Aragón PAU Cultural and Artistic Movements study plan
Aragón PAU Cultural and Artistic Movements · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
Ancient and Classical Art and Culture (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome) & Methodology: formal analysis, iconography, and contextual interpretation
Build a one-page timeline of Ancient Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman art with at least 20 dated anchor works
Apply a four-step formal analysis routine (materials and technique, composition and scale, light and colour, function and setting) to three works from different Ancient cultures
Distinguish Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman conventions for representing the human figure and explain each convention in two sentences
Identify the Greek architectural orders and Roman building types from written descriptions alone, without images
Your checkpoint
A handwritten or digital Ancient Art dossier: timeline of 20 anchor works plus three completed formal-analysis sheets of 200 words each
Ancient and Classical Art and Culture (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome) & Medieval Art and Culture (Romanesque, Gothic, Islamic, Byzantine)
Compare Greek and Roman sculpture programmes by function (votive, funerary, imperial propaganda) using at least four written case descriptions
Explain how Early Christian and Byzantine imagery adapted Roman visual language, citing two specific borrowings
Map the spread of Romanesque along the pilgrimage routes and list four structural features that identify a Romanesque church from a text description
Define iconography versus iconology and apply the distinction to one Marian image type
Your checkpoint
A comparative table of eight works (Ancient, Byzantine, Romanesque) with columns for function, patron, materials, and one iconographic reading each
Medieval Art and Culture (Romanesque, Gothic, Islamic, Byzantine) & Renaissance and Baroque Art and Culture
Explain the structural logic of Gothic architecture (rib vault, pointed arch, flying buttress) and how each element changes interior space
Analyse the transition from Gothic to Renaissance in painting using at least three concrete criteria such as perspective, anatomy, and patronage
Describe quattrocento and cinquecento developments in Florence, Rome, and Venice and name one defining work per centre
Interpret one religious narrative image using primary iconographic sources rather than memory alone
Your checkpoint
A 600-word essay comparing one Gothic and one Renaissance work on structure, space, and patronage, with a labelled sketch of each
Renaissance and Baroque Art and Culture & Methodology: formal analysis, iconography, and contextual interpretation
Characterise Baroque art through at least five formal and contextual traits and apply them to works from Italy, Flanders, and Spain
Contrast Spanish Baroque realism with Italian Baroque illusionism using two named works each
Practise contextual interpretation: for three works, state patron, intended location, audience, and political or religious function
Write a timed 25-minute formal analysis of an unseen work described in words
Your checkpoint
A timed mock answer of 400 words on a Baroque work plus a self-assessed checklist against the formal-analysis rubric
Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and 19th-century movements & Spanish and Aragonese art and cultural heritage
Trace the shift from Neoclassicism to Romanticism through at least four criteria: subject matter, emotion, composition, and historical reference
Summarise Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Symbolism with one defining work and one key idea each
Outline the main periods of Aragonese art and architecture and place four named Aragonese monuments in their correct period
Connect Goya's career phases to the political events of his lifetime
Your checkpoint
A two-part summary sheet: a 19th-century movements grid (movement, dates, key idea, example) and an Aragonese heritage timeline with four entries
Modernism, Avant-garde, and early 20th-century movements & Spanish and Aragonese art and cultural heritage
Define the core avant-garde movements (Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, Dada, Surrealism, Constructivism) with dates, aims, and one representative work each
Explain how Cubism changed the representation of space and how Surrealism used psychoanalytic ideas
Describe the role of Spanish artists in early 20th-century avant-gardes and identify two Aragonese figures or institutions relevant to modern art
Distinguish Modernisme and Art Nouveau from the historical avant-gardes in architectural and decorative terms
Your checkpoint
A set of 15 flashcards, one per movement or artist, each with dates, one key idea, one work, and one likely exam question
Contemporary art and culture (post-1945 to present) & Methodology: formal analysis, iconography, and contextual interpretation
Survey post-1945 tendencies (Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Conceptual art, Land art, performance, postmodernism) with one defining work and one critical idea each
Explain how Conceptual art redefines the art object and what that means for formal analysis as a method
Interpret three contemporary works in context: institution, market, technology, identity politics
Identify the methodological limits of iconography when applied to non-figurative or conceptual work
Your checkpoint
A 700-word contextual commentary on two contemporary works, including a paragraph on which analytical method works best and why
Ancient and Classical Art and Culture (Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome) & Medieval Art and Culture (Romanesque, Gothic, Islamic, Byzantine) & Renaissance and Baroque Art and Culture & Neoclassicism, Romanticism, and 19th-century movements & Modernism, Avant-garde, and early 20th-century movements & Contemporary art and culture (post-1945 to present) & Spanish and Aragonese art and cultural heritage & Methodology: formal analysis, iconography, and contextual interpretation
Consolidate all eight domains into a single revision map linking periods, key works, and methods
Complete two full timed mock exams under PAU-style conditions and mark them against the official criteria
Review every error from the mocks and convert each into a corrected one-line fact
Rehearse image-free descriptions of ten key works so you can answer without seeing the image
Finalise a personal list of 30 must-know works with dates, style, author, and one contextual note each
Your checkpoint
Two marked mock exams with an error log of at least 20 corrected facts and a final 30-work revision list