Art history is an overwhelming topic. You have objects from thousands of years ago up to the newest "it" artist of the moment creating work right now. As I've written about in the past, it can be confusing trying to figure out where to start and what to cover. There were the popular artists of their day who are now relegated to the footnotes of history (ever heard of William-Adolphe Bouguereau? Didn't think so), and the unknown painters toiling away in obscurity during their lifetimes only to rise to great prominence during later generations (Vincent van Gogh, anyone?).
What I want to accomplish with this forthcoming series of posts is to help you see art history, not as stale information, but as individual artists and a series of overlapping and interacting art movements. Think of ripples in a pond: the first wave sets off the rest and one leads to the next. You don't have the Expressionists rejecting the ideals of the Impressionists without first having Impressionism.
So come along with me as I walk down the winding road of art history; it's going to take us to some interesting places.
