What is Art history?
'''Art history''' is the study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contents; that is genre, design, format, and style. The study includes [[painting]], [[sculpture]], architecture, ceramics, furniture and other decorative objects. An '''art historian''' is a person who studies the [[history]] of art, and then writes about it or teaches about it so that other people can learn about this subject as well. The first person to become an art historian was [[Giorgio Vasari]]. He lived in [[Florence]] during the [[Renaissance]], at a time when there were many famous artists alive. Vasari was an artist himself. He decided to write down all the stories that were told in Florence about the many different artists who had made the city famous. He included [[biography|biographies]] of several other artists from Northern Italy as well. When all the information was collected and the biographies written, he published them in 1568 in a book called ''Lives of the Artists''. Because of this book, art students today have a lot of information about artists such as [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Michelangelo]], [[Titian]] and their works.<ref>Vasari, ''Lives of the Artists'', Penguin Classics, translated by George Bull, (1979) {{ISBN|0140441646}}</ref><ref>Ilan Rachum, ''The Renaissance: an Illustrated Encyclopedia'', Octopus, (1979) {{ISBN|0706408578}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==Related pages== *[[Art critic]] {{Art world}} [[Category:Art]]