History of Art

The history of art is the discipline concerned with how visual and material culture is produced, circulated, and interpreted across different periods, places, and societies. It takes works of art, architecture, and design seriously as objects that are both formally significant and deeply embedded in historical, social, and cultural contexts, and it asks how those objects were made, what they meant to their original audiences, and how their meanings have been transformed through time and changing circumstances. To study art history is to develop a distinctive kind of visual intelligence alongside the analytical and argumentative skills that humanities study requires.

At Bristol this three-year full-time programme, which includes a foundation year as its first stage, gives you a grounding in the key skills needed for art history study, exploring a wide range of visual and material culture from its beginnings. You will not only study images and objects within a global context but you will also experience art locally, in and around Bristol itself, where galleries, museums, churches, and streetscapes provide a living laboratory for art-historical inquiry. Small-group research-oriented seminar classes allow you to focus in depth on particular types of art, such as painting or photography, developing your analytical and research skills alongside the broader survey knowledge of the field.

The foundation year provides the additional preparation needed before the main degree, building your academic confidence and art-historical orientation.

Graduates of history of art programmes move into careers in museums and galleries, auction houses and the art market, heritage management, cultural policy, arts administration, education, publishing, journalism, and the luxury goods and cultural industries. Many continue to postgraduate study in art history, museum studies, or heritage management, building towards curatorial, research, or specialist professional careers.