Expert: AliMcJ - 11/4/2003

Question
I have an art history midterm coming up in a week. We were given a list of 75 works covering western art from the Gothic to the Baroque period. The midterm is a selection of 10 of these works shown on slides and we have to give info such as; artist, name of work, date, period...as well as a short essay on why this work is important to its period and to history in general.
The text we are using is not very helpfull and there is a lot of material on the web to go through to find, specifically, why each work is important. I was wondering if you knew of some sites that could help me narrow my search or anything else that could help at all. Thank you very much in advance for your help.

Answer
I assume that you were shown the works in class and so you are being tested on them.

For the second half of the class, make sure you take detailed notes and sketch out each of the pieces when you are shown it on slides.  Study that.

The purpose of Art History slide exams is in seeing if the students have developed a feel for a period and an artist, if they can look at a previously unseen piece and make a good estimation of where it belongs in art history.  Your instructor will choose very representative pieces in order to jar your memory.

I suppose you have the HW Janson text as your book.  If not, go to the library and use it for reference.  It's been the gold standard for a long time.

The internet is not really helpful for these sort of survey classes -- just in searching out oblique or tangential references.

You can, however, learn to do a google search with more precise terms (check "help" on google to learn how to couch your phrases).  For example, you might do a search on a certain piece and then in your search add + historical importance after the search comes up, to narrow it down.

The art of finding information is a priceless skill learned in college!

Take care -- don't get to where you can't see the forest for the trees -- and learn to take detailed notes.  I know the first big exam in Art History is frightening.  It'll get easier when you know the ins and outs of studying for it!

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