Art history basics

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Learn the basics, starting with First things first
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First things first

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Brought to you by Smarthistory. New to art? This is a good place to start. Art gives us access to the way people at different moments in history have understood the world. Jump in and explore!
Smarthistory: Art History on Khan Academy
Why look at art?
A brief history of Western culture
Common questions about dates
A brief history of religion in art
What made art valuable—then and now
What maps tell us
Is there a difference between art and craft?
What is Cultural Heritage?

Tools for understanding art

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Brought to you by Smarthistory.
Art historical analysis (painting), a basic introduction using Goya's Third of May, 1808
A Brief History of Women in Art
A brief history of representing the body in Western painting
A brief history of representing of the body in Western sculpture
What is contrapposto?
What is foreshortening?
What is chiaroscuro?
How one-point linear perspective works
What is atmospheric perspective?
The classical orders
Greek architectural orders
How art can help you analyze
The Case for Copying
How museums shape meaning
Looking at paintings

Materials & techniques

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Brought to you by Smarthistory. Learn how the ancient Greeks fired their ceramics, how renaissance artists created luminous oil paintings and the techniques developed by modern masters.
The conservator's eye
Ceramics, glass and mosaics
Sculpture
Painting
Printmaking
Quiz: materials and techniques

Art 1010

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Art 1010 is a short series of fun (and funny) animations created for the Utah System of Higher Education that introduce the history of Western art.
Ancient Near Eastern and ancient Egyptian art
Ancient Greek and Roman art
Medieval and Byzantine art
Renaissance art
Baroque and Rococo
Nineteenth-century art
Introduction to Twentieth-Century Art
Introduction to Contemporary Art

Recommended

Smarthistory: Art History on Khan Academy
Why look at art?
A brief history of Western culture
Common questions about dates
A brief history of religion in art

Get Started

First things first
Brought to you by Smarthistory. New to art? This is a good place to start. Art gives us access to the way people at different moments in history have understood the world. Jump in and explore!
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