Free-Response Tips & Sample Questions Tips taken from Barron’s APAH Exam Review

Tip Never use value judgments or matters of taste or opinion in an essay. Never say that a work of art is “better” or that an artist used perspective “better” or color “better.” Instead, express differences in terms of values that few can object to such as “The work on the right has more vivid color than the work on the left.”

Tip It is permissible in questions with two slides to simply refer to them as right and left rather than repeating a title. Once you have established what they are, left and right, or even L and R, are sufficient.

Tip Always identify a work of art clearly and not generically. For example, don’t identify by simply using “the pyramid” or “a cathedral.” Use the Pyramid of the Sun in Teothuacan, Mexico or the Pisa Cathedral in Pisa, Italy.

Tip Write in complete sentences. Do not list and do not use bullets! Read the question carefully and fully answer each part.

Tip To focus the reader’s attention, have your opening statement rephrase the question Example question: Often the original context of a work of art is essential to its interpretation. Choose two works of art from two different periods in which the original context is known, explain the context, and discuss how it contributes to its meaning

Tip Example Answer: The original context of a work can add significantly to its meaning – artists often having been commissioned to create works for a particular place or function. Two works that create this impression are the High Renaissance painting of the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci and Robert Smithson’s Site Art work called Spiral Jetty in Great Salt Lake, Utah.

Tip Questions 3 – 9 will be short answer— Free-response questions You will have between 5 – 10 minutes to answer each. The questions are based on color images and/or text 1 question will include a quote

The work on the left is from the beginning of the Roman portrait tradition, and the work on the right is from the end of that tradition. Identify the portrait on the right. Discuss ways in which the function and time period of each account for the differences in their appearance. 10 mins

Identify the period of the fresco shown here in a black and white illustration. How does the work exemplify the artistic concerns of its period. 5 mins

Attribute the painting to an artist you have studied. Justify your attribution by identifying and discussing specific characteristics seen in the painting. 10 mins

This shows a Roman copy of a Greek original. Name the specific art-historical style of the original. How is the theme of death treated and why? 5 mins

Identify the architect of this building. How did the innovations in this building lead to the development of the modern skyscraper? 10 mins

The architect of the building shown on the right is Leon Battista Alberti. Name the period of the building on the right. How and why did Alberti adapt elements of the work on the left? 10 mins

The two works were made in the same period about 100 years apart. Identify the period. Explain how the two works exemplify developments in sculpture during that period. Refer to specific characteristics of both works to support your answer. 10 mins

Identify the culture in which the manuscript page was made. How is the manuscript page characteristic of its culture? 5mins

Identify the photographer. How did the photographer’s work influence painting? 10 mins

An aerial view of a monumental work is shown. Identify the artist. What artistic concerns motivate the creation of earthworks such as the one shown? 10 mins

Analyze how the Roman temple is similar to and different from a Greek temple. 5 mins

Both of these paintings were made by the same artist. Identify the artist. Citing specific details from the paintings, analyze how the artist used satire to comment on class and taste in the society of the time. 10 mins

Thomas Cole painted the work shown. Identify the art historical school with which Cole was associated. Discuss how this painting embodies the political, social, or philosophical ideas of its time. 10 mins

The following statement, made by Mary Cassatt in 1904, refers to her 1879 collaboration with the artistic group with which she is most closely associated. “Our... exhibition... Was a protest against official exhibitions and not a grouping of artists with the same tendencies... “ To which group of artist’s does Cassatt’s remark pertain? Referring to the work shown and a work by one other artist in this group, defend her claim that these artists did not have the same stylistic tendencies. 5 mins