Art History

The art history usually refers to the history of the visual arts, such as Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. The term art history comprehends theory of the visual arts, though not the performing arts or literary arts. The art history infuses an objective survey of art throughout human history, by classifying cultures and periods.

The ground of art history was developed in the West that dealt solely with Western art history. Gradually, with the onset of Modernism, a wider vision of history has developed.

The study of the art history is a relatively recent phenomenon that prior to the Renaissance.

There are different ways drafting art history. It can be based on time, place and culture. The possible classifications are discussed below:

Pre-historic Art

The oldest existing 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. The Venus of Willendorf is a sculpture from the Paleolithic era. It depicts a pregnant woman. This sculpture of carved stone is remarkable in its roundness instead of a flat portrayal.

Ancient Art

The earliest examples of ancient art developed from Mesopotamia and Egypt.

This great tradition in art has a foundation in the art of one of the six great ancient civilizations:

• Ancient Egypt,
• Mesopotamia,
• Greece, Rome,
• India, or
• China.

Each of these centers of early civilization developed a unique and characteristic style in their art.

Post-ancient Western Art

In Byzantine and Gothic art of the middle Ages, you can find the dominance of the church insisted on the expression of biblical and not material truths. In this phase of art history there was no need to depict the reality of the material world.

Post-ancient Eastern ArtEastern art has generally worked in a similar style to Western medieval art. A characteristic of this style is that the local color is often defined by an outline. This is evident in, the art of India, Tibet and Japan.

Cotemporary Art

Increasing global interaction during this contemporary period saw an equal influence of other cultures into Western art, for example we may say that, the works of Pablo Picasso being influenced by African sculpture. In this phase of art history Japanese woodblock prints had also an immense influence on Impressionism and subsequent development.

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