EuraStudy
RevisionRevision / N11UK · A-Levels
History of Art
A-Level History of Art is the disciplined study of works of art, architecture and design and the contexts in which they were made. It is not the memorising of names and dates but the practised skill of looking closely and thinking critically: analysing the visual language of an unseen painting, sculpture or building; understanding the materials, techniques and processes by which works are made; grasping how patronage, function and the social, political and religious context shaped both the making and the meaning of a work; and engaging with the differing ways art historians have interpreted the past. Set against the Department for Education GCE AS and A level subject content and delivered here through the Pearson Edexcel specification (9HT0) - currently the sole A-Level in the subject - the course is built from two written papers of equal weight. Paper 1 combines the visual analysis of unseen works with the study of two themes traced across cultures, periods and media (chosen from Nature, Identities and War). Paper 2 examines three historical periods chosen from six, from the Italian Renaissance to contemporary art. Four analytical strands underpin every theme and period: visual analysis; materials, techniques and processes; patronage, function and context; and art-historical methods and critical texts. Because these notes cannot reproduce the artworks themselves, they teach the language, the method and the historical knowledge of art history: how to analyse form and meaning, how works are made, how context and patronage shape them, how scholars interpret them, and the characteristics, key works and named makers of the set themes and periods - always taught accurately and by name.
0/64 Texts12 Chapters~310 min total
Pearson Edexcel 9HT0 Paper 1 Section A (visual analysis)DfE GCE History of Art subject contentPearson Edexcel 9HT0 Paper 1 Section A (composition)Pearson Edexcel 9HT0 Paper 1 Section A (line, tone, colour)Pearson Edexcel 9HT0 Paper 1 Section A (handling and technique)Pearson Edexcel 9HT0 Paper 1 Section A (sculpture)+59 moreFoundationStandardAdvanced
Table of contents · 12 ChaptersT·12
- Media and meaning: an overviewText L·074 min
- Two-dimensional media: fresco, tempera, oil and watercolourText L·085 min
- PrintmakingText L·095 min
- Sculpture: carving, modelling and castingText L·105 min
- Architecture: structural systemsText L·115 min
- Architecture: the classical orders and plan typesText L·125 min
- Overview: humanism and the rebirth of antiquityText L·385 min
- The invention of linear perspectiveText L·395 min
- Early Renaissance Florence: the three pioneersText L·404 min
- Naturalism, the figure and the break with the GothicText L·415 min
- The High Renaissance: Leonardo, Michelangelo, RaphaelText L·425 min
- Patronage and function: the Medici and the ChurchText L·435 min
- Overview: modernism and the machine ageText L·545 min
- The movements: Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, FuturismText L·554 min
- Cubism in depthText L·565 min
- Abstraction and SurrealismText L·575 min
- Modernist architecture: the Bauhaus and Le CorbusierText L·585 min
- Modernism and society: the avant-garde, manifesto and utopiaText L·595 min
- Visual analysis
- Materials, techniques and processes
- Patronage, function and context
- Art-historical methods and critical texts
- Theme: Nature in art and architecture
- Theme: Identities in art and architecture
- Theme: War in art and architecture
- Invention and illusion: the Renaissance in Italy (1420-1520)
- Power and persuasion: the Baroque in Catholic Europe (1597-1685)
- Rebellion and revival: the British and French Avant-Garde (1848-99)
- Brave new world: Modernism in Europe (1900-39)
- Pop life: British and American contemporary art and architecture (1960-2015)
- Paper 1 - Visual analysis and themes (9HT0/01)
- A written examination of 3 hours worth 110 marks and 50% of the A-Level. Section A is visual analysis: students analyse unseen examples of painting, sculpture and architecture, applying the formal/visual language of art (composition, form, line, tone, colour, space, scale and handling, and the elements of sculpture and architecture) to build a critical response supported by close looking. Section B is themes: students study TWO themes chosen from Nature in art and architecture, Identities in art and architecture, and War in art and architecture, each traced across different cultures, periods and media through specified named works and makers. Both AO1 (knowledge and understanding, including context) and AO2 (analysis, interpretation and critical evaluation) are assessed.
- Paper 2 - Periods (9HT0/02)
- A written examination of 3 hours worth 110 marks and 50% of the A-Level. Students study THREE historical periods chosen from a list of six, examining painting, sculpture and architecture within each through named works and makers, and understanding the period's characteristics, developments and contexts. The six periods offered by the specification include: Invention and illusion - the Renaissance in Italy (1420-1520); Power and persuasion - the Baroque in Catholic Europe (1597-1685); Rebellion and revival - the British and French Avant-Garde (1848-99); Brave new world - Modernism in Europe (1900-39); Pop life - British and American contemporary art and architecture (1960-2015); and one further period option. Questions assess AO1 and AO2, requiring both secure contextual knowledge and sustained critical analysis.
- Assessment objectives (AO1 and AO2)
- Two assessment objectives, broadly equally weighted across the qualification, run through both papers. AO1 - demonstrate knowledge and understanding of art and architecture, including the visual language and the materials and techniques of works, and the influence of the historical, social, cultural, political, religious and economic contexts in which they were produced. AO2 - analyse and interpret works of art and architecture, developing a substantiated and critical response and evaluative judgement, and showing understanding of art-historical methods, differing interpretations and critical texts. Strong answers combine secure, accurate knowledge (AO1) with sustained, evidenced analysis and argument (AO2).
- Nature of assessment and grading
- The A-Level is linear: both written papers are sat at the end of the course. There is no coursework or non-examined assessment. The two papers are equally weighted at 50% each, and the four analytical strands - visual analysis; materials, techniques and processes; patronage, function and context; and art-historical methods and critical texts - are not examined in isolation but underpin every answer on both the themes and the periods. The full A-Level is graded A*-E (U below E). The AS-Level (8HT0) covers a reduced range but demands the same core skills of visual analysis and contextual understanding.