The difference between History of Art and Art History

artinspiration

Nov 19

*Cueva de las Manos, Perito Moreno, Argentina. The art in the cave is dated between 13,000–9,000 BP, stenciled, mostly left hands are shown. (Photo By Mariano - Own work)*

I was searching in the Internet for a MFA, a Master Degree Course to (maybe) attend next year. I have a BFA in History, Theory and Art Criticism and a ten years research project that I’d like to deepen. While I was looking for a nice course that could fit my needs (and time schedule), I started to think about this apparently silly question: “What’s the difference between History of Art and Art History?”

Well, for my surprise the first thing I found out that’s not a silly question and the second thing: this question probably only works in English! In French or Portuguese, the two other languages I speak, there’s no difference. But in English it has a different meaning. Basically, the History of Art is based in the chronology of the objects created by the human civilization. We can say that it has started with the cave paintings, 50.000 to 10.000 BC. On the other hand, the Art History narrative considers the context, (historical, political or even technological) in which the art works were made. Take a look at the Wikipedia definitions:

“The history of art focuses on objects made by humans in visual form for aesthetic purposes. Visual art can be classified in diverse ways, such as separating fine arts from applied arts; inclusively focusing on human creativity; or focusing on different media such as architecture, sculpture, painting, film, photography, and graphic arts. In recent years, technological advances have led to video art, computer art, performance art, animation, television, and videogames. The history of art is often told as a chronology of masterpieces created during each civilization. (…)”

“Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, and decorative arts, yet today, art history examines broader aspects of visual culture, including the various visual and conceptual outcomes related to an ever-evolving definition of art. Art history encompasses the study of objects created by different cultures around the world and throughout history that convey meaning, importance, or serve usefulness primarily through visual means. (...)”

Anyway, I find quite interesting there are so many different ways that Art, and it’s History, can be learned. I think both History of Art and Art History are really passionate themes and they have their nuances and interconnections. Personally, I prefer to know about the context to have more elements to analyze a period, a style or a work of art. Not to mention, Art Theory. But this a subject to another text! As you can see, Art is definitely my favorite subject.