooks and Sources:

Primary Textbook:
Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren, Art History, 4th edition (Pearson Education, 2011).
[CR1a]
Teacher will also have access to MyArtsLab, with online support materials for the textbook.

Secondary Textbook:
Carol Strickland, The Annotated Mona Lisa, 2nd edition (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2007).
Supplementary Textbooks:
Fred Kleiner, Gardners Art Through the Ages: A Global History, 15th edition (Cengage
Learning, 2016). [CR1a]
Debra DeWitte, Ralph Larmann and M. Kathryn Shields, Gateways to Art, AP Edition
(Thames and Hudson, 2012). [CR1a]
Laurie Schneider Adams, Art Across Time, 4th edition (McGraw-Hill, 2007). [CR1a]
Laurie Schneider Adams, Art Across Time: Volume I Prehistory to the Fourteenth Century,
3rd edition (McGraw-Hill, 2007). [CR1a]
Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art, 7th Edition (Longman Publishers, 2003)

Primary Sources:
AP Art History Image Set (250 works of art).
Sources that originate with or are contemporary with the works of art under discussion
(i.e., written documents, videos, interviews). [CR1b]

Secondary Sources:
Sources written by scholars (i.e., journal articles, scholarly videos, museum interpretive
materials). [CR1c]

Supplies:
A binder (at least 2 inches wide), 12 tabbed dividers, spiral notebook, 4 different color
highlighters (one of each of the following blue, orange, yellow and pink), scissors, glue
stick, loose leaf paper and pens and pencils.

Structure:
This course is structured around the big ideas and essential questions from the AP Art History
Course and Exam Description. [CR2]
BIG IDEA 1: Artists manipulate materials and ideas to create an aesthetic object, act, or
event.
ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What is art and how is it made?
Learning Objective 1.1 Students differentiate the components of form, function, content, and/or
context of a work of art.
Learning Objective 1.2 Students explain how artistic decisions about art making shape a work of
art.
Learning Objective 1.3 Students describe how context influences artistic decisions about creating
a work of art.
Learning Objective 1.4. Students analyze form, function, content, and/or context to infer or
explain the possible intentions for creating a specific work of art.

BIG IDEA 2: Art making is shaped by tradition and change.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Why and how does art change?
Learning Objective 2.1 Students describe features of tradition and/or change in a single work of
art or in a group of related works.
Learning Objective 2.2 Students explain how and why specific traditions and/or changes are
demonstrated in a single work or group of related works.
Learning Objective 2.3 Students analyze the influence of a single work of art or group of related
works on other artistic production.

BIG IDEA 3: Interpretations of art are variable.

ESSENTIAL QUESTION: How do we describe our thinking about art?
Learning Objective 3.1 Students identify a work of art.
Learning Objective 3.2 Students analyze how formal qualities and/or content of a work elicit(s) a
response.

Learning Objective 3.3 Students analyze how contextual variables lead to different
interpretations of a work of art.
Learning Objective 3.4 Students justify an attribution of an unknown work of art.
Learning Objective 3.5 Students analyze relationships between works of art based on their
similarities and differences.
Assessments:
Image Matrixes:
Students will complete an image matrix for each work of art in the image set as well as
additional works chosen by the instructor. Each matrix will include the following: a color
photocopy of the artwork, identification, art making process, form, function, content, context,
artistic innovation/convention, and thematic or cross-cultural connections.
(Learning Objectives 1.1, 3.1, 3.5) [CR5]
Graphic Organizer, Worksheets, and Writing Assessments:
Students will complete a variety of the above to further their knowledge and improve their
understanding of the course content.
Homework:
Students will be assigned homework on a daily basis. It will include but is not limited to reading
the assigned chapters from the textbook and/or assigned primary and secondary sources, and
filling in the corresponding image matrixes.
Unit Tests:
Each unit test will be comprised of the following
Identification of five works (3 points each). Full identification includes three of the
following: title or designation of artwork, artist or architect, exact geographic location
and/or culture of origin, art historical period, date(s) in which the artwork was created,
and medium.
20 multiple-choice questions. (40 points 2 points each)
1 fifteen-minute free response question. (15 points)
Thirty-minute essay involving a topic based question requiring the student to fully
identify and analyze one or two works of art. (30 points)
Midterm Exam and Final Exam Study Guide:
The AP Art History Exam will take the place of a final exam. The official AP Art History Exam
is scheduled for Tuesday, May 3, 2016.
Field Trips and Assignments:
There will be two field trips, one to Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, and one to
the Art Institute of Chicago. The dates will be announced.
Students will be assigned works of art, from the collection at the Oriental Institute, in class a
week before the field trip. Using enduring understanding and essential knowledge statements
as a foundation for research, each student will prepare a 5 minute presentation about his or her

