UNIVERSITY OF CALOOCAN CITY

Biglang Awa St., Corner Catleya St., EDSA, Caloocan City

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

ART APPRECIATION
SUBJECT CODE: GEC 006

TOPIC OR LESSON : Art history

WEEK: 2
SUB-TOPIC/S: Art appreciation
Art, creativity, imagination and the expression.

OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC

What is the History of Art?

'Art for art's sake' – but not for many historians. The fine and decorative arts,
their styles and iconography, have been mined for insight into the politics, religion and
social obsessions of the past. Placing key images alongside the views of six contributors
we continue the search.
A history of the visual arts, defined simply as a chronological description of
the various objects we now classify as art, would be a pretty marginal affair,
probably of less general interest than a history of machinery, or a history of
clothing. It would certainly be a history that remained on the fringes of what
most people recognise as the central concerns of life. A history of art begins to
look a little more interesting where it claims that art has a symbolic value, and
that visual artefacts reflect important attitudes and 'realities' of the society in
which they were produced.

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this module, the students are expected to:

1. Grasp sufficient information on history of art

2. Understand and develop sense of appreciation towards art works 3. Pick-up
vital skill in terms of art in general, imagination, and the expression.

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 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of the lesson, students should be able to:
1. familiarize themselves with the history of art and the culture it brings, 2.
apply appreciation in understanding arts in general to link it with culture,

3. discover the importance of imagination and expression towards arts as a

whole

ENGAGE
Art History: A Search for Information.
Art historians are concerned with gathering information about works of art and
the artists who created them. The steps of art history have the same name as the steps
of art criticism: description, analysis, interpretation, and judgment. The art historian is
looking for different information in each of those steps.

The Steps of Art History

Description: When, where, and why was the artwork created?
Analysis: What style of art does it represent?
Interpretation: What artists, work of art, or other influences inspired the artist?
Judgment: What impact did the artist or the artworks have on the history of
art?

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 EXPLORE
Carefully examine painting below. Can you go through the steps of art history?

EXPLAIN

The following information will help you with the art history.

Description
Who created the work? Berthe Morisot
Where was it done? France
When was it done? 1888
Title: La Lecture (Reading)

Usually, you can find this information beside the painting. Sometimes you have to
search for this information.

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Analysis
In this step art historians are looking for the following information:
What are the main features, or characteristics of the work?

Does it represent a particular style of art? If so, what is the style?

What are the main features or characteristics of the work?

Does it represent a particular STYLE of art?

The work exhibits: fast thick brush strokes, detail in face and expression, blurred
background, only hints in foliage, close attention to light, background barely
distinguishable, and it shows the leisurely side of French life. These are all
characteristics of Impressionism.

Essential Concepts in Understanding the Analyses

Style is the personal way of using the art elements and principles to reproduce what
they see and to express their ideas and feelings.
Impressionism is a 19th-century (1860s) art movement. A group of young artists
decided to paint, very simply, what they saw, thought, and felt. They weren’t interested
in painting history, mythology, or the lives of great men, and they didn’t seek
perfection in visual appearances. Instead, as their name suggests, the Impressionists
tried to get down on canvas an “impression” of how a landscape, thing, or person
appeared to them at a certain moment in time. This often meant using much lighter
and looser brushwork than painters had up until that point, and painting out of
doors, en plein air. The Impressionists also rejected official exhibitions and painting
competitions set up by the French government, instead organizing their own group
exhibitions, which the public were initially very hostile to. All of these moves predicted
the emergence of modern art, and the whole associated philosophy of the avant-garde.

To know more about Morisot, watch the following Youtube video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch/mupxAAjAiWM

Look at the other works of Berthe Mosisot. Try to discover the style characteristics of
her works.

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 Lady at Her Toilette

Julie Manet With a Dog

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 The Cradle

An art historian would focus his/her attention on the influence of time and place of
the artist.
In this step, the art historian is trying to answer the following questions.
Which artists, or works of art inspired the artist?

What other influences affected the artist?

Does the work reveal something about the world in which it was painted?

To answer those questions, read more information about Berthe Morisot.

Grandfather was a famous painter: Jean- Honoré Fragonard.

Brought up in a cultured atmosphere

She copied artworks in the Louvre museum in Paris.

