---
title: "AP Art History Unit 3 Required Works: 200-1750 CE"
description: "Review all 54 required works for AP Art History Unit 3, from the Catacomb of Priscilla to Fragonard, with dates, cultures, and media."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-art-history/unit-3/unit-3-required-works/study-guide/KraAX4Tb73nCdXFRWv1F"
type: "study-guide"
subject: "AP Art History"
unit: "Unit 3 – Early European and Colonial American Art, 200–1750 CE"
lastUpdated: "2026-06-07"
---

# AP Art History Unit 3 Required Works: 200-1750 CE

## Summary

Review all 54 required works for AP Art History Unit 3, from the Catacomb of Priscilla to Fragonard, with dates, cultures, and media.

## Guide

## TLDR
[Unit 3](/ap-art-history/unit-3 "fv-autolink") of [AP Art History](/ap-art-history "fv-autolink") covers 54 required works from Early Europe and the Colonial Americas, roughly 200 to 1750 CE, stretching from late antique and Byzantine art through Islamic, medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, and Spanish colonial traditions. For each work you should be able to identify its title, date, culture, and medium, then explain how its form, function, content, and context connect to a larger artistic tradition. This unit is about 21% of the exam, so knowing these works well pays off across multiple-choice and free-response questions.

## Why This Matters for the AP Art History Exam

Unit 3 carries one of the heaviest weights on the AP Art History exam, around 21% of the content, and it covers a wide span of cultures and styles. Because many of these works are familiar and well documented, this unit is where you build two skills that show up again and again: attribution (linking a work to a specific artist, culture, or style) and argumentation (making defensible claims supported by visual and contextual evidence).

The biggest thinking move here is explaining continuity and change. You should be able to show how a work like the [Annunciation Triptych](/ap-art-history/key-terms/annunciation-triptych "fv-autolink") both continues an earlier tradition and breaks from it, or how one building's plan influenced later architecture across regions. The exam tests this in both multiple-choice and free-response sections, so practice recognizing these connections and writing them clearly with evidence from form, function, content, and context.

## Key Takeaways

- Unit 3 contains 54 required works (numbers 48 through 101) and is about 21% of the AP Art History exam.
- For every work, be ready to state title, date, culture or location, and medium, then back up claims with visual and contextual evidence.
- Medieval traditions here include late antique, early Christian, [Byzantine](/ap-art-history/key-terms/byzantine "fv-autolink"), Islamic, migratory, [Carolingian](/ap-art-history/key-terms/carolingian "fv-autolink"), Romanesque, and Gothic, each tied to a specific culture, religion, or style.
- The Renaissance and Baroque built on medieval foundations and expanded into secular subjects like [landscape](/ap-art-history/key-terms/landscape "fv-autolink"), still life, and [genre](/ap-art-history/unit-3/cultural-interaction-early-european-colonial-american-art/study-guide/EBbwptwHheFG5t1gpYhl "fv-autolink") scenes.
- The Age of Exploration created global networks that led to hybrid art in the Spanish viceroyalties, mixing European and Indigenous forms with some African and Asian influences.
- The strongest answers explain how a work shows continuity or change within a larger artistic tradition, not just what it looks like.

## Required Works in This Unit

These are the works you need to know for Unit 3. Focus on identifying each by title, date, culture or location, and medium, then layer in form, function, content, and context.