assigned work of art. As we tour the Oriental Institute, students will give their presentations
about their assigned works of art as we view them. Each student will be asked to be an expert
on his or her work of art, this means he or she will be asked questions by the teacher during
his or her presentation. Notecards are required but should not be read from word for word. At
the end of the presentation the student should submit his or her notecards as well as a 2 page
typed informational paper about the culture from which his or her artwork originated, as well as
an artistic critique about the piece of art. The paper should include an image of the work (not
included in the 2-3 pages). The paper should also include a works cited page (also not included
in the 2-3 pages). (Learning Objectives 1.1, 1.2, 3.1) [CR4] [CR8] [CR9]
Before taking a tour of the Art Institute of Chicago, students will choose a theme from a provided
list, and then after the tour, locate 5 works of art (two and/or three dimensional), that reflects the
chosen theme. They will then complete a table containing identifying information about each of
the chosen pieces. Lastly, they will choose one of the pieces of artwork from your completed
table and write a short essay that describes and analyzes the artwork.
(Learning Objectives 1.1, 1.2, 3.1) [CR4] [CR9]
Research and Powerpoint Presentation:
Students will research and design powerpoint presentations in which they will analyze
relationships by comparing and contrasting two works of art from two different cultures and
from two different content areas. Students will present their powerpoints to the class.
(Learning Objectives 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5) [CR5] [CR6] [CR7]
Artist or Movement Vertical Hanging:
Working individually, each student will construct a vertical line of 12 index cards, hole
punched and connected together with string, containing images of 12 artworks, that meet
one of the following criteria:
a.) artworks, all created by a single artist, each one made or completed in different years.
b.) artworks, all created within a stylistic time period or movement, each one from different
years.
c.) artworks, to be placed in order to suggest the influence of one artwork over another.
On the sides of each of the index cards, opposite the sides containing the images, the student will
identify each artwork and discuss how:
a.) the artworks created by a single artist exemplifies a transition to maturity throughout the
artists career.
b.) the artworks created during a stylistic period or movement exemplifies the evolution from the
movements beginning to its height and/or to its disappearance.
c.) how each artwork was influenced by an earlier artwork included in the hanging.
(Learning Objectives 2.2, 3.1, 3.5) [CR5] [CR7]
Artist Birthday Party:
Working individually, each student will select an artist that was studied, and thoroughly research
his/her life. The student will construct a box for that artist, decorating the box with motifs such
as the artists work, his/her signature, old photographs, etc. The student will then select five

objects that would be appropriate to give as a birthday present and that would fit inside the box.
On index cards, the student will identify what each object is and why he/she is giving it to the
artist, providing historical context that has been researched about the artist. The student will
lastly attend a birthday party and bring food that his/her chosen artist would have eaten, enjoyed,
painted, etc. At the party, each student will present his/her gift to the class, explaining the
significance of each object, and then pass out the food for the audience to enjoy.
(Learning Objective 1.2) [CR8]
Extra Credit:
Famous Architectural Buildings:
The student is given a printed template that contains pieces of a famous architectural building.
He or she is instructed to cut out the pieces and mount them to Bristol or poster board to make
them sturdier. The student then puts the pieces together to create a replica of a famous
architectural building from art history.
After the student has created the replica of the building, he or she should write a short essay that
describes the form, function, content, and/or context of the architectural building, and also
explains how the context may have influenced why that building was constructed.
(Learning Objectives 1.1, 1.3) [CR5]

