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Library AP Art History Unit 4: Later Europe and Americas
⁂   AP Art History · Unit 4

4. Later Europe and Americas

21–21% of the AP exam. Key topics: Rococo: lightness, pastel palette, aristocratic leisure subjects, ornamental asymmetry, Neoclassicism: return to Greek/Roman forms, moral subject matter, linear clarity, response to Enlightenment, Romanticism: sublime, emotional intensity, exotic/historical subjects, gestural brushwork, Realism: working-class subject matter, rejection of idealization, social critique, Impressionism: broken brushwork, optical color mixing, modern leisure subjects, plein-air painting, Post-Impressionism: Cézanne (structure/plane), Seurat (pointillism), Van Gogh (expressive line), Gauguin (primitivism), Early twentieth-century movements: Cubism, Expressionism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstraction, American art and architecture in the 19th–20th centuries: Hudson River School, Harlem Renaissance, Abstract Expressionism, Modern architecture: steel, glass, functionalism, International Style, Photography as art form from its invention through mid-20th century.

22 instructional periods 21–21% exam weight standard track

Unit 4: Later Europe and Americas

Study guide content for this unit is being prepared. Check back soon for complete lesson notes, formula sheets, and worked examples.

Topics in this unit

  • Rococo: lightness, pastel palette, aristocratic leisure subjects, ornamental asymmetry
  • Neoclassicism: return to Greek/Roman forms, moral subject matter, linear clarity, response to Enlightenment
  • Romanticism: sublime, emotional intensity, exotic/historical subjects, gestural brushwork
  • Realism: working-class subject matter, rejection of idealization, social critique
  • Impressionism: broken brushwork, optical color mixing, modern leisure subjects, plein-air painting
  • Post-Impressionism: Cézanne (structure/plane), Seurat (pointillism), Van Gogh (expressive line), Gauguin (primitivism)
  • Early twentieth-century movements: Cubism, Expressionism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstraction
  • American art and architecture in the 19th–20th centuries: Hudson River School, Harlem Renaissance, Abstract Expressionism
  • Modern architecture: steel, glass, functionalism, International Style
  • Photography as art form from its invention through mid-20th century