| # | Title | Culture / Artist | Date | Medium |
|---|-------|------------------|------|--------|
| 48 | Catacomb of Priscilla | Late Antique Europe (Rome) | c. 200-400 CE | Excavated tufa and fresco |
| 49 | Santa Sabina | Late Antique Europe (Rome) | c. 422-432 CE | Brick and stone, wooden roof |
| 50 | Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well and Jacob Wrestling the Angel (Vienna Genesis) | Early Byzantine Europe | Early 6th century CE | Illuminated manuscript (tempera, gold, silver on purple vellum) |
| 51 | San Vitale | Early Byzantine Europe (Ravenna) | c. 526-547 CE | Brick, marble, stone veneer; mosaic |
| 52 | Hagia Sophia | Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus (Constantinople) | 532-537 CE | Brick and ceramic with stone and mosaic veneer |
| 53 | Merovingian looped fibulae | Early medieval Europe | Mid-6th century CE | Silver gilt, filigree, garnet and stone inlay |
| 54 | Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George | Early Byzantine Europe | 6th or early 7th century CE | Encaustic on wood |
| 55 | Lindisfarne Gospels | Early medieval (Hiberno-Saxon) Europe | c. 700 CE | Illuminated manuscript (ink, pigments, gold on vellum) |
| 56 | Great Mosque, Córdoba | Umayyad (Spain) | c. 785-786 CE | Stone masonry |
| 57 | Pyxis of al-Mughira | Umayyad | c. 968 CE | Ivory |
| 58 | Church of Sainte-Foy | Romanesque Europe (Conques, France) | Church c. 1050-1130 CE; reliquary 9th century CE with later additions | Stone, paint, gold, silver, gemstones, enamel over wood |
| 59 | Bayeux Tapestry | Romanesque Europe (English or Norman) | c. 1066-1080 CE | Embroidery on linen |
| 60 | Chartres Cathedral | Gothic Europe (France) | c. 1145-1155 CE; rebuilt c. 1194-1220 CE | Limestone, stained glass |
| 61 | Bibles moralisées (Dedication Page) | Gothic Europe | c. 1225-1245 CE | Illuminated manuscript (ink, tempera, gold leaf on vellum) |
| 62 | Röttgen Pietà | Late medieval Europe | c. 1300-1325 CE | Painted wood |
| 63 | Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel, including Lamentation | Giotto di Bondone (Padua) | Chapel c. 1303 CE; fresco c. 1305 CE | Brick and fresco |
| 64 | Golden Haggadah | Late medieval Spain | c. 1320 CE | Illuminated manuscript (pigments and gold leaf on vellum) |
| 65 | Alhambra | Nasrid Dynasty (Granada) | 1354-1391 CE | Whitewashed adobe stucco, wood, tile, paint, gilding |
| 66 | Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece) | Workshop of Robert Campin | 1427-1432 CE | Oil on wood |
| 67 | Pazzi Chapel | Filippo Brunelleschi (Florence) | c. 1429-1461 CE | Masonry |
| 68 | The Arnolfini Portrait | Jan van Eyck | c. 1434 CE | Oil on wood |
| 69 | David | Donatello | c. 1440-1460 CE | Bronze |
| 70 | Palazzo Rucellai | Leon Battista Alberti (Florence) | c. 1450 CE | Stone, masonry |
| 71 | Madonna and Child with Two Angels | Fra Filippo Lippi | c. 1465 CE | Tempera on wood |
| 72 | Birth of Venus | Sandro Botticelli | c. 1484-1486 CE | Tempera on canvas |
