What Is Art History
...take a college course, so art history may be a new field of study for you. Even though you are new to analyzing the visual arts, your learning skills in other fields will serve you well in this discipline. If you have ever analyzed a poem or developed an understanding of a historical period, you already come prepared to think and write like an art historian. You must still make an argument about something, but in this case you use art (instead of, say, dialogue from a play) to build and defend your argument.
Although art historians vary in their approaches to art, there are a few common approaches that form the backbone of the field. The following pamphlet describes these briefly and lets you know what you might need to do to tackle a paper assignment in this field. Just remember: there is more than one way of doing art history. Understanding your instructor's approach to art will help you meet his or her expectations in your own writing.
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Assignment Sleuth Work
When your instructor hands out a paper assignment, first figure out what type of assignment it is. The basic questions of art history often appear in a few traditional types of assignments. We've presented a summary of five of them below. Becoming acquainted with the five types will help you begin to understand your assignment. Recognize, however, that many assignments combine more than one of these types. Most assignments will fit into one or more of the types, but don't try to make your assignment fit them if it does not. Some professors prefer to take a less traditional approach to the assignments they write, and they may be looking for less traditional responses from their students. Start by reading the assignment carefully to see what is being asked (see the Writing Center handout How to Read Assignments for further tips).
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