Art history — Study Path Agent

Art history

138 topics across 7 chapters

Chapter 1

Foundations: how to look at art (visual analysis)

Formal elements: line, shape, color, value, texture, space

3 subtopics

Exercise: identify formal elements in 5 artworks

Exercise: color analysis (hue/value/saturation) in 3 works

Exercise: space and perspective—diagram the illusion of depth

Composition & design principles: balance, rhythm, emphasis, scale

2 subtopics

Exercise: map focal points and movement in a composition

Exercise: scale and proportion—compare figures/objects to setting

Iconography & symbolism: reading subject matter

2 subtopics

Exercise: identify narrative moment and key attributes in a scene

Exercise: build an iconography glossary of 25 symbols

Style, period, and attribution basics

2 subtopics

Exercise: distinguish style vs. subject vs. medium in examples

Exercise: attribution basics—what evidence supports authorship?

Comparative looking: how to compare artworks

1 subtopics

Exercise: write a compare/contrast paragraph (2 objects, 1 claim)

Practice set: write 3 short visual analyses

3 subtopics

Write-up: 150–250 words on a single artwork (formal analysis)

Write-up: 150–250 words connecting form to meaning (iconography)

Write-up: 150–250 words situating an artwork in context

Chapter 2

Methods & frameworks in art history

Key terms & the canon: what counts as “art history”

1 subtopics

Study list: 30 essential art history terms (with examples)

Social history of art: patrons, institutions, markets

2 subtopics

Exercise: identify patron/audience/institution for 3 works

Exercise: art markets—gallery, salon, auction, museum roles

Critical theories: gender, race, postcolonial, Marxist

2 subtopics

Reading notes: apply one critical lens to a chosen artwork

Exercise: write 5 questions a critical theory would ask of an image

Semiotics & visual culture approaches

1 subtopics

Exercise: denotation vs. connotation in an advertisement or poster

Material culture & object biography

1 subtopics

Exercise: write an object biography timeline (making→use→collection)

Connoisseurship & provenance: authorship, authenticity, ownership

2 subtopics

Exercise: provenance chain—map ownership history for 1 artwork

Exercise: authenticity—catalogue raisonné vs. technical analysis basics

Ethics: cultural heritage, restitution, repatriation

1 subtopics

Case study: one restitution/repatriation controversy (summary + stance)

Chapter 3

Global timeline survey (prehistoric to medieval)

Prehistoric & early symbolic art

1 subtopics

Study set: caves, figurines, megaliths—3 key examples and what they show

Ancient Near East & Egypt

2 subtopics

Study set: Egyptian funerary art—tomb, mummy, afterlife imagery

Study set: Mesopotamia—reliefs, votives, royal monuments

Aegean, Greek, and Roman art

3 subtopics

Study set: Greek sculpture—kouros to Hellenistic drama

Study set: Greek architecture—orders and temple design

Study set: Roman art—portraiture, propaganda, wall painting

South Asia: Indus to early Hindu/Buddhist/Jain art

2 subtopics

Study set: Buddhist art—stupa, icon, narrative reliefs

Study set: Hindu/Jain temple sculpture and sacred architecture basics

East Asia: early China, Korea, Japan

2 subtopics

Study set: early China—bronzes, tombs, calligraphy beginnings

Study set: early Japan/Korea—Buddhist images, tomb goods, court culture

Americas: ancient Mesoamerica and Andes

2 subtopics

Study set: Mesoamerica—Olmec to Maya visual systems

Study set: Andes—Chavín to Inca materials and power

Late Antique & Medieval (Byzantine, Islamic, European)

3 subtopics

Study set: Byzantine—icons, mosaics, and theology of images

Study set: Islamic art—calligraphy, geometry, mosque forms

Study set: Medieval Europe—manuscripts, cathedrals, pilgrimage art

Chapter 4

Global timeline survey (Renaissance to 18th century)

Early Renaissance in Italy and Northern Europe

2 subtopics

Study set: early Italian Renaissance—perspective, humanism, patronage

Study set: Northern Renaissance—oil technique, detail, devotion

High Renaissance & Mannerism

2 subtopics

Study set: High Renaissance—ideal form, monumentality, harmony

Study set: Mannerism—artifice, elongation, tension

Baroque & Rococo (Europe and colonial contexts)

