Introduction to Art History

What is art history?

An academic discipline that reconstructs the social, cultural, and economic contexts of an artwork

What is the goal of art history?

To understand an artwork’s meaning in its historical moment

What are the 6 things often considered about an artwork in art history?

The work’s formal qualities, the patron of the work, the function of the work, the goal of the artist, and the perspective of the audience in the work’s original time and place

What 5 fields does art history often overlap with?

Anthropology, sociology, history, art criticism, and aesthetics

What is the field of aesthetics?

The study of beauty

What is art criticism?

The dicussion or explanation of current art events via the press

How would an art historian most likely define “art”?

Very broadly, as in almost any visual material created by people that has a special meaning and/or has an aesthetic appeal

What is “fine art”?

Paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, and architechture

What are some things that might be consider “craft”?

Textiles, body art, and pottery

Is the meaning of a work of art solely what the artists intends it to mean?

No! The meaning of art is never one thing, there are many interpretations

What is formal analysis?

The analyzation of the visual qualities of an artwork

What is contextual analysis?

The analyzation of the context in which the work of art was created along with later contexts

What are some things contextual analysis may focus on?

The cultural, religious, and economic context of the work, patronage, physical location, etc. (basically anything that’s not related to the visuals of the work)

Art historians often emphasize a ____ development

Chronolgical

How do art historians begin their analysis of a work?

Examining a work of art

What is participant observation?

When someone participates in a ritual, dance, or other performance in order to studt it

When did art history arise as an acadermic discipline?

The mid-18th century

What book did Pliny the Elder write and what was its purpose?

Natural History; to analyze histroical and contemperary art

Where was Pliny the Elder from?

Ancient Rome

What book did Giorgio Vasari write and was it about?

The Lives of Artists; the biographies of many Italian artists

The Lives of Artists gives us an insight into the…?

chaning roles of artists during the Renaissance and the development of the ‘artistic genius’

Who was Johann Joachim Winckelmann?

A German scholar from the Enlightenment era

What did Winckelmann study?

Stylistic development related to historical context

What is modern art history strongly influenced by?

Enlightenment philosophy

What group has recently been revising art history?

Feminist historians