History of Art

Course summary

Consider the image on the previous page. What do you see? Who are these men? What are they doing? What are these objects? What do they reveal to us about their personalities? What has the image to dowith politics, religion, science and music? All of these questions and more are of interest to us, as well as how it was made and what it tells us about identity and ideas at the time. As we investigate further we will address issues concerning contemporary politics, religious issues and even why the work is in the format of a marriage portrait. Works of art are layered and structured things like poems and stories. By studying History of Art A level, you will ask questions of visual works, explore the evidence and learn how to decode them. You will decipher the images, including the differing styles, techniques, materials and processes that have gone into their construction. Alongside this analytical approach, you will evaluate works of art from new perspectives, such as considering gender, global and ethnicity issues or the social context in which the works existed. History of Art is a wide-ranging subject that raises many questions as it is a point of intersection between many subjects including History, Languages, Sociology, Psychology and Philosophy. Works of art are layered and structured things like poems and stories. By studying History of Art A level, you will ask questions of visual works, explore the evidence and learn how to decode them. You will decipher the images, including the differing styles, techniques, materials and processes that have gone into their construction. Alongside this analytical approach, you will evaluate works of art from new perspectives, such as considering gender, global and ethnicity issues or the social context in which the works existed. History of Art is a wide-ranging subject that raises many questions as it is a point of intersection between many subjects including History, Languages, English and Philosophy.