| 73 | Last Supper | Leonardo da Vinci | c. 1494-1498 CE | Oil and tempera |
| 74 | Adam and Eve | Albrecht Dürer | 1504 CE | Engraving |
| 75 | Sistine Chapel ceiling and altar wall frescoes | Michelangelo (Vatican) | Ceiling c. 1508-1512 CE; altar c. 1536-1541 CE | Fresco |
| 76 | School of Athens | Raphael | 1509-1511 CE | Fresco |
| 77 | Isenheim altarpiece | Matthias Grünewald | c. 1512-1516 CE | Oil on wood |
| 78 | Entombment of Christ | Jacopo da Pontormo | 1525-1528 CE | Oil on wood |
| 79 | Allegory of Law and Grace | Lucas Cranach the Elder | c. 1530 CE | Woodcut and letterpress |
| 80 | Venus of Urbino | Titian | c. 1538 CE | Oil on canvas |
| 81 | Frontispiece of the Codex Mendoza | Viceroyalty of New Spain | c. 1541-1542 CE | Ink and color on paper |
| 82 | Il Gesù, including Triumph of the Name of Jesus ceiling fresco | Vignola, della Porta, Gaulli (Rome) | Church 16th century CE; facade 1568-1584 CE; fresco 1676-1679 CE | Brick, marble, fresco, stucco |
| 83 | Hunters in the Snow | Pieter Bruegel the Elder | 1565 CE | Oil on wood |
| 84 | Mosque of Selim II | Sinan (Edirne, Turkey) | 1568-1575 CE | Brick and stone |
| 85 | Calling of Saint Matthew | Caravaggio | c. 1597-1601 CE | Oil on canvas |
| 86 | Henri IV Receives the Portrait of Marie de' Medici | Peter Paul Rubens | 1621-1625 CE | Oil on canvas |
| 87 | Self-Portrait with Saskia | Rembrandt van Rijn | 1636 CE | Etching |
| 88 | San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane | Francesco Borromini (Rome) | 1638-1646 CE | Stone and stucco |
| 89 | Ecstasy of Saint Teresa | Gian Lorenzo Bernini (Rome) | c. 1647-1652 CE | Marble; stucco and gilt bronze (chapel) |
| 90 | Angel with Arquebus, Asiel Timor Dei | Master of Calamarca (La Paz School) | c. 17th century CE | Oil on canvas |
| 91 | Las Meninas | Diego Velázquez | c. 1656 CE | Oil on canvas |
| 92 | Woman Holding a Balance | Johannes Vermeer | c. 1664 CE | Oil on canvas |
| 93 | The Palace at Versailles | Louis Le Vau and Jules Hardouin-Mansart | Begun 1669 CE | Masonry, stone, wood, iron, gold leaf; marble and bronze; gardens |
| 94 | Screen with the Siege of Belgrade and hunting scene | Circle of the González Family | c. 1697-1701 CE | Tempera and resin on wood, shell inlay |
| 95 | The Virgin of Guadalupe | Miguel González | c. 1698 CE | Oil on canvas on wood, inlaid with mother-of-pearl |
| 96 | Fruit and Insects | Rachel Ruysch | 1711 CE | Oil on wood |
| 97 | Spaniard and Indian Produce a Mestizo | Attributed to Juan Rodríguez Juárez | c. 1715 CE | Oil on canvas |
| 98 | The Tête à Tête, from Marriage à la Mode | William Hogarth | c. 1743 CE | Oil on canvas |
| 99 | Portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz | Miguel Cabrera | c. 1750 CE | Oil on canvas |
| 100 | A Philosopher Giving a Lecture on the Orrery | Joseph Wright of Derby | c. 1763-1765 CE | Oil on canvas |
| 101 | The Swing | Jean-Honoré Fragonard | 1767 CE | Oil on canvas |

