What is ‘Art History’? (Wikipedia)
Art history is the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, e.g., genre, design, format, or look.[1] Art history is, more generally, the research of artists, along with their cultural and social contributions.[2]
Art history (also called history of art) is a term which encompasses several different methods of studying the visual arts; in its most common usage it refers to the study of works of art and architecture. The definition is, however, wide-ranging, and some aspects of the discipline overlap with art criticism and art theory. Ernst Gombrich observed that “the field of art history [is] much like Caesar’s Gaul, divided into three parts inhabited by three different, though not necessarily hostile tribes: the connoisseurs, the critics and the academic art historians”.[3] Works of criticism or of theory have frequently been the pivots around which the understanding of art history has turned.
Art history as a discipline is distinguished from art criticism, which is concerned with placing a relative artistic “value” on individual works with respect to others of generally comparable style, or giving sanction to an entire style or movement; and art theory, which is concerned with the fundamental nature of art and is related more to aesthetics and determination of the essence of beauty and artistic appeal. Art history is technically not these things. The art historian uses the historical method to answers the questions, “How did the artist come to create his or her work?” “Who were his or her patrons? His or her teachers? His or her disciples?” “What historical forces shaped the artist’s oeuvre, and how did he or she and his or her creation in turn affect the course of events, artistic, political and social?”
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