Misplaced Pages

#617382

109-702: Karin Hindsbo (born 1974) is a Danish art historian and museum director. She is the director of the Tate Modern in London since September 2023. She was previously the director of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo , Norway. Hindsbo studied at Aarhus University and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin . She graduated as cand.mag. in art history and history of ideas from Aarhus University in 2002. Hindsbo

218-414: A collective consciousness . Art historians do not commonly commit to any one particular brand of semiotics but rather construct an amalgamated version which they incorporate into their collection of analytical tools. For example, Meyer Schapiro borrowed Saussure 's differential meaning in effort to read signs as they exist within a system. According to Schapiro, to understand the meaning of frontality in

327-457: A category of "fetish," which was understood to be outside the realm of art. During and after the 19th and 20th century colonial period, Westerners long characterized African art as "primitive." The term carries with it negative connotations of underdevelopment and poverty. Colonization during the nineteenth century set up a Western understanding hinged on the belief that African art lacked technical ability due to its low socioeconomic status. At

436-459: A decade, scores of papers, articles, and essays sustained a growing momentum, fueled by the Second-wave feminist movement , of critical discourse surrounding women's interactions with the arts as both artists and subjects. In her pioneering essay, Nochlin applies a feminist critical framework to show systematic exclusion of women from art training, arguing that exclusion from practicing art as well as

545-424: A difficult time finding a market for their work. Many contemporary African arts borrow heavily from traditional predecessors. Ironically, this emphasis on abstraction is seen by Westerners as an imitation of European and American Cubist and totemic artists, such as Pablo Picasso , Amedeo Modigliani and Henri Matisse , who, in the early twentieth century, was heavily influenced by traditional African art. This period

654-504: A distinctive blending of art and philosophy. Akan culture values gold above all other metals and believes that it can portray the supernatural elements behind many things, including royal authority and cultural values. The Asante, a dominant Akan-speaking culture in Ghana, trace their origins back to the arrival of a golden-stool, which is now said to hold the soul of the Asante nation within it. Gold

763-492: A full-blown art-historical methodology. Sedlmayr, in particular, rejected the minute study of iconography, patronage, and other approaches grounded in historical context, preferring instead to concentrate on the aesthetic qualities of a work of art. As a result, the Second Vienna School gained a reputation for unrestrained and irresponsible formalism , and was furthermore colored by Sedlmayr's overt racism and membership in

872-409: A long way to counter many of the myths and prejudices that haunt Contemporary African Art . The appointment of Nigerian Okwui Enwezor as artistic director of Documenta 11 and his African-centred vision of art propelled the careers of countless African artists onto the international stage. A wide range of more-or-less traditional forms of art or adaptations of traditional style to contemporary taste

981-477: A millennium, the art of such areas had formed part of Berber or Islamic art , however, with many particular local characteristics. Ethiopian art , with a long Christian tradition , is also different from that of most of Africa, where Traditional African religion (with Islam in the north) was dominant until the 20th century. African art includes prehistoric and ancient art, the Islamic art of West Africa ,

1090-514: A more affirmative notion of leftover materials of capitalist culture. Greenberg now is well known for examining and criticizing the formal properties of modern art. [3] Meyer Schapiro is one of the best-remembered Marxist art historians of the mid-20th century. After his graduation from Columbia University in 1924, he returned to his alma mater to teach Byzantine, Early Christian, and medieval art along with art-historical theory. [4] Although he wrote about numerous time periods and themes in art, he

1199-463: A particular emphasis on the 19th and 20th centuries. Recently, however, there has been a movement among African art historians and other scholars to include the visual culture of other regions and time periods. The notion is that by including all African cultures and their visual culture over time in African art , there will be a greater understanding of the continent's visual aesthetics across time. Finally,

SECTION 10

#1733084684618

1308-400: A relative artistic value for individual works with respect to others of comparable style or sanctioning an entire style or movement; and art theory or " philosophy of art ", which is concerned with the fundamental nature of art. One branch of this area of study is aesthetics , which includes investigating the enigma of the sublime and determining the essence of beauty. Technically, art history

1417-461: A similar work by Franz Theodor Kugler . Heinrich Wölfflin (1864–1945), who studied under Burckhardt in Basel, is the "father" of modern art history. Wölfflin taught at the universities of Berlin, Basel, Munich, and Zurich. A number of students went on to distinguished careers in art history, including Jakob Rosenberg and Frida Schottmüller  [ de ] . He introduced a scientific approach to

1526-581: A situation where the established avant-garde was straining against the constraints imposed by serving the world of appearances, African art demonstrated the power of supremely well-organized forms; produced not only by responding to the faculty of sight but also and often primarily, the faculty of imagination, emotion and mystical and religious experience. These artists saw in African art a formal perfection and sophistication unified with phenomenal expressive power. The study of and response to African art, by artists at

1635-426: A specific pictorial context, it must be differentiated from, or viewed in relation to, alternate possibilities such as a profile , or a three-quarter view . Schapiro combined this method with the work of Charles Sanders Peirce whose object, sign, and interpretant provided a structure for his approach. Alex Potts demonstrates the application of Peirce's concepts to visual representation by examining them in relation to

