The History and Appreciation of Art Paper

History and Appreciation of Art

Marks: 150

Time Allocated: 2 Hours 30 Minutes

150 marks out of 400 marks are assigned to this paper- i.e. 37.5% of the overall marks for Art

Candidates have to answer THREE questions – 50 minutes a question (40 minutes writing and 10 minutes sketching

Section 1 – Art in Ireland

• Candidates have a choice of approximately 7 questions.
• must answer one question which can range from Newgrange to questions on the Early Irish art to Georgian architecture – there is always a question on this and Newgrange could come up this year
• Sometimes photographs are provided and candidates are asked to identify various artefacts and then describe & discuss them.
• The questions require you to do quite a lot – name, discuss, describe refer to function, style etc – make sure you cover the bases

Section 2 – European Art

• Choice of 8/9 questions – could be anyone!
• You may be lucky and one of your artists comes up – but it is quite possible that this will not happen – in this case – look at the ‘generic’ question  which may ask you to look at a work of art which falls into a particular category – such as a portrait, a painting of a meal, a landscape, a still-life etc. You will definitely be able to do this if you think creatively…..
• You normally have to describe 2 works of art
• All of these questions are long and require you to do a lot so make sure you read the question & cover all parts of the question.

Section 3 – Appreciation of Art

• You must answer one question out of 5
• There is usually a design question and here you have to bring your general knowledge/common sense to the question – you can be asked to talk about anything from chairs, to bags to kettles.
• There is often a question on a gallery or museum visit.
• The main pitfall to avoid is not to choose a question where you will quickly run out of steam.

Hints/Tips

• Always produce sketches – simplified drawings – and annotate them or label the important parts.
• Make sure that you read the question and go back to it as they often require you to do quite a few diffeent thins – highlight the key phrases.
• For Irish art it could be Newgrange, ? and almost certainly Georgian will come up
• For European art adapt what you know to the ‘generic’ question.
• For appreciation have the courage of your convictions – make sure your opinions  are well-supported & well-illustrated