## Closer Looks at Four Works

These four works appear often in early Christian and Byzantine discussions. Use them to practice moving from description to context.

### Catacomb of Priscilla

Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. c. 200-400 CE. Excavated tufa and [fresco](/ap-art-history/key-terms/fresco "fv-autolink").

**Form:** A network of underground [burial](/ap-art-history/unit-1/cultural-influences-on-prehistoric-art/study-guide/2QXmHz69vTrp9z7Z6DRt "fv-autolink") tunnels with painted [frescoes](/ap-art-history/key-terms/frescoes "fv-autolink") that depict biblical scenes and early Christian subjects.

**Function:** Early Christians used catacombs as underground burial places. They also served as gathering spaces for the early Christian community.

**Content:** The frescoes include subjects drawn from the Bible. The image of the Good Shepherd, a figure carrying or guarding sheep, is a common theme that one interpretation reads as a symbol of Jesus as a protector and guide. Old Testament subjects such as Jonah were also used, which can link Hebrew scripture to Christian teaching. The Orant figure, shown with arms outstretched in prayer, appears here and was adapted from earlier traditions.

**Context:** Early Christian art often borrowed and reworked existing visual conventions to communicate new religious meaning. The catacombs show how a still-developing Christian community expressed faith through [imagery](/ap-art-history/key-terms/imagery "fv-autolink") in a private, underground setting.

### Santa Sabina

Rome, Italy. Late Antique Europe. c. 422-432 CE. Brick and stone, wooden roof.

**Form:** An early Christian [basilica](/ap-art-history/key-terms/basilica "fv-autolink") with three aisles, a long central nave, two side aisles, and an [axial plan](/ap-art-history/key-terms/axial-plan "fv-autolink") that directs attention toward the apse. The flat wooden roof, plain exterior, and contrasting interior are typical basilica features.

**Function:** A place of Christian worship.

**Context:** Santa Sabina is one of the best-preserved examples of early Christian basilica architecture. The basilica plan, borrowed from Roman civic buildings, became a standard model for Christian churches in the 4th and 5th centuries.

### Hagia Sophia

Constantinople (Istanbul). Anthemius of Tralles and Isidorus of Miletus. 532-537 CE. Brick and [ceramic](/ap-art-history/unit-5/purpose-audience-indigenous-american-art/study-guide/khMzKN7atCP7enTmeXnP "fv-autolink") elements with stone and [mosaic](/ap-art-history/key-terms/mosaic "fv-autolink") veneer.

**Form:** A Byzantine structure that combines a basilica plan with a massive central dome, an engineering achievement of its era. The interior uses mosaics and marble veneer.

**Function:** Built as a Byzantine cathedral, it served as a major center of Eastern Orthodox [Christianity](/ap-art-history/key-terms/christianity "fv-autolink") for centuries. After Ottoman forces took Constantinople in 1453, it was converted into a [mosque](/ap-art-history/key-terms/mosque "fv-autolink"), and its functions have shifted over time.

**Content:** Later mosaics include imperial and religious imagery, such as figures of emperors presenting models of buildings and the city.

**Context:** The two named architects designed a building whose scale and dome influenced later architecture across cultures. Its long history reflects the religious and political shifts of Constantinople.

### Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George

Early Byzantine Europe. Sixth or early seventh century CE. Encaustic on wood.

**Form:** An [icon](/ap-art-history/unit-3/purpose-audience-early-european-colonial-american-art/study-guide/1aapzHbXB6wwkGvPwKxF "fv-autolink"), a religious devotional image painted in encaustic.

**Function:** Icons are devotional depictions of holy figures meant to support prayer and connect the viewer with the divine.

**Content:** Mary and the infant Jesus are seated between St. Theodore and St. George, both shown as soldier saints. All four figures have golden halos rendered with gold leaf.

**Context:** Debates over the proper role of religious images, known as iconoclasm, shaped Byzantine art. Some viewers worried that icons were being treated as idols, which conflicted with Jewish and Christian teaching. The survival of this encaustic icon through the iconoclasm era makes it especially valuable for study.

## How to Use This on the AP Art History Exam

### Multiple Choice

Many questions show an image and ask you to identify the work or place it in context. Build quick recall of title, date, culture, and medium for all 54 works. Watch for questions that ask how a work relates to a broader tradition or to another culture's influence.

### Free Response

Free-response questions reward specific, accurate evidence. When you write about a Unit 3 work, name concrete visual details and tie them to function, patron, or context. If a prompt asks about continuity and change, state a trait of the larger tradition, a trait of the specific work, and the context that explains the connection.

### Continuity and Change

This is the signature skill for Unit 3. Practice with examples like the Annunciation Triptych, which carries forward earlier religious subject matter while adding new naturalism and everyday detail. Or trace how one building's plan or elevation shaped later architecture in Europe or across regions.