1744-518: A vast land expansion that eventually brought together these smaller states, forming a bigger kingdom. The kingdom’s involvement in gold, cloth, and slave trades was not just significant, but it also generated immense wealth. This economic power upheld a flourishing artistic culture, making the kingdom a hub of cultural and economic activity. Ghana is most famous for creating the most famous African expressions and works. These works range from wood carvings to brass works, figures, and even gems. A Kente

1853-412: A work of art. Art historians employ a number of methods in their research into the ontology and history of objects. Art historians often examine work in the context of its time. At best, this is done in a manner which respects its creator's motivations and imperatives; with consideration of the desires and prejudices of its patrons and sponsors; with a comparative analysis of themes and approaches of

1962-784: Is a popular art form and is used to indicate rank, affiliation with a group, or purely aesthetics. African jewelery is made from such diverse materials as Tiger's eye stone, haematite , sisal , coconut shell, beads and ebony wood. Sculptures can be wooden, ceramic or carved out of stone like the famous Shona sculptures, and decorated or sculpted pottery comes from many regions. Various forms of textiles are made including chitenge , mud cloth and kente cloth. Mosaics made of butterfly wings or coloured sand are popular in West Africa. Early African sculptures can be identified as being made of terracotta and bronze. Traditional African religions have been extremely influential on African art forms across

2071-470: Is a traditional, multi-coloured, hand-woven, quilted cloth. It is also a sort of silk and cotton texture made of interlaced cloth strips. The cloth is central to the Ghanaian culture and it is also traditionally used to be worn as a wrap-around both men and women with slightly different variations for both of them. This fabric is worn by almost every Ghanaian tribe member. There are different color variations for

2180-571: Is also on display with the tradition of praise portraits depicting international celebrities, which often served as storefront advertising art, and have since become widely valued and collected in the global art market. Another notable contemporary African artist is Amir Nour , a Sudanese artist who lived in Chicago. In the 1960s he created a metal sculpture called Grazing at Shendi (1969) which consists of geometric shapes that connect with his memory of his homeland. The sculpture resembles grazing sheep in

2289-449: Is an especially good example of this, as the Russian avant-garde and later Soviet art were attempts to define that country's identity. Napoleon Bonaparte was also well known for commissioning works that emphasized the strength of France with him as ruler. Western Romanticism provided a new appreciation for one's home country, or new home country. Caspar David Friedrich 's, Monk by

SECTION 20

#1733084684618

2398-401: Is an icon for all of womankind. This chain of interpretation, or "unlimited semiosis" is endless; the art historian's job is to place boundaries on possible interpretations as much as it is to reveal new possibilities. Semiotics operates under the theory that an image can only be understood from the viewer's perspective. The artist is supplanted by the viewer as the purveyor of meaning, even to

2507-455: Is best remembered for his commentary on sculpture from the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Arnold Hauser wrote the first Marxist survey of Western Art, entitled The Social History of Art . He attempted to show how class consciousness was reflected in major art periods. The book was controversial when published in 1951 because of its generalizations about entire eras, a strategy now called " vulgar Marxism ". [5] Marxist art history

2616-400: Is made for sale to tourists and others, including so-called "airport art". A number of vigorous popular traditions assimilate Western influences into African styles such as the elaborate fantasy coffins of Southern Ghana, made in a variety of different shapes which represent the occupations or interests of the deceased or elevate their status. The Ga believe that an elaborate funeral will benefit

2725-471: Is non-representational or a work of expressionism . An iconographical analysis is one which focuses on particular design elements of an object. Through a close reading of such elements, it is possible to trace their lineage, and with it draw conclusions regarding the origins and trajectory of these motifs . In turn, it is possible to make any number of observations regarding the social, cultural, economic and aesthetic values of those responsible for producing

2834-542: Is not these things, because the art historian uses historical method to answer the questions: How did the artist come to create the work?, Who were the patrons?, Who were their teachers?, Who was the audience?, Who were their disciples?, What historical forces shaped the artist's oeuvre and how did he or she and the creation, in turn, affect the course of artistic, political and social events? It is, however, questionable whether many questions of this kind can be answered satisfactorily without also considering basic questions about

2943-476: Is possible to trace the ideas of Xenokrates of Sicyon ( c.  280 BC ), a Greek sculptor who was perhaps the first art historian. Pliny's work, while mainly an encyclopaedia of the sciences, has thus been influential from the Renaissance onwards. (Passages about techniques used by the painter Apelles c. (332–329 BC), have been especially well-known.) Similar, though independent, developments occurred in

3052-610: Is world renowned for its colors and patterns. Its original purpose was to portray royal power and authority, but has now become a symbol of tradition and has been adopted by several other cultures. Nigerian culture is illustrated through art and folklore. Nigeria draws its inspiration for their art from traditional folk heritage of the region. There are different types of artwork from the Nigerian culture. Some of these works of art can be stone carvings, potteries, glass work, wood carvings and bronze works. Benin and Awka are considered to be

