AP Art History — Cheatsheet
Formulas, exam-day tips, and key terms on one page.
How to get a 5
- Memorize the essential identifying information (Title, Artist, Date, Medium, Location) for all 250 required works.
- Always connect form (what it looks like) to function (how it was used) and context (why it was made).
- Use specific art historical vocabulary (e.g., 'hierarchical scale', 'register', 'contrapposto') in your essays to demonstrate mastery.
- When comparing two works, ensure you discuss both similarities and differences, and give equal weight to both works.
Key terms
Chiaroscuro — The use of strong contrasts between light and dark to achieve a sense of volume in modeling 3D objects and figures.
Contrapposto — An asymmetrical arrangement of the human figure in which the line of the arms and shoulders contrasts with while balancing those of the hips and legs.
Tenebrism — A style of painting where darkness becomes a dominating feature of the image (e.g., Caravaggio).
Fresco — A technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid, or wet lime plaster.
Impasto — A technique used in painting, where paint is laid on an area of the surface in very thick layers.
Reliquary — A container for holy relics, often richly decorated.
Stupa — A mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (typically the remains of Buddhist monks) used as a place of meditation.
Minaret — A tall, slender tower, typically part of a mosque, with a balcony from which a muezzin calls Muslims to prayer.
Mihrab — A semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla (direction of the Kaaba in Mecca).
Hypostyle Hall — A large room with a roof supported by a forest of columns.
Iconoclasm — The destruction of religious icons and other images or monuments for religious or political motives.
Spolia — The repurposing of building stone for new construction, or the reuse of decorative sculpture on new monuments.