art history

art history

The Evolution of Art: A Comprehensive Study of Art History

1. Introduction to Art History

The earliest art is similar wherever in the world it is found, showing that the urge to make life more palatable and pleasurable has always been with us. The study of this urge, of how it is organized and expressed physically and mentally, how we see it, and how it molds us and our environment, is art history. To take objects that humans have identified as art and study them in context is to take a remarkable glimpse into the aesthetic side of being human. We have all honed the glittering, fragile edge of perception to a keener angle and so can become visually aware of a near-overwhelming number of things, nearly all the time. In art, we are given a wonderful sense of this visual perfection, not simply by the objects themselves, but by those subjective folk tales about human behavior that images often render permanent. In this course, we will use this information to transport us to places, people, and universes existing only in imagination. The more we learn about art history, the more questions there are to ask.

What is art history? How do we look at things? The first thing we have to do is define “art.” Who or what can do it? (Do animals make art?) The ability to make images, incorporate pattern, and combine a wide variety of materials to make something new is what makes Homo sapiens visually distinct from all animals. Art making is so common that it transcends time and place and has been given separate status in the university pantheon as one of the major precepts controlling the aesthetic world.

2. Ancient Art and Its Influence

When no longer satisfied with simple burial grounds, Egypt developed stone figures that emerged from burial sites and depicted the spirit’s awakening from death to a new form of life. Graffiti and their associated imagery are not yet shown on the walls of these tumuli; these sites belong to the Pre-Contact or Blazons culture or Settles period, two archaeological terms for the post-Late Woodland. There might have been a small bit of an admixture of more southern Europe Carded-origin populations after 3400 B.C. These twenty points, twenty years or so, represents the simplest way to identify some aspects of origins, contacts, and social cultural evolution associated with the art and its cultural symbolism of the prehistory of the Middle Atlantic region during the Neolithic adaptation to a new style of life.

Art grew, developed, and was created before written language began, so that ancient art documents the preliterate or early literate people. Egypt and the Near and Middle East introduced the concept of building from colossal blocks of stone or stacking stones to a height that served for protection against the dangers of invading armies and marauders, and then surpassed mere utility with the most intricate and delicate designs that reached as far as possible and in the largest or most secret spaces possible. The same mythic plot of flight, return, and revenge played a powerful structure in Assyrian palace architecture and design, Greek myth allowed exquisitely portrayed human interactions.

3. Renaissance Art: A Rebirth of Creativity

The Renaissance, which brought wisdom and splendor to the intellect, impressed similar characteristics on art as well. It is the supreme form of expression of the spirit of the time, the intellectuality of the Italian character, in the light of reason, restrained by a sense of the real, and responding as much to the attraction of life on earth as to the solicitation of the ideal. We understand that this flowering of art, embracing both the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of modern times from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, claims the term ‘Renaissance’ as much as the renewal of philosophy, letters, and even religion. The Florence artists were, in fact, devoted Christians. The difference was that they felt able to admire and cherish the world, to revere realistic attitudes, to appreciate the beauty of every creature originating in the divine will; pictures ‘uccellos’ thus posed in its natural setting instead of among the branches of a symbolic paradise.

4. Modern and Contemporary Art Movements

In the most general terms, the remarkable achievements in the visual arts of the past two centuries were a celebration of richness and complexity, which went far beyond the bounds of the art of any previous period; most panoramas displayed a particular technical liberation, were ceaselessly dedicated to the exploration of radical innovations, and remained stubbornly aware of each artist’s artistic heritage. With the advent of Romanticism and its unprecedented cult of individuality, which reached its apogee in the nineteenth century, the creative spirit of the artist increasingly claimed autonomy from the confines of collective norms. The challenging experiments of the twentieth century and artistic experiences visible in the first typically contemporary expressions of the collective soul, enhanced by the shared experiences of successive “modernities,” each endowed with its singular aspirations and deeply built on the power of technological innovation, beyond the rigid canons of academic rules and the specific boundaries of the region so far, have created vital instances of cultural ferment and included real moments of overwhelming artistic peak, thanks to the uncontrollable ability of the visual arts to metaphorically afford for whole generations.

The study of modern and contemporary art is, interestingly enough, a relatively recent discipline. It was not until around 1770 that a coherent and relatively comprehensible history of art began to take shape. With this point, only the 114 preceding centuries of artistic endeavors remain, and each is still gloriously incomplete. In the mid-eighteenth century, critics and collectors, called upon to deem some artists greater than others, while the Enlightenment sought for purposes of moral edification and aesthetic pleasure to define standards of excellence, began to group together the names and styles of painters in what they defined as the essential features of their work. It was during this period that the technique of organizing artists into a series of “schools,” “periods,” “movements,” or “styles” was first brought into use. As the discipline of art history matured, more precise terms became available, allowing for an improved understanding of art and society. The relative ease of developing a jargon to apply to past works makes the process much more complicated than it appears. Indeed, during the last two hundred years, the evolution of art has been described in many ways.

5. The Global Impact of Art in the 21st Century

The twenty-first century can benefit from a global exchange of visual ideas and from the making of unique objects. All of the expressions and customs will offer an appreciation for the melting pot we live in and simultaneously give poetic evidence to present day fears or hopes. These related customs, cultures, or genres can illustrate both lasting traditions of visual art forms and topically express societal aspects in communication with the rest of the world. Relatable sculptures have been successful in communicating important but complex environmental issues to thousands of citizens around the world. These pieces and other large-scale works of art that are exhibited in public spaces mirror and contrast the history and culture of our global neighborhood. Art often goes through transformations by pushing technical limits and embracing new interpretations of the purpose for making art in general. Ongoing global awareness through art can offer fresh perspectives that provide our individual human minds a larger mental territory for thinking and generating imaginative solutions towards understanding and appreciation.

In the 21st century, the world is technologically advanced and it is easier to keep track of all types of art that are produced around the planet. This global societal connection is bringing to the surface a renewed interest in culture in visual and recorded forms of regional art. Peoples of various cultures are trying to retain their traditions. There is a new appreciation for the unique and innovative types of presentations in art that represent a blending or fusion of techniques and materials of two or more particular cultures that exist either as a result of mixed marriages, racial heritage, a global upbringing, or generational differences. Art continues to reflect the culture not only in the creator’s country, but in regional areas within our own cities. These expressions of creativity are brought into focus by our schools, religious institutions, small businesses, and museums.