New light the light permeating the church symbolically represents god

AP Art History

Scoring Guidelines Aligned with the 2020 Rubric From the 2018 Scoring Pilot

Free-Response Question 2: Long Essay: Visual/Contextual Analysis	6 points

•

•	used to advance the argument is accurate. Clarity: Exam essays should be considered first drafts and thus may contain grammatical errors. Those errors will not be counted against a

In your response you should do the following:
• Provide two accurate identifiers for the work of art you have selected.

• Respond to the prompt with an art historically defensible claim or thesis that establishes a line of reasoning.• Support your claim with at least two examples of relevant visual and/or contextual evidence.

Calling of Saint Matthew

Chartres Cathedral

0 points 1 point

Rephrases or restates the prompt. Provides an art historically defensible claim or thesis that establishes a line

Decision Rules and Scoring Notes

A claim or thesis that meets the criteria can be awarded the point whether or not the rest of the response successfully supports that line of

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa

Examples that earn this point include the

presence of the divine.”

• “The use of light in the work was intended

AP Art History 2020 Scoring Guidelines (Applied to Student Responses from 2018 Pilot, Based on 2016 Free-Response Question 2)

Decision R

1 point
Explains how the visual and/or contextual evidence provided supports the argument.

Chartres Cathedral

Examples that earn the point include the following:
• “The predominant blue color signifies
heaven and is symbolically linked with the Virgin Mary and her role as the Queen of Heaven. As Queen of Heaven, Mary acts as a primary mediator between humans and her son.”
• “The intended effect of the light passing through the windows was to move the pious believer through dramatic sights so that they feel drawn closer to God’s
heavenly kingdom.”
•
“The concept of lux nova originated with Abbot Suger of St. Denis. Suger understood this as a way to illuminate the soul and to mystically unite the soul with God.”

E
Complexity (0-1 points)

The response may demonstrate a complex understanding in a variety of ways, such as:
•	Explaining relevant and insightful connections between the evidence and the claim
•
•
•

Calling of Saint Matthew

Examples that earn this point might include the following, if appropriate elaboration is provided: • “The ‘Calling of Saint Matthew’ exemplifies Caravaggio’s treatment of religious subject matter in his mature work, which is
characterized by realism combined with a theatrical/artificial use of light.”
• “Caravaggio depicts Matthew and the
characters that surround him as ordinary people who would have seemed familiar to the sixteenth/seventeenth century audience; the stark use of light only serves to highlight their ordinary looks.”
•
“Caravaggio’s choice to place a biblical event in a contemporary
sixteenth/seventeenth-century setting filled by ordinary, and somewhat questionable looking, characters, can be interpreted as making the story more accessible to the
contemporary audience.”
•
The effect of Caravaggio’s strategic lighting in creating a sense of mystery and spiritual drama is heightened by its combination with an ordinary, contemporary setting.”