Art History

Art history encompasses several methods of studying the visual arts. Art history is a relatively new academic enterprise that begins in the nineteenth century. Advances in photographic reproduction and printing techniques after World War II increased the ability of reproductions of artworks accurately

Art historians employ a number of methods in their research into the qualities, nature and history of objects. A formal analysis is one which focuses on the form of the object include line, shape, color, composition, rhythm, etc. A stylistic analysis is one which focuses on the particular combination of formal elements into a coherent style. An iconographical analysis is one which focuses on particular design elements of an object.