Art history shows up in middle school, high school, university entrance and many civil service exams. Here is a review guide with the works and themes that come up the most.
What gets asked at school level
Five major periods are expected: Antiquity, Middle Ages, Modern Era, 19th century, 20th century. Common works:
- Antiquity: statue of Ramses II, Venus de Milo, Pompeii mosaic
- Middle Ages: Notre-Dame de Paris, Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry
- Renaissance: Mona Lisa, Sistine Chapel ceiling
- Baroque/17th: Las Meninas, Versailles
- 19th: Liberty Leading the People, Impression Sunrise
- 20th: Guernica, The Persistence of Memory
What gets asked at high school level
The syllabus changes each year. Recent topics include: Le Corbusier architecture, the invention of perspective in the Renaissance, the art of portrait, the avant-garde in 1920s Paris.
Key works to be able to contextualize: Liberty Leading the People (1830 Revolution), Guernica (Spanish Civil War), The Scream (end-of-century anxieties).
The 30 must-know works
If we had to compress the minimum:
Antiquity: Venus de Milo, Discobolus, Laocoon, Pont du Gard.
Middle Ages: Notre-Dame de Paris (Gothic), Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry, Bayeux Tapestry.
Renaissance: Mona Lisa, Last Supper, Sistine Ceiling, Birth of Venus, The Arnolfini Portrait.
Baroque: The Night Watch, Las Meninas, Bernini (Saint Teresa), Caravaggio (Calling of Saint Matthew).
18th: Versailles, Fragonard’s Rococo painting, David’s Coronation of Napoleon.
19th: Liberty Leading the People, Raft of the Medusa, Impression Sunrise, Bal du moulin de la Galette, The Scream.
20th: Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, Guernica, The Persistence of Memory, Nighthawks, Pollock’s Number 1A, Warhol’s Marilyn.
Contemporary: Banksy’s Girl with Balloon.
See our detailed list of 30 famous paintings to know.
Method to succeed
Four steps for solid review.
Structure chronologically. A timeline seen and reseen daily anchors the periods.
Link each work to its historical context. The Raft of the Medusa points to an 1816 political scandal. Guernica to the 1937 bombing. This contextualization is expected in both oral and written exams.
Master the vocabulary. Sfumato, chiaroscuro, perspective, fresco, oil, tempera. See our art history beginners’ guide for the basics. Knowing 30 technical terms is enough at exam level.
Practice by quiz. The science of memory shows you remember 50% better when self-testing than re-reading. SAPIRO offers 553 works with their context and attribution. For method, see our article on gamification of learning.
Common candidate mistakes
Confusing period and movement. The Renaissance is a period, Impressionism a movement within the 19th. Mind the vocabulary.
Mixing up Baroque painters. Caravaggio is Italian, Rembrandt Dutch, Velazquez Spanish. All Baroque, but different traditions.
Forgetting non-Western art. Programs often expect openness to African, Asian, Oceanian art. Do not stay only in Europe.
Mixing up Italian and Flemish Renaissance. The Italians (Leonardo, Michelangelo) are from the south, the Flemish (Van Eyck) from the north, with different techniques and subjects.
For more, see our art movements guide and the article on how to recognize a painter by style. SAPIRO lets you practice on 553 works with an educational explanation behind every question.