Are the names of specific artists and their artworks (and characteristics) important? Or should I just know general trends and characteristics of artworks of each time period and a few important pieces?</p>
bump10char</p>
Knowing famous artists and their works doesn’t hurt. But trends/characteristics are more important.</p>
Off the top of my head, you’d want to know (for Italian/Northern Renaissance) Raphael’s School of Athens, Michaelangelo’s David, that one guy’s (van Eyck?) Arnolfini Wedding, Michaelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, and probably some others that I can’t think of right now. Oh, and Bernini’s Ecstacy of St. Theresa wouldn’t hurt either…I think it’s Bernini.</p>
Know, as the poster above mentioned, famous works.</p>
In addition, knowing the general trends and movements of art is very helpful.
There’s usually an essay question on art that you can answer if you like, and a couple of multiple choice.
Being able to identify the different traits that different art movements have is very important, and on my AP Euro test, I got around 3 or 4 questions that were related to art.</p>
I agree completely. There’s usually a few questions that deal with either a famous painting or artist, or the characteristics of an art style</p>