History of art

History of art

The history of art usually refers to the (history) of the visual arts, such as painting, sculpture and architecture. The term also encompasses theory of the visual arts. It is not usually taken or intended to refer to the performing arts or literary arts. The (history) of art attempts an objective survey of art throughout human (history), classifying cultures and periods and noting their distinguishing features and influences.

The field of "art(history)" was developed in the West, and originally dealt exclusively with Western painting, and Western art (history), with the High Renaissance (and its Greek precedent) as the defining standard. Gradually, with the onset of Modernism, a wider vision of(history) has developed, seeking to place other societies in a global overview by analyzing their artifacts in terms of their own cultural values. Thus, the subject is now seen to encompass all visual art, from the megaliths of Western Europe to the paintings of the Tang Dynasty in China.

Study of art history

Study of the (history) of art is a relatively recent phenomenon; prior to the Renaissance, the modern concept of "art" did not exist, and art was used to refer to workmanship by generally anonymous tradespeople.

The viewpoint of the art historian is a significant input into the defining parameters which are employed. For example, during the early Victorian era, the quattrocento artists were considered inferior to those of the High Renaissance—a notion subsequently challenged by the Pre-Raphaelite movement. There has since been a trend, dominant in most modern art (history), to see all cultures and periods from a neutral point of view, with a tendency to shy away from value judgements. Thus, for example, Australian Aboriginal art would not be deemed better or worse than Michelangelo by typical Modernist art historians—just different.

Analysis has also evolved into studying the "political" use of art, rather than reserving analysis to the aesthetic appreciation of its craftsmanship or beauty. It is believed there is always an intent and a philosophy behind art, and an effect achieved by it. Thus, for example, the considerable employment by the Eastern Orthodox Church in the Middle Ages can be contrasted or compared with "Soviet propaganda", the manifestation of social structure through 19th-century portraiture, an anarcho-religious vision exemplified by Van Gogh, etc. What may once have been viewed simply as a masterpiece is now deconstructed into an economic, social, philosophical, and cultural manifestation of the artist's world-view, philosophy, intentions and background.

There are different ways of structuring a (history) of art. The following is one which is commonly used, based primarily on time, but within that creating subdivisions based on place and culture. Other views are somewhat disputed, still, even today there are many forms of structuring a history of art.

Earliest known art

The oldest surviving art forms include small sculptures and paintings on rocks and in caves. There are very few known examples of art that date earlier than 40,000 years ago, the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic period. People often rubbed smaller rocks against larger rocks and boulders to paint pictures of their everyday life, such as hunting wild game.

The so-called Venus of Willendorf (which is now being called "Woman from Willendorf" in contemporary art (history) texts) is a sculpture from the Paleolithic era, which depicts a woman with exaggerated female attributes. This sculpture, carved from stone, is remarkable in its roundness instead of a flat or low-relief depiction. Early Aegean art, although it dates from a much later period, shares some of the same abstract figurative elements.

Prehistoric art objects are rare, and the context of such early art is difficult to determine. Prehistoric, by definition, refers to those cultures which have left no written records of their society. The art historian judges early pieces of art as objects in their own right, with few opportunities for comparison between contemporaneous pieces. Interpretation of such early art must be done primarily in the context of aesthetics tempered by what is known of various hunter-gatherer societies still in existence.history