Whether you are interested in exploring different cultures and time periods or simply enjoy looking at sculptures, paintings, buildings, and other artifacts, the study of art history is for you. Art history focuses on the conscious and unconscious choices made by artists, their influences from societies across all continents, and the social, cultural, economic, and scientific systems that shaped them.
In the early 17th century, as the power of the church and aristocracy diminished, the middle class emerged, creating a wealthy secular society apart from religious institutions. This created a new market for artworks. This development ushered in an age of art criticism, as well as the rise of art museums and other public spaces to display them. It also spawned the idea that art could be appreciated for its own sake rather than as a representation of a real object or event.
The traditional definition of art is an arrangement of conditions intended to afford a special aesthetic experience. However, it is not a fixed concept; art has been described as anything from a painting to a photograph to a dance performance. Some have argued that the notion of art is so diverse and subjective that it is impossible to define it at all.
Aesthetic philosophers have wrestled with how to understand and appreciate art. Johann Joachim Winckelmann considered it a product of its time, but he also thought it was an embodiment of a universal moral idea. The German philosopher Friedrich Hegel reached a similar conclusion in his Lectures on Aesthetics. Hegel understood that it is impossible to fully understand a work of art without understanding the cultural and social conditions in which it was created.
There are a number of books that introduce the basics of art history, but Anne d’Alleva’s Look! Fundamentals of Art History is an excellent starting point for students. It is a slim volume that helps students learn the skills of visual and historical analysis, which are necessary for the study of art.
If you want to dig a little deeper into the methodology of art history, check out a book like Anne d’Alleva’s Methods and Theories of Art History, which covers some of the more sophisticated aspects of academic art history. This is not necessary for students learning art history on their own, but it may be helpful for teachers or school administrators who are directing an AP course.
Art historians have tried to answer the question, “What makes a work of art ‘art’?” One way they have done this is by breaking down art into eras. During the Renaissance, for example, a rich patronage system supported artists who produced works that served as both expression of a culture and an instrument for socio-economic dominance.
More recently, art historians have begun to think of a broader set of questions. They have asked, for example, if art has to be recognizable as a painting (realism), if it must have coherent shapes (cubism and fauvism), or if it can depict imaginary scenes (surrealism). In these ways, they have attempted to create a framework that enables us to recognize artistic styles and movements that were previously difficult or impossible to identify.