Director of Studies
Sub-Director of Studies
.png)
A-level/IB in an essay-based subject
Common subjects taken by successful History of Art applicants include: History, English, Languages, Art and Design, and Mathematics.
Admissions Assessment: None
Submitted work: None
St John’s is unusual in having two Fellows teaching History of Art, Dr Frank Salmon and Professor Deborah Howard.
Living and working in the remarkable architectural environment of the College, with inspiring buildings from the 16th to the 21st century – and with Kettle’s Yard just across the road – adds an extra dimension to your studies.
The College has the earliest known full-length portrait of an Englishwoman, Meynnart Wewyck’s painting – still in its original Tudor frame – of the Lady Margaret Beaufort, founder of St John’s (pictured right). This is the most important full-length English portrait before the arrival of Hans Holbein the Younger in England.
St John’s has an active student-led Art Society and opportunities to extend and enrich your studies are greatly enhanced by our generous travel awards.
Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, a Fellow at St John’s in the mid-20th century, reshaped architectural scholarship and championed modernist principles. His groundbreaking 46-volume series, The Buildings of England, remains an unparalleled resource. It helped to establish architectural history both as an academic discipline and for its public interest.
Watch this video to find out more about studying History of Art at Cambridge.
History of Art is intellectually demanding, so it’s important to secure excellent examination results, and to continue to perform very well in school/college in your penultimate and final years. This will enable your teachers to confirm that you are one of their very best students when writing your UCAS reference.
You don’t need any previous knowledge of History of Art, but you will need to show your motivation, curiosity and potential to excel in the subject.
Being visually responsive is very important – having colour sense and a good memory for visual images are essential, and these can rapidly improve with practice. Creative artistic ability is not required, but direct experience of techniques such as drawing, painting, print-making or sculpture is extremely valuable in helping your understanding of media and technique.
Successful applicants often stand out for having engaged with the collections in a local museum or gallery. Tell us how you have discovered the historical, religious, literary and cultural contexts that have influenced the objects and paintings you find there, as they were made, used and admired.
Reading about aspects of History of Art, listening to podcasts, using the excellent online resources about international collections and pursuing a relevant EPQ can all demonstrate your interest and build your knowledge, whether in church architecture or sculpture, wall paintings or graffiti.
.png)
.jpg)
