Examination Board: Edexcel
Course Specification & Information
Why study History of Art?
In the highly visual world of the 21st Century, anyone with a History of Art qualification will be well placed to follow a career in media, marketing and advertising, and the creative sector. A degree in History of Art can also lead to employment in the wider business world that depends so heavily on the image: fashion, travel, film, journalism, and the heritage sector.
This is an essay based subject and you will need to develop your skills of reading, research and analysis in conjunction with your writing skills. History of Art is a genuinely fascinating course which is inter-disciplinary by nature, combining aspects of history, art, politics, sociology, literature and languages. You do not, by any means, need to be a practising artist (as History of Art is a humanities, not practical subject), although all artists will find this course adds extra depth to their own work and development.
Course Content
This a two year course leading to a full A Level. The course begins with an Overview of Western art and an introductory Visual Analysis module, before embarking on two Themes (Identities and Nature). These thematic studies will include the examination of artworks from across the world and within over 2000 years of history. In Upper Sixth we will explore two Periods of Western Art History (Invention and Illusion: The Renaissance in Europe 1420-1520 and Brave New World: Modernism in Europe 1900-39) to provide students with more in-depth knowledge and artistic analysis to pair with their broad understanding of the thematic study.
Assessment
- Paper 1: Visual Analysis and Themes (3 hours, 50%)
- Paper 2: Periods (3 hours, 50%)