3161-589: The Mona Lisa . By seeing the Mona Lisa , for example, as something beyond its materiality is to identify it as a sign. It is then recognized as referring to an object outside of itself, a woman, or Mona Lisa . The image does not seem to denote religious meaning and can therefore be assumed to be a portrait. This interpretation leads to a chain of possible interpretations: who was the sitter in relation to Leonardo da Vinci ? What significance did she have to him? Or, maybe she

3270-546: The Christian art of East Africa , and the traditional artifacts of these, and other regions. Many African sculptures were historically made of wood and other natural materials that have not survived from earlier than a few centuries ago, although rare older pottery and metal figures can be found in some areas. Some of the earliest decorative objects, such as shell beads and evidence of paint, have been discovered in Africa, dating to

3379-671: The Middle Stone Age . Masks are important elements in the art of many people, along with human figures, and are often highly stylised. There is a vast variety of styles, often varying within the same context of origin and depending on the use of the object, but wide regional trends are apparent. Sculpture is most common among "groups of settled cultivators in the areas drained by the Niger and Congo rivers" in West Africa. Direct images of deities are relatively infrequent, but masks in particular are or were often made for ritual ceremonies. Since

Karin Hindsbo - Misplaced Pages Continue

3488-530: The Sahara in Niger preserves 6000-year-old carvings. Along with sub-Saharan Africa, the Western cultural arts, ancient Egyptian paintings and artifacts, and indigenous southern crafts also contributed greatly to African art. Often depicting the abundance of surrounding nature, the art was often abstract interpretations of animals, plant life, or natural designs and shapes. The Nubian Kingdom of Kush in modern Sudan

3597-525: The psyche through exploring the worlds of dreams , art, mythology , world religion and philosophy . Much of his life's work was spent exploring Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy , astrology , sociology , as well as literature and the arts. His most notable contributions include his concept of the psychological archetype , the collective unconscious , and his theory of synchronicity . Jung believed that many experiences perceived as coincidence were not merely due to chance but, instead, suggested

3706-532: The three dimensions of sculptural or architectural space to create their art. The way these individual elements are employed results in representational or non-representational art. Is the artist imitating an object or can the image be found in nature? If so, it is representational. The closer the art hews to perfect imitation, the more the art is realistic . Is the artist not imitating, but instead relying on symbolism or in an important way striving to capture nature's essence, rather than copy it directly? If so

3815-470: The 10th century, some of the most notable advancements include the bronze work of Igbo Ukwu and the terracotta and metalworks of Ile Ife Bronze and brass castings, often ornamented with ivory and precious stones , became highly prestigious in much of West Africa , sometimes being limited to the work of court artisans and identified with royalty , as with the Benin Bronzes . As Europeans explored

3924-466: The 6th century China, where a canon of worthy artists was established by writers in the scholar-official class. These writers, being necessarily proficient in calligraphy, were artists themselves. The artists are described in the Six Principles of Painting formulated by Xie He . While personal reminiscences of art and artists have long been written and read (see Lorenzo Ghiberti Commentarii , for

4033-586: The Americas Art of Oceania African art describes modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent . The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas , such as African-American , Caribbean or art in South American societies inspired by African traditions. Despite this diversity, there are unifying artistic themes present when considering

4142-477: The English-speaking academy in the 1930s. These scholars were largely responsible for establishing art history as a legitimate field of study in the English-speaking world, and the influence of Panofsky's methodology, in particular, determined the course of American art history for a generation. Heinrich Wölfflin was not the only scholar to invoke psychological theories in the study of art. An unexpected turn in

4251-900: The Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg. More recently European galleries such as the October Gallery in London and collectors such as Jean Pigozzi , Artur Walther and Gianni Baiocchi in Rome have helped expand the interest in the subject. Numerous exhibitions at the Museum for African Art in New York and the African Pavilion at the 2007 Venice Biennale , which showcased the Sindika Dokolo African Collection of Contemporary Art, has gone

4360-556: The Kente, each color has different meanings. Here are some examples: Black: maturation White: purification Yellow: preciousness Blue: peacefulness Red: bloodshed Akan art originated among the Akan people . Akan art is known for its vibrant artistic traditions, including textiles, sculptures, Akan gold weights, as well as gold and silver jewelry . The Akan people are known for their strong connection between visual and verbal expressions and

4469-675: The Litany , The Expanding Discourse: Feminism and Art History , and Reclaiming Feminist Agency: Feminist Art History After Postmodernism are substantial efforts to bring feminist perspectives into the discourse of art history. The pair also co-founded the Feminist Art History Conference. As opposed to iconography which seeks to identify meaning, semiotics is concerned with how meaning is created. Roland Barthes 's connoted and denoted meanings are paramount to this examination. In any particular work of art, an interpretation depends on

