Your summer assignment for AP Art History is twofold:
1. Read Scandals, Vandals, and Da Vincis: A Gallery of Remarkable Art Tales, by Harvey
Rachlin (ISBN 978-0143038351). This book is a fun and entertaining read that introduces
you to a number of works of art via their intriguing backstories. (Did you know that the
Mona Lisa was mysteriously stolen from the Louvre in 1911? Or that Manet’s Olympia
caused a massive scandal in the art world when it was displayed in 1863?)
2. Get a jump on the curriculum by learning about Prehistoric Art. Of the 250 required
images for the AP Art History curriculum, 11 of them are in Content Area 1: Global
Prehistory. Below I have included a link to an essay or video for each of these 11 works
to supplement the material in the textbook. For each work of art, read/watch and take
notes on key points. Be prepared to discuss the works in detail.
Tip: When taking notes on a work for art history, we tend to focus on four main
categories: Form, Function, Content, and Context. (Function and Context are, of course,
the most difficult to determine with prehistoric art! Just do your best to gather relevant
information.)
Form: What material is it made of? What shape is it? What size? What color/s? How
is it composed or organized?
Function: What purpose does it serve? Is it decorative, practical, devotional? Was it
created to do something?
Content: What is its message? What topic/s are represented? What does it depict or
symbolize?
Context: When was it made? By whom? Why? Who commissioned it or paid for it?
What were the religious, political, cultural, environmental, economic, or geographic
influences? Is it part of a larger movement (like Impressionism)? What do we know
about the artist—her biography, interests, goals, education/training, patrons, etc.?
*
*
*
Begin by reading Chapter 1 in your textbook. Then read “Paleolithic Art: An Introduction.”
(https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-art-history/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithicmesolithic-neolithic/a/paleolithic-art-an-introduction) Then go through and read/watch the
specific Khan Academy essay or video for each work. (Links are provided in the chart below.)
Take notes based on your textbook and the Khan Academy information.
Work of Art
1.1 Apollo 11
Stones
Khan Academy Link
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-arthistory/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithic-mesolithicneolithic/a/apollo-11-stones-2
Image
Work of Art
1.2 Great Hall of
Bulls, Lascaux
Khan Academy Link
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-arthistory/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithic-mesolithicneolithic/a/lascaux
1.3 Camelid Sacrum
in the Shape of a
Canine
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-arthistory/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithic-mesolithicneolithic/a/camelid-sacrum-in-the-shape-of-a-canine
1.4 Running Horned
Woman
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/artafrica/north-a/algeria-and-libya/a/running-hornedwoman-tassili-najjer
1.5 Bushel with
Ibex Motifs
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-arthistory/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithic-mesolithicneolithic/v/susa-ibex
1.6
Anthropomorphic
Stele
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-arthistory/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithic-mesolithicneolithic/a/anthropomorphic-stele
1.7 Jade Cong
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-arthistory/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithic-mesolithicneolithic/v/jade-cong
1.8 Stonehenge
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-arthistory/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithic-mesolithicneolithic/a/stonehenge
1.9 Ambum Stone
http://nga.gov.au/AmbumStone/ and
http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/hd/ngss/hd_ngss.htm
1.10 Tlatilco
Figurine
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-arthistory/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithic-mesolithicneolithic/v/tlatilco-figurines and
https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/ap-arthistory/global-prehistory-ap/paleolithic-mesolithicneolithic/a/tlatilco-figurines
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/lapi/hd_lapi.htm
and http://scribol.com/anthropology-andhistory/people/the-origins-of-polynesia/
1.11 Terra Cotta
Fragment
Image