When it comes to the study of history, there is a broad range of topics and fields to explore. One of those fields is art history, which focuses on the history and development of art over time. While both history and art history are closely related, there are some key differences between them.
History can be defined as the study of past events and their impact on the present. It looks at significant political, economic, social, and cultural changes that have taken place in societies over time.
History also examines how these changes have shaped our current world. Historians use primary sources such as documents, artifacts, photos, diaries, and interviews to learn about past events. They also use secondary sources such as books and articles written by other historians to gain a better understanding of certain events or eras.
Art History is a discipline that focuses on the history of art and its development over time. It involves looking at objects – paintings, sculptures, architecture – in order to understand how they relate to their cultural context and how they evolved over time.
Art historians look at different aspects such as subject matter, materials used, style, technique, symbolism, patronage (who commissioned the work), audience (who was it made for), historical context (what was happening at the time), etc., in order to analyze a work of art more deeply. Art historians use primary sources such as letters written by artists or patrons or treatises written about specific works of art in order to understand them more fully. They may also use secondary sources such as books written by other art historians or exhibitions curated by museums in order to gain an understanding of an artist’s career or certain movements within art history.
The main difference between history and art history is that while both disciplines involve looking into the past in order to understand our present world, they focus on different aspects: while history looks at political, economic, social and cultural changes that have taken place in societies over time; art history looks at works of art within their cultural context in order to understand how they evolved over time.
Conclusion: In conclusion, while both disciplines are closely related due to their focus on understanding our past in order to better inform our present world; the main difference between history and art history lies in the fact that while one looks at broader social developments; the other looks specifically at works of art within their historical contexts.