Karin Hindsbo - Misplaced Pages Continue

4578-469: The Modern era. Some of this scholarship centers on the feminist art movement , which referred specifically to the experience of women. Often, feminist art history offers a critical "re-reading" of the Western art canon, such as Carol Duncan 's re-interpretation of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon . Two pioneers of the field are Mary Garrard and Norma Broude . Their anthologies Feminism and Art History: Questioning

4687-599: The Nazi party. This latter tendency was, however, by no means shared by all members of the school; Pächt, for example, was himself Jewish, and was forced to leave Vienna in the 1930s. Our 21st-century understanding of the symbolic content of art comes from a group of scholars who gathered in Hamburg in the 1920s. The most prominent among them were Erwin Panofsky , Aby Warburg , Fritz Saxl and Gertrud Bing . Together they developed much of

4796-491: The Russian Revolution and the communist ideals. Artist Isaak Brodsky 's work of art Shock Workers from Dnieprostroi in 1932 shows his political involvement within art. This piece of art can be analysed to show the internal troubles Soviet Russia was experiencing at the time. Perhaps the best-known Marxist was Clement Greenberg , who came to prominence during the late 1930s with his essay " Avant-Garde and Kitsch ". In

4905-866: The Sea (1808 or 1810) sets a sublime scene representing the overwhelming beauty and strength of the German shoreline at the Baltic Sea. In the infancy of the American colonies, the people believed it was their destiny to explore the Western, "untamed", wilderness. Artists who had been training at the Hudson River School in New York, took on the task of presenting the unknown land as both picturesque and sublime. African art Art of Central Asia Art of East Asia Art of South Asia Art of Southeast Asia Art of Europe Art of Africa Art of

5014-529: The World War in 1914, wanted to create artworks which were nonconforming and aimed to destroy traditional art styles. [2] These two movements helped other artists to create pieces that were not viewed as traditional art. Some examples of styles that branched off the anti-art movement would be Neo-Dadaism, Surrealism, and Constructivism. These styles and artists did not want to surrender to traditional ways of art. This way of thinking provoked political movements such as

5123-403: The art is non-representational—also called abstract . Realism and abstraction exist on a continuum. Impressionism is an example of a representational style that was not directly imitative, but strove to create an "impression" of nature. If the work is not representational and is an expression of the artist's feelings, longings and aspirations or is a search for ideals of beauty and form, the work

5232-457: The article anonymously. Though the use of posthumous material to perform psychoanalysis is controversial among art historians, especially as the sexual mores of Michelangelo's and Leonardo's time and Freud's are different, it is often attempted. Carl Jung also applied psychoanalytic theory to art. Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist , an influential thinker, and founder of analytical psychology . Jung's approach to psychology emphasized understanding

5341-529: The arts of the people of the African diaspora, in Brazil , the Caribbean and the south-eastern United States , have also begun to be included in the study of African art. African art is produced using a wide range of materials and takes many distinct shapes. Because wood is a very common material, wood sculptures make up the majority of African art. Other materials used in creating African art include clay soil. Jewelry

5450-499: The beginning of the twentieth century facilitated an explosion of interest in the abstraction, organization, and reorganization of forms, and the exploration of emotional and psychological areas hitherto unseen in Western art. By these means, the status of visual art was changed. Art ceased to be merely and primarily aesthetic , but became also a true medium for philosophic and intellectual discourse, and hence more truly and profoundly aesthetic than ever before. Traditional art describes

5559-645: The best early example), it was Giorgio Vasari, the Tuscan painter, sculptor and author of the Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects , who wrote the first true history of art. He emphasized art's progression and development, which was a milestone in this field. His was a personal and a historical account, featuring biographies of individual Italian artists, many of whom were his contemporaries and personal acquaintances. The most renowned of these

SECTION 50

#1733084684618

5668-462: The canonical history of art was the consequence of cultural conditions which curtailed and restricted women from art producing fields. The few who did succeed were treated as anomalies and did not provide a model for subsequent success. Griselda Pollock is another prominent feminist art historian, whose use of psychoanalytic theory is described above. While feminist art history can focus on any time period and location, much attention has been given to

5777-452: The careers of many contemporary African artists, from Joseph Bertiers of Kenya to several movie poster painters in Ghana. Ghanaian hand-painted movie posters on canvas and flour sacks from the 1980s and 1990s have been exhibited at museums around the world and sparked viral social media attention due to their highly imaginative and stylized depictions of Western films. This creative interpretation of Western culture through African art styles

5886-516: The central places for wood carving. Woodcarvers have been thriving throughout the south of Nigeria from time immemorial. Examples of Nigerian Traditional Art Masks Masks are a piece of the animist confidence of the Yoruba individuals. The veils are painted, and fans wear them at memorial services and different functions to mollify the spirits. Pottery Pottery has a long custom in Nigeria. Pottery

5995-468: The coasts of West Africa, they discovered a wide range of functional objects that Africans for cultural, social, and economic purposes. Oath devices, for instance, were essential to securing business relationships during the era of the Atlantic slave trade. Though these works of craftsmanship followed their own aesthetic principles, they were regarded as tools of sorcery by European travel writers, and reduced to

