ART HIS 26
Technical Art History
Lecture, three hours; discussion, one hour. Introduction to technical art history, a field that combines methodologies drawn from the humanities and sciences to address art historical inquiries. Interdisciplinary study evidences how different ways of thinking can be combined to solve art historical problems. Exploration of how this kind of research is linked with contemporary debates, connecting past, present, and future. Definition of cultural heritage and arts, their importance and uses, and the origins of technical art history. Examination of research methods and theories from both art history and the sciences, highlighting their limitations and demonstrating the importance of interdisciplinary approaches in technical art history. Discussion of the present and future of such field, and its relation to a broader domain called heritage science, based on the intersection of the humanities and sciences. P/NP or letter grading.