The Field Museum Scavenger Hunt:

The student will go to the Field Museum of Chicago and find one artwork, in the Field
Museums collection, which is similar to an artwork from the AP Art History 250 image set.
The student will sketch it and answer the following questions on the accompanying worksheet:
1. Which artwork from the image set is similar to your chosen artwork? Fully identify the
artwork.
2. How is the artwork stylistically similar to the artwork in the image set?
3. How is the artwork stylistically different to the artwork in the image set?
4. What new and useful information in the exhibit hall helped you to clarify your understanding
of the artwork?
(Learning Objectives 3.1, 3.4, 3.5) [CR5] [CR9]

Student Expectations:

You should expect to spend at least one hour of uninterrupted reading a day. Dont be
intimidated by the size of the book; there are literally thousands of pictures and you will
find that the book reads like a storybecause it is a story. Also, we will not have time to
read the entire book. Expect to read for at least an hour every night. The same applies to
assigned articles. Read in a place and at a time without interruptions of any kind!

Stay on top of the reading. Do not fall behind.

You must take notes as you read: either neatly handwritten or typed on a computer.

Do not lose your reading notes. Do not overestimate your ability to remember
all of the details necessary to succeed.

At the beginning of each class, turn in your homework, take a copy of the next homework
assignment, and retrieve your graded homework from the files on the bookshelf.

Come to class prepared and ready to discuss and take notes. Be ready to begin at the bell.

Bring a pen and a pencil to class every day so that you can take notes and make sketches
related to the artwork discussed during class.

Take excellent care of the textbooks. Take the Skokstad and Cothren Art History book
home and leave it there until December 18th. Bring the Strickland, The Annotated Mona
Lisa, book to class every day.

Complete all image matrixes and keep them neatly organized in your binder according to
the units of study. Keep all graphic organizers, worksheets, and writing assessments
organized according to the units of study as well.

The undressed human figure (i.e.: the nude) is an important and very frequently used
subject throughout the history of art. Therefore, to be a part of this class, you must
approach all artwork with a mature and open mind.

You must approach the study of philosophies, religions, nationalities, and political
ideologies that are different from your own with the same mature and open mind.

You are expected to share your thoughts and observations in class. Silence will count
against you.

Course Outline
Unit 1: Course Introduction & In the BeginningPrehistoric Art (13 works) 3 days
(Content Area 1) [CR3]

Unit 2: The Most Ancient of Us All: The Near East and Egypt (27 works) 4 days
(Content Area 2) [CR3]

Unit 3: The Classical Era: The Ideal through the Eyes of the Greeks, Etruscans, and
Romans (49 works) 8 days (Content Areas 2 and 7) [CR3]

Unit 4: Faith Around the World, and How It Inspires the Arts (39 works) 5 days
(Content Areas 3, 7, and 8) [CR3]

Unit 5: Art of South, East and Southeast Asia: New Forms for Traditional Ideas
(25 works) 4 days (Content Area 8) [CR3]

Unit 6: Art of the Americas: Pre- and Post-European Contact (38 works) 3 days
(Content Area 5) [CR3]

Unit 7: African Art: Coming of Age (30 works) 4 days (Content Area 6) [CR3]

Unit 8: The Pacific (Oceanic Art): Art Over the Greatest Expanse (14 works) 2 days
(Content Area 9) [CR3]

Unit 9: Medieval Europe (25 works) 4 days (Content Area 3) [CR3]

Unit 10: Renaissance, Baroque Europe, Rococo and Early Romanticism (54 works)
10 days (Content Areas 3 and 4) [CR3]

Unit 11: The 19th and 20th Centuries (50 works) 10 days (Content Area 4) [CR3]

Unit 12: Contemporary Art: Looking Ahead, Looking Back, Looking All Around
(27 works) 7 days (Content Area 10) [CR3]