### Comparison

Some questions ask you to compare two works. Use the form, function, content, and context framework to find real points of similarity and difference rather than surface impressions. Cross-cultural pairs (for example, a church and a mosque) work well for showing shared [techniques](/ap-art-history/unit-2/cultural-contexts-ancient-mediterranean-art/study-guide/KhkvkmZbJ8zV8aWNPu0J "fv-autolink") and different purposes.

### Common Trap

Do not rely only on what an image looks like. Strong answers combine [visual analysis](/ap-art-history/unit-10/theories-interpretations-global-contemporary-art/study-guide/PkYq5hVMHp4LWTcl4qqr "fv-autolink") with contextual knowledge, then connect the work to a tradition or a moment of change.

## Common Misconceptions

- "Renaissance art replaced religious subjects with secular ones." Religious imagery stayed central, especially in southern Europe. The shift was that secular genres like landscape, still life, and portraiture grew alongside religious works, and grew most in northern Europe after the Reformation.
- "Medieval art is one single style." This period covers late antique, early Christian, Byzantine, Islamic, migratory, Carolingian, Romanesque, and Gothic traditions, each tied to a specific culture, religion, or style. Many overlap in time and place.
- "Colonial American art just copied Europe." Art in the Spanish viceroyalties blended European and Indigenous forms and materials, with some African and Asian influences, producing hybrid works rather than simple copies.
- "Iconoclasm was a minor side issue." Debates over whether religious images were proper or idolatrous shaped Byzantine art directly, and periodic rejection of figural imagery occurred across all three major medieval religions.
- "You only need the title and date." The exam rewards evidence from form, function, content, and context. Identifying a work is the starting point, not the full answer.

## Related AP Art History Guides

- [Unit 3 Overview: Early Europe and Colonial Americas, 200-1750 CE](/ap-art-history/unit-3/review/study-guide/w0GoCAjLp5wxE4aD7PNu)
- [3.3 Materials, Processes, and Techniques in Early European and Colonial American Art](/ap-art-history/unit-3/materials-techniques-early-european-colonial-american-art/study-guide/wzSluCJsZvsi5dG3NmEl)
- [3.4 Purpose and Audience in Early European and Colonial American Art](/ap-art-history/unit-3/purpose-audience-early-european-colonial-american-art/study-guide/1aapzHbXB6wwkGvPwKxF)
- [3.5 Theories and Interpretations of Early European and Colonial American Art](/ap-art-history/unit-3/theories-interpretations-early-european-colonial-american-art/study-guide/2I6Vfolgqfw2zP0h817g)
- [3.2 Interactions Within and Across Cultures in Early European and Colonial American Art](/ap-art-history/unit-3/cultural-interaction-early-european-colonial-american-art/study-guide/EBbwptwHheFG5t1gpYhl)
- [3.1 Cultural Contexts of Early European and Colonial American Art](/ap-art-history/unit-3/cultural-contexts-early-european-colonial-american-art/study-guide/f5oWN0Q1NfHcZR15A1u6)

## FAQs

### How many required works are in AP Art History Unit 3?

AP Art History Unit 3 includes 54 required works, numbered 48 through 101, covering Early Europe and the Colonial Americas from about 200 to 1750 CE.

### What is the Catacomb of Priscilla in AP Art History?

The Catacomb of Priscilla is a Late Antique Christian burial site in Rome, dated about 200-400 CE, made of excavated tufa and fresco. It is required work 48.

### What cultures and styles appear in Unit 3 required works?

Unit 3 includes late antique, early Christian, Byzantine, Islamic, medieval, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and colonial American traditions.

### What should I know for each AP Art History required work?

For each work, know the title, date, culture or artist, medium, and how form, function, content, and context support interpretation.

### Why is AP Art History Unit 3 important for the exam?

Unit 3 is heavily weighted and supports attribution, contextual analysis, comparison, and continuity-and-change arguments across multiple-choice and free-response questions.

### How should I study AP Art History Unit 3 required works?

Group works by tradition, then practice identifying medium, date range, culture, and one strong form-function-context connection for each work.

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