6104-444: The continent. African art often stems from the themes of religious symbolism, functionalism and utilitarianism. With many pieces of art that are created for spiritual rather than purely creative purposes. The majority of popular African artworks can be understood as the tools, such as the representative figurines used in religious rituals and ceremonies. Many African cultures emphasize the importance of ancestors as intermediaries between

6213-432: The creator's colleagues and teachers; and with consideration of iconography and symbolism . In short, this approach examines the work of art in the context of the world within which it was created. Art historians also often examine work through an analysis of form; that is, the creator's use of line , shape , color , texture and composition. This approach examines how the artist uses a two-dimensional picture plane or

6322-547: The direct inspiration for Karl Schnaase 's work. Schnaase's Niederländische Briefe established the theoretical foundations for art history as an autonomous discipline, and his Geschichte der bildenden Künste , one of the first historical surveys of the history of art from antiquity to the Renaissance, facilitated the teaching of art history in German-speaking universities. Schnaase's survey was published contemporaneously with

6431-524: The discipline. As in literary studies, there is an interest among scholars in nature and the environment, but the direction that this will take in the discipline has yet to be determined. The earliest surviving writing on art that can be classified as art history are the passages in Pliny the Elder 's Natural History ( c.  AD 77 –79), concerning the development of Greek sculpture and painting . From them it

6540-501: The distance. He valued discovering art within the society of the artist, including culture, tradition, and background. In the 17th century, the area in West Africa , now known as Ghana , was highly prolific. The states that belonged to Ghana were connected through trading networks and shared cultural beliefs. However, each of them decided to remain politically independent. This was until the early 18th century, when leader Osei Tutu began

6649-471: The essay Greenberg claimed that the avant-garde arose in order to defend aesthetic standards from the decline of taste involved in consumer society , and seeing kitsch and art as opposites. Greenberg further claimed that avant-garde and Modernist art was a means to resist the leveling of culture produced by capitalist propaganda . Greenberg appropriated the German word ' kitsch ' to describe this consumerism, although its connotations have since changed to

SECTION 60

#1733084684618

6758-459: The extent that an interpretation is still valid regardless of whether the creator had intended it. Rosalind Krauss espoused this concept in her essay "In the Name of Picasso." She denounced the artist's monopoly on meaning and insisted that meaning can only be derived after the work has been removed from its historical and social context. Mieke Bal argued similarly that meaning does not even exist until

6867-753: The famous Benin Bronzes , to decorate palaces and for highly naturalistic royal heads from around the Bini town of Benin City, Edo State , as well as in terracotta or metal, from the 12th–14th centuries. Akan gold weights are a form of small metal sculptures produced over the period 1400–1900; some represent proverbs , contributing a narrative element rare in African sculpture; and royal regalia included gold sculptured elements. Many West African figures are used in religious rituals, and are often coated with materials placed on them for ceremonial offerings. The Mande -speaking peoples of

6976-411: The founders of art history, noted that Winckelmann was 'the first to distinguish between the periods of ancient art and to link the history of style with world history'. From Winckelmann until the mid-20th century, the field of art history was dominated by German-speaking academics. Winckelmann's work thus marked the entry of art history into the high-philosophical discourse of German culture. Winckelmann

7085-529: The history of art criticism came in 1910 when psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud published a book on the artist Leonardo da Vinci , in which he used Leonardo's paintings to interrogate the artist's psyche and sexual orientation. Freud inferred from his analysis that Leonardo was probably homosexual . In 1914 Freud published a psychoanalytical interpretation of Michelangelo's Moses ( Der Moses des Michelangelo ). He published this work shortly after reading Vasari's Lives . For unknown reasons, he originally published

7194-442: The history of art, focusing on three concepts. Firstly, he attempted to study art using psychology, particularly by applying the work of Wilhelm Wundt . He argued, among other things, that art and architecture are good if they resemble the human body. For example, houses were good if their façades looked like faces. Secondly, he introduced the idea of studying art through comparison. By comparing individual paintings to each other, he

7303-406: The identification of denoted meaning —the recognition of a visual sign, and the connoted meaning —the instant cultural associations that come with recognition. The main concern of the semiotic art historian is to come up with ways to navigate and interpret connoted meaning. Semiotic art history seeks to uncover the codified meaning or meanings in an aesthetic object by examining its connectedness to

7412-427: The image is observed by the viewer. It is only after acknowledging this that meaning can become opened up to other possibilities such as feminism or psychoanalysis. Aspects of the subject which have come to the fore in recent decades include interest in the patronage and consumption of art, including the economics of the art market, the role of collectors, the intentions and aspirations of those commissioning works, and

7521-413: The internet or by other means, has transformed the study of many types of art, especially those covering objects existing in large numbers which are widely dispersed among collections, such as illuminated manuscripts and Persian miniatures , and many types of archaeological artworks. Concurrent to those technological advances, art historians have shown increasing interest in new theoretical approaches to