3 subtopics

Study set: Baroque—dramatic light, movement, persuasion

Study set: Rococo—decorative intimacy and courtly taste

Study set: colonial art—hybridity, missions, and local agency

Early modern global exchanges (trade, empire, missions)

1 subtopics

Case map: one object’s global circulation (materials, routes, meanings)

18th-century art: Enlightenment, academies, portraiture

2 subtopics

Study set: academies and salons—training, genres, public reception

Study set: portraiture—status, identity, and representation

Neoclassicism & Romanticism

2 subtopics

Study set: Neoclassicism—antiquity, virtue, revolution imagery

Study set: Romanticism—sublime, nationalism, emotion, nature

Chapter 5

Modern & contemporary (19th century to present)

Realism to Post-Impressionism (c. 1840–1905)

3 subtopics

Study set: Realism—labor, modern life, social critique

Study set: Impressionism—light, leisure, modern perception

Study set: Post-Impressionism—structure, symbol, expression

Early 20th-century avant-gardes

4 subtopics

Study set: Cubism and Futurism—form, time, motion

Study set: Dada and Surrealism—anti-art, dreams, chance

Study set: abstract art—Kandinsky to geometric abstraction

Study set: Russian avant-garde and Constructivism

Architecture & design modernism

2 subtopics

Study set: Bauhaus—design pedagogy and objects

Study set: International Style and modern architecture ideas

Mid-century art: Abstract Expressionism to Pop

3 subtopics

Study set: Abstract Expressionism—gesture, scale, existential claims

Study set: Minimalism—objecthood, seriality, viewer space

Study set: Pop—mass media, appropriation, consumer culture

Late 20th-century: Conceptual, performance, installation

2 subtopics

Study set: Conceptual art—idea, documentation, institutions

Study set: performance and installation—body, site, temporality

Contemporary art (c. 1990–present): global, digital, social practice

3 subtopics

Study set: global contemporary—biennials, networks, new centers

Study set: digital and new media art—interactivity, code, platforms

Study set: socially engaged art—participation and public outcomes

100

Practice set: analyze one modern work in context

1 subtopics

101

Write-up: 500–800 words linking one modern work to a movement + context

Chapter 6

Media & techniques across time

102

Drawing, painting, and printmaking basics

2 subtopics

103

Exercise: distinguish fresco vs. oil vs. tempera vs. acrylic (pros/cons)

104

Exercise: printmaking—relief, intaglio, lithography, screenprint examples

105

Sculpture materials and methods

1 subtopics

106

Exercise: analyze one sculpture’s material, process, and viewing angle

107

Photography and film as art

2 subtopics

108

Study set: photography—index, framing, documentary vs. staged

109

Study set: film/video art—time-based viewing and exhibition contexts

110

Textiles, ceramics, and decorative arts

2 subtopics

111

Study set: ceramics—form, glaze, kiln, cultural function

112

Study set: textiles—techniques, labor, trade, meaning

113

Architecture: reading plans, sections, and sites

1 subtopics

114

Exercise: interpret a building (plan/section/elevation) in words

115

Conservation basics: condition, restoration, display constraints

1 subtopics

116

Exercise: write a basic condition report for an object (hypothetical)

Chapter 7

Research, writing, and museum skills

117

Finding and evaluating sources (books, articles, catalogues)

2 subtopics

118

Exercise: build an annotated bibliography (8 sources) for a chosen artwork

119

Exercise: distinguish primary vs. secondary sources in art history

120

Citations & image rights (fair use, permissions)

1 subtopics

121

Exercise: create Chicago-style citations for 6 common source types

122

Writing the art history essay (thesis, evidence, structure)

2 subtopics

123

Exercise: craft 3 thesis statements from the same artwork

124

Exercise: integrate quotes and formal evidence (2 paragraphs)

125

Object-focused research: catalogue entry writing

1 subtopics

126

Write-up: a 250–400 word catalogue entry with tombstone + label text

127

Museum literacy: labels, wall texts, and audio guides

1 subtopics

128

Exercise: rewrite a museum label for clarity (120 words max)

129

Practice set: build a mini-exhibition (5 objects + rationale)

1 subtopics

130

Project: select 5 objects, write labels, and justify curatorial theme