This article explores the development of critical thinking (proposed as metacompetence in this study) in the curricular proposal of art education for secondary education in Chile. Approach that arises from contemporary conceptions about art and aesthetics, which establish an intrinsic relationship between the artwork and the critical or self-critical character towards their systems of representation. The overall objective is to analyze the relationship between the curricular proposal of art education and the conceptualization of critical thinking proposed. It is a documentary research that proposes a comparative table with curricular indicators to analyze the conceptualizations present in the study programs. As conclusions, it is established that the programs declare to develop critical thinking, but do not present coherent methodological orientations; also, the contribution of art education is given from a theoretical dimension and not in the methodological dimensions examined.