7630-549: The late 19th century, there has been an increasing amount of African art in Western collections , the finest pieces of which are displayed as part of the history of colonisation. African art had an important influence on European Modernist art, which was inspired by their interest in abstract depiction. It was this appreciation of African sculpture that has been attributed to the very concept of "African art", as seen by European and American artists and art historians. West African cultures developed bronze casting for reliefs, like

7739-513: The living, the Gods, and the supreme creator. Art is seen as a way to contact these spirits of ancestors. Art may also be used to depict Gods and is valued for its functional purposes. For example, African God Ogun who is the God of iron, war, and craftsmanship. However, it is important to note that the arrival of both Christianity and Islam have also greatly influenced the art of the African continent, and

7848-570: The manifestation of parallel events or circumstances reflecting this governing dynamic. He argued that a collective unconscious and archetypal imagery were detectable in art. His ideas were particularly popular among American Abstract expressionists in the 1940s and 1950s. His work inspired the surrealist concept of drawing imagery from dreams and the unconscious. Jung emphasized the importance of balance and harmony. He cautioned that modern humans rely too heavily on science and logic and would benefit from integrating spirituality and appreciation of

7957-412: The mask ceremony the dancer goes into a deep trance, and during this state of mind he "communicates" with his ancestors. The masks can be worn in three different ways: vertically covering the face: as helmets, encasing the entire head, and as a crest, resting upon the head, which was commonly covered by material as part of the disguise. African masks often represent a spirit and it is strongly believed that

8066-910: The most complex of African textiles is the colorful, strip-woven Kente cloth of Ghana . Boldly patterned mudcloth is another well-known technique. Africa is home to a thriving contemporary art and fine art culture. This has been under-studied until recently, due to scholars' and art collectors' emphasis on traditional art. Notable modern artists include El Anatsui , Marlene Dumas , William Kentridge , Karel Nel , Kendell Geers , Yinka Shonibare , Zerihun Yetmgeta , Odhiambo Siangla, Elias Jengo, Olu Oguibe , Lubaina Himid , Bili Bidjocka and Henry Tayali . Art bienniales are held in Dakar , Senegal , and Johannesburg , South Africa . Many contemporary African artists are represented in museum collections, and their art may sell for high prices at art auctions . Despite this, many contemporary African artists tend to have

8175-492: The most important twentieth-century art historians, including Ernst Gombrich , received their degrees at Vienna at this time. The term "Second Vienna School" (or "New Vienna School") usually refers to the following generation of Viennese scholars, including Hans Sedlmayr , Otto Pächt, and Guido Kaschnitz von Weinberg. These scholars began in the 1930s to return to the work of the first generation, particularly to Riegl and his concept of Kunstwollen , and attempted to develop it into

8284-491: The most popular and studied forms of African art which are typically found in museum collections. Wooden masks , which might either be of human , animal or legendary creatures , are one of the most commonly found forms of art in Western Africa. In their original contexts, ceremonial masks are used for celebrations, initiations, crop harvesting, and war preparation. The masks are worn by a chosen or initiated dancer. During

8393-508: The nature of art. The current disciplinary gap between art history and the philosophy of art (aesthetics) often hinders this inquiry. Art of Central Asia Art of East Asia Art of South Asia Art of Southeast Asia Art of Europe Art of Africa Art of the Americas Art of Oceania Art history is an interdisciplinary practice that analyzes the various factors—cultural, political, religious, economic or artistic—which contribute to visual appearance of

8502-455: The nature of artworks as objects. Thing theory , actor–network theory , and object-oriented ontology have played an increasing role in art historical literature. The making of art, the academic history of art, and the history of art museums are closely intertwined with the rise of nationalism. Art created in the modern era, in fact, has often been an attempt to generate feelings of national superiority or love of one's country . Russian art

8611-478: The object. Many art historians use critical theory to frame their inquiries into objects. Theory is most often used when dealing with more recent objects, those from the late 19th century onward. Critical theory in art history is often borrowed from literary scholars and it involves the application of a non-artistic analytical framework to the study of art objects. Feminist , Marxist , critical race , queer and postcolonial theories are all well established in

8720-674: The opposition to be more intense. Despite the initial backlash, the museum fared well. Hindsbo’s successor at the National Museum, Ingrid Røynesdal was appointed to the position as director from October 2023. Hindsbo was named director of the Tate Modern in London on 28 April 2023, and took up the role in September 2023. Art history 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

8829-422: The piece. Proper analysis of pigments used in paint is now possible, which has upset many attributions. Dendrochronology for panel paintings and radio-carbon dating for old objects in organic materials have allowed scientific methods of dating objects to confirm or upset dates derived from stylistic analysis or documentary evidence. The development of good color photography, now held digitally and available on

8938-541: The political and economic climates in which the art was created. Linda Nochlin 's essay " Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists? " helped to ignite feminist art history during the 1970s and remains one of the most widely read essays about female artists. This was then followed by a 1972 College Art Association Panel, chaired by Nochlin, entitled "Eroticism and the Image of Woman in Nineteenth-Century Art". Within

