Meaning of art history (what is it, concept and definition)

What is Art History:

Art history is a discipline whose object of study is art and its development and evolution throughout the history of humanity.

As a general rule, art history does not study all artistic disciplines, but only the higher arts, also called fine arts (painting, sculpture, architecture, music, dance, literature), excluding the so-called minor arts or applied arts, such as craftsmanship, design and composition.

History of the arts

The origin of the arts is uncertain and involves not only aesthetics but also awareness of the creation of a work of art. Some art historians have defined the cradle of the birth of art in the Chauvet cave, where the oldest cave painting discovered is found, dating from approximately 30,000 years ago.

Subsequently, historians classify art by periods, which in turn are divided into styles, and art is now known by schools and art trends.

In this sense, rock art would be the first form of art. Then there are the arts that arose from ancient civilizations before the fall of the Roman Empire (476 BC) such as art in Egypt, India, Persia, Armenia, China, Ancient Greece, and Ancient Rome.

Since the 5th century, when the Middle Ages began, styles and their influences are more defined, as shown in the following table.

Art timeline

Below is a very general overview of the most important arts and artistic trends by historical period:

Prehistory

• Paleolithic: cave paintingsMesolithic: cave paintingsNeolithic: megalithic architecture, ceramics, statuary.

Old age

• Mesopotamia
  • Sumerian, Akkadian, and Neosumerian period Paleobabylonian period Assyrian period Neo-Babylonian period
  Ancient Egypt Ancient Empire
  • Middle Empire New Empire Late Period Greco-Roman Domination
  Classical antiquity
  • Ancient Greece
    • Archaic art Classical art Hellenistic art
    Ancient Rome
    • Roman art

Middle Ages

• High Middle Ages
  • Palechristian Art Byzantine Art Germanic Art Pre-Romanesque Art Islamic Art Romanesque Art
  Middle Ages
  • Carolingian art, Romanesque art, Gothic art

Modern age

• Renaissance
  • Renaissance ArtMannerism
  Baroque
  • Baroque artRococo art

Contemporary age

• Modernity - 2nd half 18th century
  • NeoclassicismRomanticism
  Modernity - XIX century
  • RealismNaturalismSymbolismImpressionismPostimpressionismModernism or Art Nouveau
  First half of the 20th century (first wave of avant-gardes):
  • ExpressionismFauvismCubismFuturismAbstract art:
    • Lyrical AbstractionSuprematismConstructivismNeoplasticism
    Dadaism Surrealism Art deco
  Second half of the 20th century (second wave of avant-gardes)
  • Informalism New figurationOp art or kinetic artPop art or pop artNew realismAction art (Happening, performance, installation, etc.) Arte poveraMinimalismHyperrealism Conceptual art
  XX-XXI century:
  • Contemporary art Postmodern art

In this way, art history not only studies the different artistic manifestations, but also establishes periodizations (prehistoric, ancient, classic, medieval, modern, contemporary), classifies styles (Gothic, Baroque, Neoclassical, etc.), and delimits movements, trends and schools (romanticism, symbolism, expressionism, dadaism, surrealism, etc.).

Art history as a discipline

The history of art as a discipline of study arises in the Renaissance thanks to the work Lives of the most excellent painters, sculptors and architects (1550), by the Italian Giorgio Vasari (1511-15574) considered one of the first art historians.

Initially, art history focused on the study of Western art, but over time it expanded its sights to other cultures and civilizations, other forms of expression and other cultural values.

The Bachelor of Art History trains art historians. They are professionals with a historical, critical and theoretical background on the phenomenon of art in humanity, and can work in museums, institutions, foundations or galleries that are responsible for the dissemination, study and preservation of artistic heritage.

The history of art as a discipline of study is multidisciplinary, since it incorporates knowledge about history, philosophy, aesthetics, aesthetic values, iconography, semiotics, art theory and others, for the evaluation and critical evaluation of artistic expression in different cultures, periods and styles.