Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 7 Introduction How to use this book 8 Chapter 1 Introducing art history What do art historians do? The object of art history 11 What is "art"? / A working definition of art / What is "history"? Why is art history important? 16 Art history and related disciplines 19 Art criticism / Sociology / Anthropology / Aesthetics / Cultural studies / Visual culture studies / Connoisseurship Art history's toolbox: formal and contextual analysis 22 Museum accession numbers Reading captions for information 23 Conclusion 26 Chapter 2 Formal analysis Formal analysis 27 Formal elements 28 Color / Line / Space and mass / Scale / Composition Two-dimensional art: painting, graphic arts, photography 31 Sculpture 35 Wolfflin and formal analysis 36 Architecture 40 Installation art 42 Performance and video art 43 Digital art 46 Textile and decorative arts 48 Patrick Heron analyzes a painting by Matisse 51 Conclusion 51 Chapter 3 Contextual analysis Art and context 52 Contextual questions 53 Art out of context? Museums and art history 56 A brief history of museums / Museums and the experience of art Sarah Symmons analyzes a print by Goya 57 The process of interpretation: confronting your assumptions 61 The challenges of cross-cultural interpretation / The challenges of historical interpretation / Historical interpretation in practice Is African art anonymous? 65 Art and its controversies 69 Style and meaning 71 Conclusion 73 Chapter 4 Writing art-history papers Art-historical arguments: opinion vs. interpretation 74 Formal-analysis papers 76 Taking notes / Structuring your paper / The comparison paper Research papers 83 Developing a topic and starting your research / Keeping notes Resources for research 91 Books / Periodicals / Websites / Reference works How many sources should I use? 91 Critical moments in art-history writing 97 Developing a thesis / Writing an introductory paragraph / Sustaining the argument / Dealing with intentions / The conclusion / Editing If you experience writer's block 107 Citations and bibliographies 108 MLA citations / Chicago citations / Bibliography or Works Cited / Plagiarism's gray zone Writing style 113 Common stylistic pitfalls of art-history writing / Finding a voice Putting together those illustrations 116 Conclusion 117 Chapter 5 Navigating art-history examinations Slide identifications and short-answer questions 118 identifications Why are slide identificationsimportant? / How to succeed at slide identifications/ Three-step slide memorization / Memory aids / Unknowns Test-taking strategies for art-history exams 126 Art-history essays 128 Studying for essay tests / Types of essay question Effective note-taking 140 Taking good notes in class / Developing a consistent shorthand / Taking notes on readings Class participation--why bother? 142 Conclusion 143 Chapter 6 Art history's own history Ancient world 144 Excerpt from Pliny's Natural History 145 Middle Ages 146 Renaissance 147 Excerpt from Vasari's Lives of the Artists 148 Seventeenth-century writers on art 150 Felibien in conversation with Poussin 151 Winckelmann on the Laocoon 153 Age of Enlightenment 154 The nineteenth century: foundations of modern art history 155 Twentieth-century formalists, iconographers and social historians 158 After 1970: the "new" art history 160 The feminist art-history revolution 163 Do other cultures practice art history? 165 China / West Africa Early art history in China 166 Conclusion 169 Glossary 170 Bibliography 172 Table of parallel illustrations in art-history surveys 178 Index 180 Picture credits 184

About the Author

Anne D'Alleva is Associate Professor of Art History and Women's Studies at the University of Connecticut. Her publications include Look! The Fundamentals of Art History (Prentice Hall) and Art of the Pacific Islands (Harry N. Abrams, Perspectives series), as well as Look Again! Art History and Critical Theory (Prentice Hall) and Sacred Maidens and Masculine Women: Art, Gender, and Power in Post-Contact Tahiti (University of Hawai'i Press). She has held grants from the Getty Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Professor D'Alleva received her A.M. and Ph.D. in Art History from Columbia University, where she also completed a Graduate Certificate in Feminist Theory from the Center for Research on Women and Gender, and her A.B. in Fine Arts (art history) from Harvard University.

Reviews

"Look! is a concise, helpful supplementary text that introduces students to accepted principles and methods of writing about art history." John Seed, Mount San Jacinto College "D'Alleva is inclusive with both her methodology and her materials. The text and the illustrations offer a wide range of objects and ideas from various cultures and periods." Stephanie L. Taylor, New Mexico State University