This study aims to analyse artistic understanding in primary and secondary education and the relationship between this understanding and motivational characteristics such as goal orientation, engagement in art activities and attitude to art education at school, which determine (according to prior research) learners' academic achievement, in this case the achievement of a group of young students aged between 10 and 17. A positive relationship was hypothesised between artistic understanding and achievement goals, engagement in art activities and attitudes towards art education, respectively. The results obtained partially support this hypothesis, since a statistically significant relationship was observed between artistic understanding and achievement goals, and the significant relationships hypothesised between artistic understanding and both engagement in art activities and attitudes to art education are largely supported by the findings of this study.