From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia

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-	[[Image:The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''[[The Great Wave off Kanagawa]]'' (1832), by Hokusai]]	+	#redirect[[art history]]
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-	"There have been many [[history of art]] books. Chronologically, there is [[Pliny the Elder]], [[Vasari]], [[Winckelmann]], [[Ruskin]], [[Lübke]], [[Clara Erskine Clement|Erskine]], [[Wickhoff]], [[Nancy Bell (author)|Bell]], [[Riegl]], [[Muther]], [[Wölfflin]], [[Julius von Schlosser|Schlosser]], [[Faure]], [[Helen Gardner (art historian)|Gardner]], [[Panofsky]], [[Arnold Hauser|Hauser]], [[Janson]] and [[Néret]].	+
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-	The last of the major [[history of art]] books to pass into the public domain is Gardner.	+
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-	''[[A Short History of Art]]'' (1890) by Francis C. Turner is also in the public domain."--Sholem Stein	+
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-	[[Image:Theatre from Ars Memoriae by Robert Fludd.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Ars Memoriae]]'': The [[Theatre]] ([[1619]]) - [[Robert Fludd]]]]	+
-	[[Image:Bracelli.jpeg|thumb|right|200px|From the ''[[Bizzarie di varie figure]]'' ([[1624]]) by [[Giovanni Battista Braccelli]]]][[Image:Nocturne in Black and Gold, the Falling Rocket, ca. 1875.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Nocturne in Black and Gold, the Falling Rocket]]'', ([[1874]]) [[James McNeill Whistler]]]]	+
-	{{Template}}	+
-	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.	+
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-	The field of "[[art history]]" was developed in the [[Western world|West]], and originally dealt exclusively with [[Western painting]], and [[Western art history]], with the [[High Renaissance]] (and its [[Art in Ancient Greece|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 [[Cultural artifact|artifact]]s in terms of their own cultural values. Thus, the subject is now seen to encompass all visual art, from the [[megalith]]s of [[Western Europe]] to the paintings of the [[Tang Dynasty]] in [[China]].	+
-	==Textbook art history==	+
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-	A useful way to examine how art history is organized is through the major survey textbooks. In the 19th century there was ''[[History of Art (Wilhelm Lübke)|History of Art]]'' (1860) by Wilhelm Lübke. In the 20th century, the most often used textbooks published in English are [[Gardner's Art Through the Ages|Helen Gardner’s ''Art Through the Ages'']] (1926), [[The Story of Art|Ernst Gombrich’s ''Story of Art'']] (1950), [[H. W. Janson|Janson’s ''History of Art'']] (1962), [[A World History of Art|Hugh Honour and John Flemming’s ''A World History of Art'']] (1982), [[Art History (Marilyn Stokstad and Michael W. Cothren)|Marilyn Stokstad’s ''Art History'']] (1995), Laurie Schneider Adams’s ''[[Art Across Time]]'' (1999), David Wilkins, Bernard Schultz, and Katheryn M. Linduff’s ''[[Art Past, Art Present]]'' (2009).	+
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-	===Western Europe===	+
-	Although some of the books listed above attempt a global approach, they are universally strong in [[western art history]]. The books use representative examples from each era in order to create a story that blends changing styles with [[social history]]. The Western narrative begins with [[prehistoric art]] such as [[Stonehenge]], before discussing the [[Ancient history|ancient world]]. The latter begins with [[Mesopotamian art and architecture|Mesopotamia]], then progresses to the [[art of Ancient Egypt]], which then transitions to [[Classical antiquity]]. Classical art includes both [[Art in Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Roman art|Roman]] work. With the decline of the [[Roman Empire]], the narrative shifts to [[Medieval art]], which lasted for a millennium. The high intellectual culture of the Medieval period was [[Islamic art|Islamic]], but the era also included [[Early Christian art]], [[Byzantine art]], [[Gothic art]], [[Anglo-Saxon art]], and [[Viking art]]. The Medieval era ended with the [[Renaissance_art#Art|Renaissance]], followed by the [[Baroque]] and [[Rococo]]. Sometimes another period, [[Mannerism]], is inserted between Renaissance and Baroque, which is a visual hybrid. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries included [[Neoclassicism]], [[Romantic art]], [[Academic art]], and [[Realism (arts)|Realism in art]]. Art historians disagree when [[Modern art]] began, but it was either in the mid-[[eighteenth century]] with the artist [[Francisco Goya]], the mid-[[nineteenth century]] with the [[industrial revolution]] or the late nineteenth century with the advent of [[Impressionism]]. The [[art movement]]s of the late nineteenth through the early twenty first centuries are too numerous to detail here, but can be broadly divided into two categories: [[Modernism]] and [[Contemporary art]]. The latter is sometimes referred to with another term, which has a subtly different connotation, [[Postmodern art]].	+