9047-504: The reactions of contemporary and later viewers and owners. Museum studies , including the history of museum collecting and display, is now a specialized field of study, as is the history of collecting. Scientific advances have made possible much more accurate investigation of the materials and techniques used to create works, especially infra-red and x-ray photographic techniques which have allowed many underdrawings of paintings to be seen again, including figures that had been removed from

9156-461: The real emphasis in the study of art should be the views of the learned beholder and not the viewpoint of the artist. Winckelmann's writings thus were the beginnings of art criticism. His two most notable works that introduced the concept of art criticism were Gedanken über die Nachahmung der griechischen Werke in der Malerei und Bildhauerkunst , published in 1755, shortly before he left for Rome ( Fuseli published an English translation in 1765 under

9265-506: The role of director of KODE Kunstmuseene i Bergen  [ no ] , where she served until 2017. In 2017, Hindsbo was appointed director of the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Oslo . During the museum's construction phase, Hindsbo faced criticism from Norwegian newspapers regarding her management style, procurement choices, and delays in the museum's opening. In an interview with The New York Times , Hindsbo acknowledged that, given her Danish background, she expected

9374-542: The same region make pieces from wood with broad, flat surfaces and arms and legs shaped like cylinders. In Central Africa , however, the main distinguishing characteristics include heart-shaped faces that are curved inward and display patterns of circles and dots. The study of African art until recently focused on the traditional art of certain well-known groups on the continent, with a particular emphasis on traditional sculpture, masks and other visual culture from non-Islamic West Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa with

9483-451: The spirit of the ancestors possesses the wearer. Most African masks are made with wood, and can be decorated with: Ivory, animal hair, plant fibers (such as raffia), pigments (like kaolin ), stones, and semi-precious gems also are included in the masks. Statues, usually of wood or ivory, are often inlaid with cowrie shells, metal studs and nails. Decorative clothing is also commonplace and comprises another large part of African art. Among

9592-478: The start of the twentieth century, art historians like Carl Einstein , Michał Sobeski and Leo Frobenius published important works about the thematic, giving African art the status of an aesthetic object , not only of an ethnographic object . At the same time, artists like Paul Gauguin , Pablo Picasso , Georges Braque , André Derain , Henri Matisse , Joseph Csaky , and Amedeo Modigliani became aware of and inspired by, African art, amongst other art forms. In

9701-461: The status of their loved ones in the after-life, so families often spare no expense when deciding which coffin they want for their relatives. These coffins can take the forms of cars, cocoa pods, chickens, or any other shape a family may decide best represents their deceased loved one. Art used to advertise for local businesses, including barbershops, movie houses, and appliance stores has become internationally celebrated in galleries and has launched

9810-541: The theories of Riegl, but became eventually more preoccupied with iconography, and in particular with the transmission of themes related to classical antiquity in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In this respect his interests coincided with those of Warburg, the son of a wealthy family who had assembled a library in Hamburg, devoted to the study of the classical tradition in later art and culture. Under Saxl's auspices, this library

9919-603: The title Reflections on the Painting and Sculpture of the Greeks ), and Geschichte der Kunst des Altertums ( History of Art in Antiquity ), published in 1764 (this is the first occurrence of the phrase 'history of art' in the title of a book). Winckelmann critiqued the artistic excesses of Baroque and Rococo forms, and was instrumental in reforming taste in favor of the more sober Neoclassicism . Jacob Burckhardt (1818–1897), one of

10028-543: The totality of the visual culture from the continent of Africa. Pottery , metalwork , sculpture , architecture , textile art , and fiber art are important visual art forms across Africa and may be included in the study of African art. The term "African Art" does not usually include the art of the North African areas along the Mediterranean coast, as such areas had long been part of different traditions. For more than

10137-470: The traditions of both have been integrated into the beliefs and artwork of traditional African religion. The origins of African art lie long before recorded history. The region's oldest known beads were made from Nassarius shells and worn as personal ornaments 72,000 years ago. In Africa, evidence for the making of paints by a complex process exists from about 100,000 years ago and of the use of pigments from around 320,000 years ago. African rock art in

10246-803: The unconscious realm. His work not only triggered analytical work by art historians but became an integral part of art-making. Jackson Pollock , for example, famously created a series of drawings to accompany his sessions with his Jungian analyst, Joseph Henderson. Henderson, who later published the drawings in a text devoted to Pollock's sessions, realized how powerful the drawings were as a therapeutic tool. The legacy of psychoanalysis and analytical psychology in art history has been profound, and extends beyond Freud and Jung. The prominent feminist art historian Griselda Pollock, for example, draws upon psychoanalysis both in her reading into contemporary art and in her rereading of modernist art. With Griselda Pollock 's reading of French feminist psychoanalysis and in particular

10355-407: 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 representations. As a discipline, art history is distinguished from art criticism , which is concerned with establishing

10464-449: The vocabulary that continues to be used in the 21st century by art historians. "Iconography"—with roots meaning "symbols from writing" refers to subject matter of art derived from written sources—especially scripture and mythology. "Iconology" is a broader term that referred to all symbolism, whether derived from a specific text or not. Today art historians sometimes use these terms interchangeably. Panofsky, in his early work, also developed

