Art History 101
Art History 101: A Brisk Walk Through the Eras
A quick overview of the entirety of Art History, also known as "32,000 Years in 16,000 Characters or Less".
Art History 101: Paleolithic Art
For the purposes of Art History, when we refer to "Paleolithic" art, we're talking about the Late Upper Paleolithic period. This began roughly around 40,000 years ago and lasted through the Pleistocene ice age, the end of which is commonly thought to have occurred near 8,000 B.C. (give or take a few centuries).
Art History 101: Mesolithic Art
Otherwise known as "Middle Stone Age", the Mesolithic period covered a brief span of around 2,000 years. While it served as an important bridge between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic ages, the art of this period was, well, sort of boring.
Art History 101: Neolithic Art
After the rather ho-hum art of the Mesolithic era, art in the Neolithic (literally: "new stone") age represents a spree of hellzapoppin' innovation. Humans were settling themselves down into agrarian societies, which left them enough spare time to explore some key concepts of civilization - namely, religion, measurement, the rudiments of...
Art History 101: An Overview of Ancient Greek Art
Because so many centuries and different phases encompass "ancient Greek art" what we'll try to do rather briefly, here, is to break it down into some managable chunks, thus giving each period its due. Sort of like Greek Art giving an acceptance speech at an awards ceremony, in which it thanks all of "the little people" for helping it to become...
Art History 101: An Overview of the Renaissance
We all know what the Renaissance was: Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael and company created some fabulous paintings and sculptures that we continue to marvel over many centuries later and so on and so forth. Was it really that simple?
Art History 101: Proto-Renaissance Art
When studying the Pre- or "Proto"-Renaissance period, three important factors should be considered: Where this happened, what people were thinking and how art started to change.
Art History 101: Early Renaissance Art
The "Early Renaissance" was all about Florence. Firenze, as it's known to those who live there, was the place in which to launch one's artistic career in 15th-century Italy.
Art History 101: The Italian High Renaissance
Bidding Florence both huge thanks and a fond farewell, let's get right down to defining the who-s, what-s and when-s of the "High" Renaissance.
Art History 101: The Late Renaissance and Mannerism
Mannerism, a phrase coined in the 20th-century, is what happened artistically during the "Late" Renaissance (otherwise known as the years between Raphael's death and the beginning of the Baroque phase in 1600).
Art History 101: The Renaissance in Venice
During the Renaissance Venice gave birth to a distinct school of painting. There was just something about the light there that begged to be captured on canvas.
Art History 101: The Renaissance in Northern Europe
When we talk about the Northern Renaissance, what we actually mean is "Renaissance happenings that occurred within Europe, but outside of Italy." Because the most innovative art was created in France, the Netherlands and Germany during this time, and because all of these places are north of Italy, the "Northern" tag has stuck.
Art History 101: The High Northern Renaissance
The first half of the 16th century saw the North enjoying its own High Renaissance. The primary reason this came about can be summed up in two words: Albrecht Dürer.
Art History 101: Dada
Dada was, officially, not a movement, its artists not artists and its art not art. That sounds easy enough, doesn't it? Of course, there is a bit more to the story of Dadaism than this simplistic explanation.
Art History 101: Performance Art
The term "Performance Art" got its start in the 1960s in the United States. It was originally used to describe any live artistic event that included poets, musicians, film makers, etc. - in addition to visual artists.
Art History 101: Op Art
In October of 1964, in an article describing this new style of art, Time Magazine coined the phrase "Optical Art" (or "Op Art", as it's more commonly known). The term referenced the fact that Op Art is comprised of illusion, and often appears - to the human eye - to be moving or breathing due to its precise, mathematically-based composition.
Art History 101: Toyism
Once upon a time, in an Emmen, Netherlands basement, an art movement named "Toyism" was born from one Mother and many fathers.
Art History 101: Lowbrow
Anyone who has ever watched cartoons, read Mad magazine, enjoyed a John Waters film, consumed a product with a corporate logo or possessed a sense of humor shouldn't have a hard time getting comfy with Lowbrow.
Art History 101: The New Leipzig School
In the middle of the first decade of the 21st Century, the terms "New Leipzig School," "Neue Leipziger Schule" and "YGAs" ("Young German Artists") - all of which refer to the same group of painters - have made ever-larger inroads into visual arts writing. Interesting. But who are they and where did they come from?
How to Ace Any Art History Course - Tips for Art History Students
Ten tips gathered from top art history students help new art history students organize, prioritize, and memorize. These tips focus on reading, classroom participation and study practice that aid in memorizing art history information, such as artists' names, titles, dates, media, dimension and location.
Which Style Guide Should I Use?
Rules of thumb to help you know which style guide applies to your art history paper citations. You'll find examples, links to tutorials and, most importantly, advice on how to format those image captions.
Junk Art - Art History 101 Basics
Junk Art became an "official" movement when the critic Lawrence Alloway assigned those two words to one of Robert Rauschenberg's combines in the mid-1950s. It has proved itself a durable movement: it continues to be made. In fact, there is no end in sight, seeing that we keep manufacturing items that end up in the trash.