Joined the “Impressionists”

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Was female
 Learned from Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot to recognize the effects of natural
light and ambience.
Met Édouard Manet in 1868 at the age of 27 and was ascinated by his rapid
brush strokes

Judgement
Once you have answered the description, analysis, and interpretation, you may now
conclude or arrive at the following details.

You have looked in the history books for her work.

She was encouraged by fellow artists that she was talented.

Low social status and a woman = less attention in her time

All of these things make her work significant in the history of art.

Art Criticism or Art History?

First look at the aesthetics and use the art criticism operations
Make a subjective and tentative decision about it’s success

Then turn to the objective art history operations

As you gain facts you can confirm, modify or change your decision.

Combination

Can make a balanced informative judgment that is subjective and objective.

This judgment is always subject to change as you learn and grow.

Watch the video to know more about how to critique.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9neybpOvjaQ

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 ELABORATE
What Is Art Appreciation?

Appreciation of the visual arts goes beyond staring at a painting hanging on the
wall of a museum—art is in everything and everywhere you look. Opening your eyes to
the world of art is essential in understanding the world around you. Art is more than
pretentious museums; only a few enter and comprehend. Instead, art appreciation is:
• Gaining the knowledge to understand the art.
• Acquire the art methods and materials to discuss art verbally or by the written
word.
• Ability to identify the movements from ancient cultures to today's contemporary
art.

Learning how to appreciate art is a necessary cultural foundation enabling

people to critically analyze art, art forms, and how cultures used art. All it takes to
understand the art is just to look!
Art appreciation centers on the ability to view art throughout history, focusing
on the cultures and the people, and how art developed in the specific periods. It is
difficult to understand art without understanding the culture, their use of materials,
and a sense of beauty.
Art is conveyed by the simple act of creating art for art's sake. Every person is
born with the innate desire to create art, and similar to other professions, training is
essential in honing skills to produce art. Art education broadens a person's
comprehension, development, and visions of art. Art brings an understanding of
diversity, how people lived in the past, and connects the issues concerning
contemporary life and art today.
The history of the world is similarly the history of art, continually intertwined.
For millions of years, as humans roamed the earth, evolution, and environment shaped
many different cultures depending on location, weather, natural resources, and food.
These cultures formed the foundation of all art today. Art appreciation analyzes art
using the methods and materials, allowing people to make connections to the context
of art and the interactions of societies.
It is difficult to understand the art without understanding the culture. Culture is
a patterned way of life. Overtime, man establishes his culture through ideas, values,
objects, accumulations, tendencies, and varying levels of generality. Culture is
dynamic, has a structure, and it is directed towards the refinement of human actions.
This is the point where culture and art converge. Through art, culture is one way of
understanding people. People interacting with each other comprises a society and
thus, culture. The culture is learned, adapted, shared, and transmitted by individuals
in the society. It influences the behavior of a person. But not all cultures are the
same.

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The Importance of Art Appreciation

The term art encompasses a large variety of works, from paintings to sculptures,
architecture to design, and in modern times, digital art. Everyone can appreciate and
marvel at art, and being subjective in nature, different art forms appeal to different
people. Art appreciation, however, refers to the exploration and analysis of the art
forms that we are exposed to.
It can be highly subjective, depending on an individuals personal tastes and
preferences, or can be done on the basis of several grounds such as elements of design
and mastery displayed in the piece. Art appreciation also involves a deeper look into
the setting and historical implication and background of the piece, a study of its
origins.

Art Appreciation, Jennard GalleriesArt is dynamic, with new trends and styles
emerging at a fast pace. However, the final attempt of the artist is that it speaks to the
viewer on a personal level and can be interpreted in a variety of ways. Art opens up the
stream of subconscious and intends to personally touch every person that comes
across it.

Art appreciation is extremely relevant for multiple reasons. It is a good way to

understand the history behind the work, and the period from which the piece
originated. Artists often reflect the problems that they face, and the issues of the
society in their work. By analyzing and putting ourselves in the mind of the artist, we
can better study how differently society functioned then, compared to now. We can
empathize and relate to the problems they faced on a personal level.

Art is meant to stimulate thought and conversation between its viewers. By

reflecting on a piece of art, we delve into our own experiences and nostalgia, thus a
piece of art means something different to every person that comes across it. Art
appreciation helps open up the mindset of the people, by listening to different
perspective es and views as well as interpretations of the art, it encourages thoughtful
conversation and the understanding that there is more than one approach to
everything.