10573-468: The writings of Julia Kristeva and Bracha L. Ettinger , as with Rosalind Krauss's readings of Jacques Lacan and Jean-François Lyotard and Catherine de Zegher's curatorial rereading of art, Feminist theory written in the fields of French feminism and Psychoanalysis has strongly informed the reframing of both men and women artists in art history. During the mid-20th century, art historians embraced social history by using critical approaches. The goal

10682-484: Was Michelangelo . Vasari's ideas about art were enormously influential, and served as a model for many, including in the north of Europe Karel van Mander 's Schilder-boeck and Joachim von Sandrart 's Teutsche Akademie . Vasari's approach held sway until the 18th century, when criticism was leveled at his biographical account of history. Scholars such as Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768) criticized Vasari's "cult" of artistic personality, and they argued that

10791-442: Was able to make distinctions of style. His book Renaissance and Baroque developed this idea, and was the first to show how these stylistic periods differed from one another. In contrast to Giorgio Vasari , Wölfflin was uninterested in the biographies of artists. In fact he proposed the creation of an "art history without names." Finally, he studied art based on ideas of nationhood . He was particularly interested in whether there

10900-532: Was an inherently "Italian" and an inherently " German " style. This last interest was most fully articulated in his monograph on the German artist Albrecht Dürer . Contemporaneous with Wölfflin's career, a major school of art-historical thought developed at the University of Vienna . The first generation of the Vienna School was dominated by Alois Riegl and Franz Wickhoff , both students of Moritz Thausing , and

11009-538: Was assigned with Institut for Samtidskunst in Copenhagen from 2002 to 2005, and also served as a lecturer at the University of Copenhagen from 2003 to 2006. She chaired Den Frie Udstillingsbygning from 2006 to 2011. Hindsbo edited the art magazine Øjeblikket from 2003 to 2011. In 2012, Hindsbo was appointed director of Sørlandets Art Museum in Kristiansand . She held the position until 2014 after being assigned

11118-530: Was characterized by a tendency to reassess neglected or disparaged periods in the history of art. Riegl and Wickhoff both wrote extensively on the art of late antiquity , which before them had been considered as a period of decline from the classical ideal. Riegl also contributed to the revaluation of the Baroque. The next generation of professors at Vienna included Max Dvořák , Julius von Schlosser , Hans Tietze, Karl Maria Swoboda, and Josef Strzygowski . A number of

11227-400: Was considered an earthly counterpart to the sun and was often utilized in art to display the importance of the king, making it an essential representation of their cultural and social values. Kente cloth is another extremely important art tradition of Akan culture. Tradition states that Kente cloth originated as weavers tried to copy the weaving abilities of spiders with their webs. Kente cloth

11336-475: Was critical to the evolution of Western modernism in visual arts, symbolized by Picasso's breakthrough painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon . Today, Fathi Hassan is considered a major early representative of contemporary black African art. Contemporary African art was pioneered in the 1950s and 1960s in South Africa by artists like Irma Stern , Cyril Fradan , and Walter Battiss and through galleries like

11445-632: Was developed into a research institute, affiliated with the University of Hamburg , where Panofsky taught. Warburg died in 1929, and in the 1930s Saxl and Panofsky, both Jewish, were forced to leave Hamburg. Saxl settled in London, bringing Warburg's library with him and establishing the Warburg Institute . Panofsky settled in Princeton at the Institute for Advanced Study . In this respect they were part of an extraordinary influx of German art historians into

11554-495: Was in close and often hostile contact with Egypt and produced monumental sculptures mostly derivative of styles that did not lead to the north. In West Africa, the earliest known sculptures are from the Nok culture which thrived between 1,500 BC and 500 AD in modern Nigeria , with clay figures typically with elongated bodies and angular shapes. More complex methods of producing art were developed in sub-Saharan Africa around

11663-491: Was read avidly by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller , both of whom began to write on the history of art, and his account of the Laocoön group occasioned a response by Lessing . The emergence of art as a major subject of philosophical speculation was solidified by the appearance of Immanuel Kant 's Critique of Judgment in 1790, and was furthered by Hegel 's Lectures on Aesthetics . Hegel's philosophy served as

11772-416: Was refined by scholars such as T. J. Clark , Otto Karl Werckmeister  [ de ] , David Kunzle, Theodor W. Adorno , and Max Horkheimer . T. J. Clark was the first art historian writing from a Marxist perspective to abandon vulgar Marxism . He wrote Marxist art histories of several impressionist and realist artists, including Gustave Courbet and Édouard Manet . These books focused closely on

11881-455: Was to show how art interacts with power structures in society. One such critical approach was Marxism. Marxist art history attempted to show how art was tied to specific classes, how images contain information about the economy, and how images can make the status quo seem natural ( ideology ). [1] Marcel Duchamp and the Dada Movement jump-started the anti-art style. German artists, upset by

#617382