Art Historiography Studies: Comparativism

This volume features some of the major voices in the world of art history, exploring the methodological aspects of comparison in the historiography of the discipline. The chapters assess the strengths and weaknesses of comparative practice in the history of art, and consider the larger issue of the place of comparative in how art history may develop in the future. The contributors represent a comprehensive range of period and geographic command from antiquity to modernity, from China and Islam to Europe, from various forms of art history to archaeology, anthropology and material culture studies.

Art history is less a single discipline than a series of divergent scholarly fields in very different historical, geographic and cultural contexts, but all with a visual emphasis on the close examination of objects. These fields focus on different, often incompatible temporal and cultural contexts, yet nonetheless they regard themselves as one coherent discipline – namely the history of art. There are substantive problems in how the sub-fields within the broad-brush generalization called 'art history' can speak coherently to each other, and these are more urgent since the shift from an art history centered on the western tradition to one that is consciously global.

The contributors represent a comprehensive range of period and geographic command, covering a wide spectrum from antiquity to modernity, from China and Islam to Europe, and encompassing various forms of art history, archaeology, anthropology and material culture studies. Art history, while often perceived as a single discipline, is in reality a series of divergent scholarly fields in very different historical, geographic and cultural contexts, all united by a visual emphasis on the close examination of objects.

These fields, despite their focus on different and often incompatible temporal and cultural contexts, nonetheless view themselves as a cohesive discipline – the history of art. However, there are significant challenges in how the sub-fields within this broad generalization can engage with each other in a coherent manner, a problem that has become more pressing with the shift from an art history centered on the Western tradition to one that is consciously global in its scope.

The volume explores these methodological aspects of comparison in the historiography of art history, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of comparative practice and considering the future role of comparison in the development of the field. The chapters draw on a diverse range of perspectives, from antiquity to modernity, from China and Islam to Europe, and from various disciplinary approaches including art history, archaeology, anthropology and material culture studies.

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