A-level History of Art

Transcription

1 A-level History of Art HART2 Themes in History of Art Report on the Examination 2250 June 2014 Version: 1.0

2 Further copies of this Report are available from aqa.org.uk Copyright 2014 AQA and its licensors. All rights reserved. AQA retains the copyright on all its publications. However, registered schools/colleges for AQA are permitted to copy material from this booklet for their own internal use, with the following important exception: AQA cannot give permission to schools/colleges to photocopy any material that is acknowledged to a third party even for internal use within the centre.

3 HART2 Themes in History of Art General Comments All six questions were attempted. Question 5 was by far the least popular and received only a handful of responses. Occasionally, the wrong question number was written - but the content of the response usually removed any doubt. Very infrequently, students used the same example twice across different questions. AO1 was generally sound and secure. Sometimes artworks were imprecisely or incorrectly identified, although the titling of works was generally more accurate than in previous examination series. There were fewer incorrect dates and misspellings of artists and architects names, though when this did occur it was frequently wildly inaccurate. Misrepresented theory occasionally formed parts of students responses, particularly with regard to gender, ethnicity and nationality. On rare occasions, examples were cited outside the date range of the specification. AO2 was usually clearly demonstrated with substantiated judgements and sustained discussion. However, there were cases of subjective and unsubstantiated judgements, usually based on partial understanding of complex theories only partially applied. Sometimes students resorted to writing everything they had learned about their chosen examples, which frequently led to irrelevance and digression. This was particularly evident in responses which foregrounded formal analysis, but did not address the central tenet of the question. A case in point was when students were asked to compare and contrast which was often relegated to a minor part of the response or ignored completely. AO3 was evidenced to a consistently high level, with the majority of students presenting a clear and coherent response. However, a small number of students displayed a lack of clarity and organisation, which led to vague and repetitious writing, inhibiting and sometimes marring the response. Less able students frequently employed irrelevant material outside the scope of the question. On the whole, the quality of written communication was generally improved with handwriting, spelling and grammar presenting less of a barrier to clear and coherent responses. Question 1 Subjects and genres Compare and contrast two portraits, each by a different artist. You may choose your examples from painting and/or sculpture. This was the most popular question. However, a significant number of students chose examples that were not portraits, notably mythological and biblical figures and characters from fiction. Such examples were Michelangelo s and Donatello s David. More generic subjects like Henry Moore s Reclining Mother and Child were also cited. Manet s Olympia and Titian s Venus of Urbino were also pressed into service as portraiture, and although a likeness may have been something of a sub-text in these works, students rarely identified the model or discussed these as portraits. The compare and contrast element of the question was not always addressed, but more successful responses were generally well crafted. The most popular examples were Van Eyck s Arnolfini Marriage, Gainsborough s Mr and Mrs Robert Andrews and Hockney s Mr and Mrs Clarke and Percy. 3 of 5

4 Question 2 Materials, techniques and processes Discuss how the use of materials, techniques and processes has affected the appearance of one painting and one sculpture. This was another popular question and, on the whole, answered successfully, using a wide range of knowledge and a comprehensive understanding of materials, techniques and processes. Tempera, fresco and oil for painting, and stone carving and bronze casting for sculpture were extremely well explained. However, these techniques were not always related to appearance and consequently did not always satisfy the demands of the question. Examples for painting included Gentile da Fabriano s Adoration of the Magi, Duccio s Stoclet Madonna, Masaccio s Tribute Money, Van Eyck s Arnolfini Marriage and also later works such as Seurat s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte. For sculpture, Michelangelo s and Donatello s David and Degas Little Dancer were the most common examples. Examples were well known, analysed and discussed with confidence. Almost all students were aware that the question required one painting and one sculpture. Question 3 Form and style Analyse the form and style of two buildings that are stylistically different. There were some interesting and well-thought through responses to this question which drew on a wide and impressive range of examples. In most cases, the style of the building was identified and the form of each building was analysed. Examples included the Parthenon, the Pantheon, the Colosseum, Chartres Cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris, Salisbury Cathedral, S. Andrea al Quirnale, St. Paul s Cathedral, the Crystal Palace, the Robie House and the Pompidou Centre. There was also evidence that some of these had been viewed at first hand. Question 4 Historical and social contexts Discuss the ways in which two paintings and/or sculptures, each by a different artist, demonstrate a response to the times in which they were produced. This was a popular question which was generally well answered. Students were well equipped to relate the works to the times in which they were produced. The most popular examples were Delacroix s Liberty Leading the People, Géricault s Raft of the Medusa, Goya s Third of May 1808 and David s Marat at his Last Breath, as well as Picasso s Guernica. All of these received excellent formal and iconographical analysis. Occasionally, students selected examples where contextualisation was not so obviously expressed in the image itself. Examples of this were works like Renoir s Moulin de la Galette or Seurat s Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grande Jatte where much of the historical and social context needed to be teased out of the painting. Sculpture featured less frequently in responses to this question. Question 5 Social and cultural status Discuss the social and/or cultural status of two architects. You should refer to at least one building by each architect in your answer. 4 of 5

5 This question was chosen very infrequently. Students who attempted this question produced somewhat sparse responses and some discussed the architect but did not refer to any buildings or offer any analysis. On the whole, this was disappointing given the responses to question three where students clearly had many examples to draw from in their response. Question 6 Gender, nationality and ethnicity Analyse how two works of art, each by a different artist, are concerned with the artists nationality or nationalities. While there were some excellent and knowledgeable answers, there were some poor responses where nationality was confused with gender. The question also attracted those who used well-known examples that had been learned but which were not the most suitable in addressing the question. Michelangelo s and Donatello s David were used in this context. Sometimes, formal analysis alone was pursued at the expense of relating the examples to the nationality of the artist. Picasso s Guernica and Olfi s No woman No cry were typical of the examples that students chose to analyse. Mark Ranges and Award of Grades Grade boundaries and cumulative percentage grades are available on the Results Statistics page of the AQA Website. Converting Marks into UMS marks Convert raw marks into Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) marks by using the link below. UMS conversion calculator 5 of 5