What is the importance of studying art as an academic discipline?

Art history as an academic discipline might just be a way for one to earn some
credits or for others, it might be a compulsory course they are required to take to complete
their program of study.
So, what at all is the value of studying art history?

Anybody can have their own opinion of a piece of art, but very few people can
actually judge art. Of course, everyone still has their own opinion. A mother will see her
one-year-olds painting and see a work of art. A true work of art invokes a need to
understand what the artist was saying or feeling at that specific time. That is the main
reason why we need to study art as an academic discipline.

Art has been in the system for a very long time even before formal education began.
In ancient times, it was used to please the gods, scare enemies or others use it as a means of
distinguishing between the various cultures around at that time.
Almost every piece of art that we see today has a personal history behind them. While an
average person only appreciates the beauty of the art, an art student would take his time to
see the main essence of it. For example, going to an art exhibition without prior knowledge
of art or a tour guide might not be worth it. This is because you might know how to
interpret the works in the art galleries, you may also not realize that the arts are arranged in
specific patterns according to their locations or their transition in history of a particular
tribe, culture or people.
All these information is known by someone who studies art history as most of his
assignments and course works are based on information about art.

Studying art history doesn’t only mean to sit in a classroom and listen to some boring
lecture, but it involves a deep interaction with nature and there are also lots of categories to
choose from.
As an art historian, you will learn about this rich and fundamental strand of human culture.
You will learn to talk and write about works of art from different periods and places, in the
same way that other students learn to write about literature or history.

You will also learn skills unique to art historians. You will make visual arguments and train
your eyes and brain in the skills of critical looking. Art is important because it gives the
student exposure to other humanity subjects, relating to them draw conclusions and critical
evaluate different artworks.
It also helps to learn about crucial times in history and how the experience was like.

In conclusion, “Scientists have tracked the movements of an art historian’s eyes: the
results show how they scan, fixate and linger on particular points of the canvas
reveals their skill and is entirely different to someone with an untrained eye”.
 (DR DANIEL GLASER, DIRECTOR, SCIENCE GALLERY, KING'S COLLEGE LONDON)
IESA arts & culture, (2021). why study art
history?. https://www.iesa.edu/paris/news-events/why-study-art-history

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