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-	Although textbooks [[Art periods|periodize]] Western art by movements, as described above, they also do so by century. Many art historians give a nod to the historical importance of [[Italian Renaissance]] and [[Baroque art]] by referring to centuries in which it was prominent with foreign terms. These include [[trecento]] for the fourteenth, [[quattrocento]] for the fifteenth, [[cinquecento]] for the sixteenth, [[seicento]] for the seventeenth, and [[settecento]] for the eighteenth.	+
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-	===The Americas===	+
-	The history of art in the Americas begins in [[Pre-Columbian art|pre-Columbian]] times with [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous cultures]]. Art historians have focused particularly closely on [[Mesoamerica]] during this early era, because a series of stratified cultures arose there that erected grand architecture and produced [[Mesoamerica#Political_and_religious_art|objects of fine workmanship]] that are comparable to the arts of western Europe. Perhaps the most-read textbook is Mary Ellen Miller’s ''The Art of Mesoamerica''.	+
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-	The art-making tradition of Mesoamerican people begins with the [[Olmec#Art|Olmec]] around 1400 BCE, during the [[Mesoamerican_chronology#Preclassic_Era|Preclassic era]]. These people are best-known for making colossal heads but also carved jade, erected monumental architecture, made small-scale sculpture, and designed mosaic floors. Two of the most well-studied sites artistically are [[San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán]] and [[La Venta]]. After the Olmec culture declined, the [[Maya civilization]] became prominent in the region. Sometimes a transitional [[Epi-Olmec culture|Epi-Olmec]] period is described, which is a hybrid of Olmec and Maya. A particularly well-studied Epi-Olmec site is [[La Mojarra]], which includes hieroglyphic carvings that have been partially deciphered.	+
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-	By the Late pre-Classic era, beginning around 400 BCE, the Olmec culture had declined but both Central Mexican and Maya peoples were thriving. Throughout much if the Classic period in Central Mexico the city of [[Teotihuacan]] was thriving, as were [[Xochicalco]] and [[El Tajin]]. These sites boasted both grand sculpture and architecture. Other Central Mexican peoples included the [[Mixtec#Language.2C_codices.2C_and_artwork|Mixtecs]], the [[Zapotec civilization|Zapotecs]], and people in the [[Valley of Oaxaca]]. [[Maya art]] was at its height during the “Classic” period—a name that mirrors that of [[Classical antiquity|Classical European antiquity]]—and which began around 200 CE. Major Maya sites from this era include [[Copan]] where numerous stelae were carved in the round, and [[Quirigua]] where the largest stelae of Mesoamerica are located along with [[zoomorphic]] altars. A complex [[writing system]] was developed, and [[Maya codices|Maya illuminated manuscripts]] were produced in large numbers on paper made from [[Bark|tree bark]]. Although Maya cities have existed to the present day, several sites [[Maya collapse|”collapsed”]] around 1000 CE.	+
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-	At the time of the [[Spanish conquest of Yucatán]] during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Maya were still powerful, but many communities were paying tribute to [[Aztec society]]. The latter culture was thriving, and it included [[Aztec#Arts|arts]] such as sculpture, painting, and feather mosaic. Perhaps the most well-known work of Aztec art is the [[Aztec sun stone|calendar stone]], which has become a national symbol of the state of [[Mexico]]. During the [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire]] many of these artistic objects were sent to Europe, where they were placed in [[cabinets of curiosities]], and later redistributed to art museums. The Aztec empire was based in the city of [[Tenochtitlan]] which was largely destroyed during the colonial era. What remains of it was buried beneath [[Mexico City]]. A few buildings, such as the foundation of the [[Templo Mayor]] have since been unearthed by archaeologists, but they are in poor condition.	+
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-	Art in the Americas since the conquest has been a mixture of indigenous and foreign traditions, including European, African, and Asian settlers. Thus, books about the [[visual arts of the United States]], such as Francis Pohl’s ''Framing America'', start with the conquest and reconstruct manifold traditions. Numerous indigenous traditions thrived after the conquest. For example, the [[Plains Indians]] created [[quillwork]], [[beadwork]], [[winter count]]s, ledger art, and [[tipi]]s in the pre-reservation era, and afterwards became assimilated into the world of Modern and Contemporary art through institutions such as the [[Santa Fe Indian School]] which encouraged students to develop a unique Native American style. Many paintings from that school, now called the Studio Style, were exhibited at the [[Philbrook Museum of Art]] during its Indian annual held from 1946-1979.	+
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-	Intertwined with this story of indigenous art, are movements of painting, sculpture, and architecture such as the [[Hudson River School]] and the [[Ashcan School]] of the 19th century, and [[Pop Art]] and [[Abstract Expressionism]] of the 20th. Some of the most celebrated images were produced by [[artists of the American West]], featuring “Cowboys and Indians,” and some of the most visually complex objects were created by [[African American art|African Americans]].	+
