What is art? When you were first asked this question, you probably thought of paintings hanging in a museum, or statues of ancient Greek and Roman gods. Perhaps you thought of new, abstract art of shapes that make no sense or even broken bits of pottery. All of these answers are correct. Art, is a form of expression, an outlet for creativity. Art can be anything created. There are many forms of art, from wood cuts to oil paintings, architecture and figurines. As time moves on, and technology advances, we have more and more ways of producing art. Nowadays, computers are a medium used to produce art that weren't accessible a hundred years ago. It is the job of art historians to not only analyze works of art but to also link them back to history to answer questions. Who was this man depicted? Who wore this crown? What is it a symbol of? What significance did this have? Was there an impact in history?
Well, in order to get the 'big picture' of a work of art, art historians must first ask themselves some questions.
How old is it?Before any historian can study any piece of art, they must be sure of the time a piece of art was created, its chronology. There are many means art historians use to determine the age of any piece of art.
- Physical Evidence: Some materials used in a work may or may not have been invented before or after a certain time, or artists may have ceased using such materials
- Documentary Evidence: Official records may keep track of when a work was created
- Visual Evidence: If a painter depicted an identifiable person, trend, invention that is specific to a time period
- Stylistic Evidence: not always reliable, but an artist's manner of producing a work may give hints as to when it was produced
What is its style?Defining style is definitely one of the key elements of art historical inquiry. Art historians speak of several different kinds of artistic styles
- Period Style: The characteristic artistic manner of a specific time within a distinct culture. An example is “Early Italian Renaissance”
- Regional Style: Describes variations in style tied to geography.Provenance (place of origin) can significantly determine the character of a work of art. In example, most people can distinguish Olmec art and Ancient Egyptian art, but it would take an expert to distinguish significant differences in Egyptian art from 2500 B.C and 500 B.C
- Personal Style: The distinctive manner of individual artists in creating their works. Example, Van Gogh’s art is easily distinguishable by its heavy brushstrokes.
What is the subject?The subject of a work of art is, of course, what is being portrayed; whether it be an event, a person, a story or a concept
- Narrative: the story being portrayed, an actions time and place, persons involved, environment, details or abstract symbolism
- Attributes: if there is some constant with a common subject. In example, Apollo is almost always depicted with a bow and quiver, Buddha always dons the urna, ushnisha, and elongated earlobes.
- Personifications: abstract ideas codified in bodily form. In example, “Liberty” is portrayed as a woman holding a tablet and torch.
Who made it?If a work of art is not signed, there are some methods art historians use to identify a creator
- School: A chronological, stylistic, geographic similarity
Who paid for it?An important factor to consider when studying a piece of art is the patron of the artist, or the person who paid for the creation of said work of art. The patron, in many cases, decides the subject of the work of art and the way in which it is portrayed. In this case, an artist has limited freedom to express his personal style. In example, the Roman Emperor Agustus looks young in a great majority of the art he was in, even though he lived to be seventy-six. The pharaohs are mostly depicted as having perfect and youthful looks, no matter how they truly looked.
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