In the modern period artists recognized that the well-being of society and all its members were supported and enhanced by well-designed objects, buildings, and spaces.
A-level Exam Materials
The distinctive qualities of Japanese art offered striking new approaches to modern artists developing alternatives to the Western tradition of naturalistic representation.
A-level: Japonisme
Expression in art history is generally associated with non-rational states of mind.
A-level: Expression and modern art
Touch an artwork? Sandro Botticelli’s Portrait of a Man with a Medal helped viewers to think about touch and physical experience.
A-level: Botticelli, Portrait of a Man with ...
This work is an example of provocation with a purpose.
A-level: Marc Quinn, Self
Divinity in stone, an early Buddha from Mathura.
A-level: A Buddha from Mathura
Like a disaster movie, Turner’s painting transforms a natural catastrophe — with death a near-certainty — into entertainment.
A-level: J.M.W. Turner, Snow Storm
Patrons mattered during the renaissance. Find out why.
A-level: Types of renaissance patronage
Throughout Europe women’s relegation to the domestic sphere was rooted in Christian tradition that placed blame for humanity’s fall from grace upon Eve, the first woman.
A-level: Introduction to gender in renaissance Italy
How would you paint a picture of something that’s not quite representable… like the sound of voices chanting, a spiritual vision, a childhood memory, or a dream that you can’t remember?
A-level: Ibrahim El-Salahi, Reborn Sounds of Childhood ...
By observing nature more closely, absorbing new scientific theories and spiritual investigations, many modern artists sought higher truths.
A-level: Modern art and reality
Describing is a key skill for art historians and for any museum visitor. Learn how.
A-level: Describing what you see: Sculpture, Henry ...
Sheltered by the sea, a study in place and feeling
A-level: Sheltered by the sea, Barbara Hepworth’s ...
How to impress your courtiers: a lesson from the Kingdom of Benin
A-level: Benin Plaques
In the suburbs, Parisians escaped the pressures of modern life. Monet painted their sun-drenched pleasures.
A-Level: Monet, The Basin at Argenteuil
With its almost sculptural surface and dazzling range of textures, this painting once reduced van Gogh to tears.
A-Level: Rembrandt, The Jewish Bride
What lies beneath the surface? Research into a “crusty” buildup of paint reveals Rembrandt’s editing process.
A-Level: Rembrandt, Aristotle with a Bust of ...
This loosely formed group of artists enlivened London’s contemporary art scene in the 1990s.
A-Level: The YBAs, The London-based Young British ...
Whether responding to events in ancient Rome or contemporary Iraq, these artworks all take war as their theme.
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