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-	===African===	+
-	The long story of [[African Art]] includes both high [[African sculpture|sculpture]], perhaps typified by the brass castings of the [[Benin art|Benin people]], as well as [[African folk art|folk art]].	+
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-	===Oceanic===	+
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-	The [[Art of Oceania]] includes the geographic areas of [[Micronesia]], [[Polynesia]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], and [[Melanesia]]. Nicholas Thomas’s textbook ''Oceanic Art'' treats the area thematically, with essays on [[ancestry]], [[warfare]], the [[body]], [[gender]], [[trade]], [[religion]], and [[tourism]].	+
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-	===Central and East Asian===	+
-	[[Eastern world|Eastern civilization]] broadly includes [[Asia]], and it also includes a complex tradition of art making. One [[Eastern art history]] art history survey textbook is John Laplante’s Asian Art. It divides the field by nation, with units on [[Indian art|India]], [[China|Chinese art]], and [[Japanese art|Japan]].	+
-	==Key objects and concepts==	+
-	===Medieval Western art===	+
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-	In [[Byzantine art|Byzantine]] and [[Gothic art]] of the [[Middle Ages]], the dominance of the church insisted on the expression of biblical truths. There was no need to depict the reality of the material world, in which man was born in a "state of sin", especially through the extensive use of gold in paintings, which also presented figures in idealised, patterned (i.e."flat") forms.	+
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-	===Renaissance Western art===	+
-	The [[Renaissance]] is the return yet again to valuation of the material world, and this paradigm shift is reflected in art forms, which show the corporeality of the human body, and the three dimensional reality of [[landscape]].	+
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-	===Eastern art===	+
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-	Eastern art has generally worked in a style akin to Western medieval art, namely a concentration on surface patterning and local colour (meaning the plain colour of an object, such as basic red for a red robe, rather than the modulations of that colour brought about by light, shade and reflection). A characteristic of this style is that the local colour is often defined by an outline (a contemporary equivalent is the cartoon). This is evident in, for example, the art of India, Tibet and Japan.	+
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-	Religious [[Islam]]ic art forbids iconography, and expresses religious ideas through geometric designs instead. However, there are many [[Islamic art|Islamic paintings]] which display religious themes and scenes of stories common among the three main [[monotheistic]] faiths of [[Islam]], [[Christianity]], and [[Judaism]].	+
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-	===Modern and contemporary art===	+
-	The physical and rational certainties of the [[clockwork universe]] depicted by the 18th-century [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] were shattered not only by new discoveries of relativity by [[Einstein]] and of unseen psychology by [[Sigmund Freud]], but also by unprecedented technological development accelerated by the implosion of civilization in two world wars. The history of [[20th century art]] is a narrative of endless possibilities and the search for new standards, each being torn down in succession by the next. Thus the parameters of [[Impressionism]], [[Expressionism]], [[Fauvism]], [[Cubism]], [[Dada]]ism, [[Surrealism]], and other art movements cannot be maintained as significant and culturally germane very much beyond the time of their invention. Increasing [[globalization|global]] interaction during this time saw an equivalent influence of other cultures into Western art, such as [[Pablo Picasso]] being influenced by [[Iberian sculpture]], [[African art|African sculpture]] and [[Primitivism]]. [[Japonism]], and [[Japan]]ese [[woodcut]]s (which had themselves been influenced by Western Renaissance draftsmanship) had an immense influence on Impressionism and subsequent artistic developments. The influential example set by [[Paul Gauguin]]'s interest in [[Oceanic art]] and the sudden popularity among the [[cognescenti]] in early 20th century [[Paris]] of newly discovered African fetish sculptures and other works from non-European cultures were taken up by Picasso, [[Henri Matisse]], and by many of their colleagues.	+
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-	[[Modernism]], the idealistic search for truth, and progress, gave way in the latter decades of the 20th century to a realization of its unattainability. Relativity was accepted as an unavoidable truth, which led to the [[Postmodernism|Postmodern]] period, where cultures of the world and of history are seen as changing forms, which can be appreciated and drawn from only with irony. Furthermore the separation of cultures is increasingly blurred and it is now more appropriate to think in terms of a global culture, rather than regional cultures.	+
-	==See also==	+
-	*[[Art history books]]	+
-	{{GFDL}}	+

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Current revision

1. redirectart history