Art history is an academic discipline dedicated to the
reconstruction of the social, cultural, and economic
contexts in which an artwork was created. The basic
goal of this work is to arrive at an understanding of art
and its meaning in its historical moment, taking into
consideration the formal qualities of a work of art, the
function of a work of art in its original context, the goals
and intentions of the artist and the patron of the work of
art, the social position and perspectives of the audience
in the work’s original time and place, and many other
related questions. Art history is closely related to other
disciplines such as anthropology, history, and sociology.
In addition, art history sometimes overlaps with the
fields of aesthetics, or the philosophical inquiry into
the nature and expression of beauty; and art criticism,
or the explanation of current art events to the general
public via the press.
This brief introduction to the discipline of art history
will help you understand the kinds of questions that one
may ask in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of
a work of art. We will put these ideas into practice as we
proceed through case studies related to the specific topic
of the resource guide.
Methods and Inquiries of Art
History
Art historians today generally define “art” very
broadly and include in their inquiries almost any
kind of visual material that is created by people and
invested with special meaning and/or valued for
its aesthetic appeal. In the past, art historians often
limited their focus to what was called “fine art,”
which generally included paintings, prints, drawings,
sculpture, and architecture, usually produced
specifically for appreciation by an audience who
also understood these objects as works of art. Today
we define art much more broadly, also taking into
consideration objects that in the past were dismissed as
“craft”: textiles, pottery, and body art such as tattoos,
for example. Art historians also consider objects that
might not be considered art by their intended audience,
including mass-produced posters and advertisements
and even the design of ordinary household items like
telephones, forks, and the living room sofa.
Art historians acknowledge that the meaning of a work
of art can shift over time, and that an artwork may
be perceived differently by viewers who approach it
from different perspectives. To give one hypothetical
example, Michelangelo’s paintings on the ceiling of the
Sistine Chapel would have certainly been significant
in different ways in the eyes of 1) the Pope, who
commissioned the work and who had sophisticated
theological knowledge and nearly exclusive access to
this private space within the Vatican and 2) a worker
who was charged with cleaning the floors of the chapel
and whose level of literacy was probably quite low.
Differences such as social status, education, physical
access to a work of art, religious background, race,
and gender have an impact on the construction of the
meaning of a work of art. Similarly, the paintings’
meaning to a twenty-first-century Protestant, Muslim,
or atheist is certainly different from the meaning they
had for a practicing Catholic in the sixteenth century,
even though the works may be equally admired for
their aesthetic value by all of these viewers. In other
words, the meaning of a work of art is not fixed; it is
sometimes open to multiple interpretations taking into
consideration factors such as historical context.
The Nature of Art Historical Inquiry
Art historians generally analyze works of art in two
ways that are distinct from one another, but also
interrelated. These two modes of analysis are called
formal analysis and contextual analysis. Formal
analysis focuses on the visual qualities of the work of
art itself. A basic assumption of formal analysis is that
the artist makes decisions related to the visual aspects
of the artwork that can reveal to us something about its
meaning. From this point of view, aspects of meaning
are intrinsic to the work of art. Terms associated with
the formal qualities of works of art, or the “elements
of art,” are discussed in detail a bit later in this section
of the guide. Formal analysis requires excellent skills
in observation and description. Beginning our study
of an artwork with formal analysis keeps the focus on
the object itself, which to the art historian is always
primary.
Contextual analysis involves looking outside of the
work of art in order to determine its meaning. This
involves examining not only the context in which the
work was created, but also later contexts in which the
work was and continues to be consumed. Contextual
analysis focuses on the cultural, social, religious, and
economic context in which the work was produced. Art
historians may examine issues of patronage, viewer
access to the work, the physical location of the work
in its original context, the cost of the work of art, the
subject matter in relation to other artworks of the time
period, and so on.
Art history often emphasizes a chronological
development with the assumption that within one
cultural setting the work of one generation of artists
will have an impact on following generations. Art
historians often use comparative study. For example,
by contrasting a Gothic with a Renaissance artwork,
we can understand more clearly the unique features of
each and the series of stylistic changes that led from
one to the other. Then, we can seek to relate these
changes to historical context. Art history provides
information and insights that add background to
the meaning and significance of the works of art we
study. As we place these works of art in their cultural
and historical context, they are connected to the long
history of events that has led up to our present culture.
Sources, Documents, and the Work of
Art Historians
Art historians often begin their analysis with a close
examination of a work of art. Direct examination of
the work of art is ideal because much is lost when we
look at a reproduction rather than an original object. In
the case of sculpture, it is often difficult to get a proper
sense of the scale and the three-dimensional qualities
of a piece from a photograph. We lose the texture and
some of the rich colors when we experience paintings
in reproduction. Even photographs can appear flatter,
lacking their subtle transitions from light to dark
when seen reproduced in books. It is quite common,
though, for art historians to settle for studying from
reproductions due to practical constraints. In some
cases, works of art might be damaged or even lost over
time, and so art historians rely on earlier descriptions
to aid in their formal and contextual analysis. In
addition to examining the work of art in question, art
historians will also seek to understand any associated
studies (sketches, preparatory models, etc.) and other
works by the artist and their contemporaries.
Art historians also use many written sources in the
quest for contextual information about a work of art.
Often these texts are stored in archives or libraries.
Archival sources may include items such as letters
between the artist and patron, or other documents
pertaining to the commission, and art criticism
produced at the time the work of art was made. An art
historian might also search for written documentation
about the materials used to produce the work of art,
such as their cost and source, and about the function of
the artwork—how a particular sculpture was used in
ritual practice, for example. Art historians also seek to
situate the work in the context of the literature, music,
theater, and history of the time period.
Art historians may also rely on interviews with artists
and consumers of works of art. This is especially the
case in cultures that rely more on oral history than on
written documents. Guided by the field of anthropology,
some art historians also use methods such as participant
observation to understand the context of a work of art.
An art historian studying masquerade traditions in West
Africa, for example, may participate in a performance
while carefully documenting the event in order to better
understand art traditions.
The Development of Art History
As an academic discipline, art history arose in the
mid-eighteenth century. However, we can look at the
work of much earlier writers to see how commentary
on art has developed over time. The ancient Roman
historian Pliny the Elder (23–79 ce) sought to analyze
historical and contemporary art in his text Natural
History. During the Renaissance, the author and artist
Giorgio Vasari (1511–74) gathered the biographies
of great Italian artists, past and present, in The Lives
of the Artists. Vasari’s text provides us with insights
into the changing roles of artists in society during this
period and the developing concept of artistic genius.
Modern art history was strongly influenced by
eighteenth-century Enlightenment philosophy. Johann
Joachim Winckelmann (1717–68) was a German
scholar who shifted away from Vasari’s biographical
emphasis to a rigorous study of stylistic development
as related to historical context. Through the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries, art historians continued to
develop approaches that placed increasing emphasis on
an understanding of the interrelationship between the
formal qualities of a work of art and its context.
When considering contemporary views of art history
as well as perspectives on art history from the past,
it is important to keep in mind that all histories are
individual stories and thus will inevitably reflect
certain biases. More recently, art history has been
revised, particularly by feminist historians, who have
noted that the traditional version of art history has
largely focused on white men, whether as artists or as
patrons. As a result of such revisions, art history has
expanded its scope in recent years and has become
a field that is broader, more international, more
multicultural, and more inclusive than in the past,
often involving Marxist, feminist, and psychoanalytic
methods and viewpoints. Moreover, the concern with
great artistic geniuses and masterpieces has lessened
as the full range of “visual culture,” ranging from
advertisement posters to film to photography and
television imagery, has come to view.