For many people, art is meant to express something that we ourselves feel
unable to express or convey. Through its visual medium it evokes feelings of joy,
sadness, anger and pain. That is why art appreciation is so important in bringing that
one final element to complete the work, and that is our interpretation. Our perspective
brings the artwork to life as it changes for every person around it.

It is important to foster art appreciation and analysis, as it helps us value the

art in how it appeals to us and what it means to each person. It delves into the history
and the story behind the art, as well as a look into the lives of the artists. It enables
one to critically analyze a work, along lines of design, mastery and techniques. Most
importantly, however, art appreciation stimulates though and analysis, provokes an
individual to look past what meets the eye and open our mind to the views of others.
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The six notions of art are the following:

1. Art is everywhere: Art can be found anywhere and everywhere. The moment that you
open your eyes until you close them, art exists and persists.
2. Art as Expression and Communication: Art is considered as a universal language. It is a
means of expressing feelings and ideas to other people. Each art form has different artistic
elements. In general, literature, music, dance, theater, painting, sculpture, architecture, and
other art forms are created to evoke appreciation from viewers.
The verbal expressions of some artists are different in every period. They must be
interpreted in historical context because in most cases, they portray more of the artists’
stand rather than the arts themselves.

3. Art as Creation: The word art comes from the Latin term ars when means skill. So,
anything that you are skilled to do, you are applying art.
4. Art and Experience: Through art, we can know the life of people that lived during a
certain period. For example, people during the Old Stone Age drew on the walls of Chauvet
Cave in Ardeche Valley in France. The paintings were not probably made as works of art to
be contemplated. But they may have been drawn for other purposes such as hunting.
Nevertheless, their drawings depict the lifestyle and activities.
5. Art and Nature: In addition to human activities as subject of art, the natural environment
draws attention of artists. For example, Fernando Amorsolo’s works portray nature.
6. Art as Beauty: Do you believe that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder? Some people
believe that what is beautiful to them may not be beautiful to others. This is the beauty of
art. It is not absolute and can be influenced by many factors such as culture.
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EVALUATE
Read and learn more about Impressionism and other artists who have worked in the
style. Exercise being an art historian by exploring the painting of Mary Cassatt “The
Boating Party”. Do the steps of art history using the guide questions.

The Steps of Art History

Description: When, where, and why was the artwork created?

Cassat painted The Boating Party during the winter of 1893–1894 in
Antibes, on the French Riviera. Cassat spent January and February 1894 at the
Villa "La Cigaronne," in Cap d'Antibes with her mother.
It exemplifies the change. Rather than attempting to capture a fleeting
visual impression, Cassatt arranged abstract shapes in a shallow space using
saturated areas of color that may have been inspired by the brilliant Mediterranean
light.

Analysis: What style of art does it represent?

It represent the art style of oil painting.

Interpretation: What artists, work of art, or other influences inspired the artist?
In 1890 Cassatt visited the great Japanese Print exhibition at the
ecole de Beaux-arts in Paris. Mary Cassatt owned Japanese prints by Kitagawa
Utamaro (1753–1806). The exhibition at Durand-Ruel of Japanese art proved the
most important influence on Cassatt. Frederick A. Sweet suggests that Cassatt may
have been inspired by Édouard Manet's Boating from 1874.

Judgment: What impact did the artist or the artworks have on the
history of art?
This painting, one of her most ambitious, was the centerpiece of
Cassatt's first solo exhibition in the United States in 1895. Her contacts with
wealthy friends in the United States did much to bring avant–garde French painting
into this country.
 Mary Cassatt, The Boating Party. 1893-94, Oil on Canvas.

REFERENCES
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/what-history-art
https://www.slideshare.net/janril/art-appreciation-creativity-imagination-and
expression

Prepared: Noted:

BINGO L. ALIGO JENNIFER G. DELA CRUZ. LPT, Ed. D. Instructor OIC, BSE
English Department North

Recommending Approval: Approved:

RAMONA A. PRADO, LPT, Ed.D. ATTY. RODERICK P. VERA, LL. M. Dean,

College of Education Vice President, Academic Affair