What Is a Canon Art History?

Art|Art History

What is a canon of art history? A canon of art history is a collection of the most influential and significant works in the field, as determined by experts in the field.

It includes painting, sculpture, architecture, and other forms of visual arts from different historical periods and cultures. This collection serves to inform people about the development and evolution of art over time and also to provide an accessible reference for professionals who are researching or creating new works.

The concept of a canon has been around for centuries, but it wasn’t until the 19th century that it began to be formally established. The first modern canon was developed by French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme in 1867. He identified five major periods in the history of Western art that he believed to be essential for understanding its progression: Greek, Roman, Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical.

Since then, many other canons have been developed by scholars and curators to represent different cultural perspectives or specific genres or styles within a culture. For example, there is an African American art canon which includes works by African American artists such as Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden; there is also an Islamic art canon which includes works from across the Islamic world.

In addition to these cultural canons are those focused on particular media or movements such as photography or modernism; these often reflect changing tastes within those areas rather than being based on any particular historical period.

The idea behind a canon is that it is not necessarily set in stone; rather, it should be regularly updated as new works become available or as existing works gain new significance due to changing contexts. This dynamic nature allows for a more comprehensive understanding of art history and encourages exploration beyond what’s included in the canon.

Conclusion: A canon of art history is an important collection of influential and significant works in the field that serves to inform people about its development over time. Canons have been developed based on different perspectives or genres within cultures, as well as particular media or movements such as photography or modernism. Although canons are not necessarily set in stone they should be regularly updated so that new works may be included and existing ones may gain new significance due to changing contexts; this allows for a better understanding of art history overall.