Welcome back to the Accessible Art History Blog! With the AP Art History coming up in just a few months, I thought it would be helpful to write a few posts with my best tips, tricks, advice and knowledge. First up, are ten key terms. They can apply to almost every art work and period, making them a great starting point for any written response questions. With these terms in your back pocket, it should make it easier to craft an answer!
I hope you find this list helpful! Good luck with the big test!
Form - How the artwork appears. In some cases, can be used to describe the medium.(painting, sculpture, etc)
Function - Why was the art created and what purpose did it serve?
Composition - How the elements of the work are arranged.
Foreground - The elements of a painting that are closest to the viewer.
Background - The elements of a painting that are farthest from the viewer.
Narrative - The story behind the work.
Perspective - The creation of three dimensionality within a flat surface.
Iconography - The subject of the work, especially through symbolic means.
Canon - The works and artists that exemplifies a field or period.
Culture - The customs and social structures of a specific group of people.
There are many other terms in the art history world, but these ten are great for opening up discussions. I hope they help and good luck again!
For even more terms: