<p>Are there any good books for the AP Art History Exam?
Are there any tips for this exam?</p>
<p>Annotated Mona Lisa is a nice, quickie summary of art history- but you can't rely on this alone.</p>
<p>The exam is easier than other history exams. Just know general characteristics of each art period (as well as important artists), and you will be able to apply them to most unknown works. </p>
<p>Oh, and also, you will need to cite non-European artworks in some of your essays. Choose wisely - graders will be tired to see you write about an Egyptian artwork, just like the other 10,000 kids.</p>
<p>I'm actually curious about this course. There hardly isn't any good books that can prepare you for the test if you self-study and the ambuigty of how to approach it seems to be an even bigger ordeal than locating the one book available in the market--that's right there's only self-prep book and from the looks of it,the people who used it weren't too pleased</p>
<p>The only way to self-study for this course is to go through the immense textbooks thoroughly. My class used Stokstad (my teacher felt Gardner's text was boring).</p>
<p>The multiple choice on the exam was a breeze, but the essays are sometimes specific enough that you will blank on them (like-- (slide is up) "Who designed this building? What innovations in this building aided the development and rise of the modern skyscraper?"</p>
<p>I loved this course. (Got a 4 by the way)</p>
<p>Well the course i had was a complete disaster. First year course with a teacher who hadnt studied art since the late 60's. Very disorganized. She went over 200 years of Art in 3 days(2 of them I wasnt there). Overall, the course is a TON of reading and a lot of memorization. It really has the potential to be a stimulating class with the right teacher, unfortunately I was not so fortunate. </p>
<p>I felt very unprepared for the exam and ended up with a 4(which kind of relieved me). However the test, especially the FR, are very unpredictable. Your best bet is to just know every style/time period along with the memorization of a few major works from each period in depth.
In my class of 12 -
0 5's
2 4's</p>
<p>and the rest 1's, 2's and 3's. You definitely need a great teacher or a great deal of motivation for self study or with a teacher who is lost.</p>
<p>You're right, ryan2288, you need a VERY organized teacher. She had us do packets for each time period, and that was SUCH a tool when the final exam came around. I ended up getting a 5.</p>
<p>AP Art History is simply too expansive a topic to go in depth. Because of this, study well the typical characteristics, not specific details. Create lists of memorable artworks and artists from each period. Spend more time on post-medieval, because old art is easier to remember, as they usually follow some sort of canon or system. Starting from around the Renaissance, you will need to start memorizing specific artists and their respective unique styles. This is what makes memorization hard. Practice essays. Practice multiple choice. Do not underestimate architecture, and learn to analyze how history/culture affects art. </p>
<p>If anyone has questions about the class, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>So far I think the class is trite and banal. When will the course start effervescing?</p>
<p>I self-studied and got a 4. Use Annotated Mona Lisa. Memorize rough time periods (dates) and KNOW the characteristics of all the art periods very well. Memorize slides, famous works, and artists. Go to Barnes & Noble and peruse all the giant art books based on particular artists to familiarize yourself with their styles so you can recognize their work even if you haven't seen the particular work before.</p>
<p>Self-studying for Art History seems to be very difficult, unless you have great discipline.</p>
<p>Anyone else have any other comments?</p>
<p>oh, come on. i am not a genius, or a student that is "out there" (i know a few who are, though) and never stops studying, but i did fine on my own (for the most part). it was a lot of work, a lot of studying, but i had an entire school year to do it. we had a teacher, but we didn't meet for any classes. he'd assign a topic or period to go over and we used a few different sources to read about so we covered all aspects of the topic/period. offhand, i remember janson's and gardener's books were very good (i did this all two years ago). after spending a week or two on the topic/period, we'd meet for an oral quiz/test. second semester, though, we just researched all throughout the semester and presented powerpoint lectures on the given period. i alone covered 19th and 20th century art... it was a four hour lecture with over 180 powerpoint slides, but it was fun in the end (i had nearly everything memorized). art really sticks and once you pull it up on the screen, the ideas and facts just flow and it's not at all like memorizing history. i also did presentations on aegean art and islamic art, and treated both those topics very superficially. ANYWAY, the point is that i did it and you can, too. i took the exam and got my 5... oh and...</p>
<p>"Oh, and also, you will need to cite non-European artworks in some of your essays. Choose wisely - graders will be tired to see you write about an Egyptian artwork, just like the other 10,000 kids."</p>
<p>haha, i wrote on egypt so it must not be that bad...</p>
<p>What about this book?
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0155057960/ref=sr_11_1/104-6956605-3247936?ie=UTF8%5B/url%5D">http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0155057960/ref=sr_11_1/104-6956605-3247936?ie=UTF8</a></p>
<p>that does not seem even close to being comprehensive enough.</p>
<p>even gardener's missed some important stuff, and it's twice the size of that book you listed:</p>
<p>i also used stokstad's, which is the text i actually bought (gardener's, janson's and others were in the library at my school):</p>
<p>I have Gardener's book right now, but because my teacher does not enforce reading the material, but just doing study packets, I have not read at least 10 chapters of the book. I know this may seem like a paltry question, but should I go back and read the 10 chapters I have not read which include the Egyptian, Roman, and Greek art?</p>
<p>Also, how specific and difficult is this exam?</p>
<p>Yes, that ancient stuff is on the test.</p>
<p>Topic Outline
The following outline shows the content areas generally covered by introductory college art history courses and a percentage range of course time devoted to each content area. The AP Art History Exam generally reflects this coverage.</p>
<p>I. Ancient Through Medieval (30%)
Greece and Rome (10-15%)
Early Christian, Byzantine, Early Medieval (5-10%)
Romanesque (3-7%)
Gothic (7-10%)
II. Beyond European Artistic Traditions (20%)
Africa (including Egypt); the Americas; Asia; Near East, Oceania, and global Islamic tradition
III. Renaissance to Present (50%)
Fourteenth Through Sixteenth Centuries (12-17%)
Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries (10-15%)
Nineteenth Century (10-15%)
Twentieth Century (10-15%)
Back to top</p>
<p>Is there an AP Art History site? Or can someone send past exams to <a href="mailto:saintbeowulf@yahoo.com">saintbeowulf@yahoo.com</a> please?! Or can someone post various AP art history questions and answers since I'm self-studying for it?!</p>
<p>How does one study for this course? For me, this is a self-study course due to my teacher's laid back "teaching" style. We are currently in the Renaissance, so should I start memorizing artists' names and styles? </p>
<p>Also, what is the format for writing the short and long essays?
We have not written any essays especially those from the CollegeBoard's website.</p>
<p>Help would be appreciated. :)</p>
<p>Anyone ?</p>