Art history

The history of art and artists, the artistic trends throughout centuries and their contemporary evolutions.

arts history
history of art
history of art and its artists
artistic trends throughout centuries

knowledge

sector-specific

Art history is an essential knowledge of the following occupations:

Street artist: Street artists create visual art such as graffiti art or sticker art in urban environments’ public spaces, on the streets, typically expressing feelings or political views and ideas, opting for non-traditional art venues.
Illustrator: Illustrators provide a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. Illustrations can help clarify difficult concepts or objects that are hard to describe textually. Illustrators can work for books, magazines, journals, comic books and other publications.
Jewellery designer: Jewellery designers use a variety of materials, including gold, silver and precious stones to design and plan pieces of jewellery that can have a wearable or decorative purpose. They are involved in the different stages of the making process and may design for individual clients or for mass production clients.
Artistic painter: Artistic painters create paintings in oil or water colours or pastel, miniatures, collages, and drawings executed directly by the artist and/or entirely under their control .
Drawing artist: Drawing artists express concepts by providing a drawn representation corresponding to the idea.
Make-up artist: Make-up artists assist and support artists before, during and after the performance and filming of movies or television programs to ensure the make-up is in line with the artistic vision of the director and the artistic team. They create images and characters through make-up and prosthetics. They maintain, check and repair prosthetics and assist with quick changes.
 

Community artist: Community artists research, plan, organise and lead artistic activities for people brought together by a shared interest, capacity, environment or condition. They manage and coordinate creative projects with local groups and individuals to foster their artistic creativity and improve their quality of life. Community artists make the arts accessible to the community they work for, and provide opportunities for participants to shape their artistic programme.
Fine arts instructor: Fine arts instructors educate students in specific theory and, primarily, practice-based fine arts courses at a specialised fine arts school or conservatory at a higher education level, including drawing, painting and sculpturing. They provide theoretical instruction in service of the practical skills and techniques the students must subsequently master in the fine arts. Fine arts instructors monitor the students’ progress, assist individually when necessary, and evaluate their knowledge and performance on the fine arts through, often practical, assignments, tests and examinations.
Furniture restorer: Furniture restorers analyse materials and techniques in order to assess the state of an old piece of furniture and to identify and classify it according to art and cultural history. They use old or modern tools and techniques to restore the piece and give advice to customers as to the restoration, conservation and maintenance of such objects.
Antique shop manager: Antique shop managers assume responsibility for activities and staff in specialised shops.
Street performer: Street performers create street arts performances for outdoor spaces, using space and audience as a creative resource. They create their performance through playful exploration and experimentation with the purpose of entertaining and possibly also of sharing critical opinions concerning societal issues. They stimulate audience participation as a component of their performance whilst respecting the audience’s safety and integrity.
Art studies lecturer: Art studies lecturers are subject professors, teachers, or lecturers who instruct students who have obtained an upper secondary education diploma in their own specialised field of study, art studies, which is predominantly academic in nature. They work with their university research assistants and university teaching assistants for the preparation of lectures and of exams, grading papers and exams and leading review and feedback sessions for the students. They also conduct academic research in their field of arts studies, publish their findings and liaise with other university colleagues.
Exhibition curator: Exhibition curators organise and display artworks and artefacts. They work in and for museums, art galleries, museums for science or history, libraries and archives, and in other cultural institutions. In general, exhibition curators work in artistic and cultural exhibition fields and events of all kinds.
Fashion designer: Fashion designers work on designs for the haute couture and/or ready-to-wear, high street fashion markets, and more generally on items of clothing and fashion ranges. Fashion designers can operate in a specialised area, such as sportswear, childrenswear, footwear or accessories.
Video artist: Video artists create videos using analogue or digital techniques to obtain special effects, animation, or other animated visuals using films, videos, images, computer or other electronic tools.
Conceptual artist: Conceptual artists have the capacity to choose any material as an artistic tool or/and material to express a creative concept to be presented as an artistic experience to the public. Their work, belonging to the fine arts, can be two-dimensional (drawing, painting, collage), three-dimensional (sculpture, installation) or four-dimensional (moving images, performance).
Collection manager: Collection managers ensure the care and preservation of objects within cultural institutions, like museums, libraries, and archives. Collection managers, along with exhibition curators, and conservators, play a very important role in collections care. They can be found in most large museums.
Performance artist: Performance artists create a performance which can be any situation that involves four basic elements: time, space, the performer’s body, or presence in a medium, and a relationship between the performer and audience or onlookers. It can either be scripted or spontaneous, with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or via media. Performance art can happen anywhere, in any venue or setting and for any length of time.
Glass artist: Glass artists create original artworks by assembling pieces of glass. They can be involved in restoration processes (such as those going on in cathedrals, churches, etc.) and can create accessoires, windows or decorations.
Furniture designer: Furniture designers work on items of furniture and related products. They design the product and are involved in its production as craftsmen and designers or makers. The conception of furniture combines innovative design, functional requirements and aesthetic appeal.
Museum director: Museum directors oversee the management of the art collections, artefacts, and exposition facilities. They secure and sell works of art on the one hand, and strive to preserve and maintain the art collection of a museum on the other hand. Moreover, they also manage finances, employees, and marketing efforts of the museum.
Sound artist: Sound artists use sound as a main creative medium. They express, through the creation of sounds, their intention and identity. Sound art is interdisciplinary in nature and takes on hybrid forms.
Digital artist: Digital artists create art which applies digital technology as an essential part of the creative process. Digital art is usually created using computers or more specialised digital equipment. It may be enjoyed using the same instruments, shared over the internet, or presented using more traditional media.
Artistic director: Artistic directors are in charge of the programme of an artistic project or a cultural organisation. They are responsible for the strategic vision, the visibility and the quality of all kind of artistic activities and services such as theatre and dance companies. Artistic directors also manage staff, finances and policies.
Ceramicist: Ceramicist have an in-depth knowledge of materials and the relevant know-how to develop their own methods of expression and personal projects through ceramic. Their creations can include ceramic sculptures, jewellery, domestic and commercial tablewares and kitchenwares, giftware, garden ceramics, wall and floor tiles.
Specialised antique dealer: Specialised antique dealers sell antique goods in specialised shops.

Art history is optional for these occupations. This means knowing this knowledge may be an asset for career advancement if you are in one of these occupations.

Tile fitter: Tile fitters install tiles onto walls and floors. They cut tiles to the right size and shape, prepare the surface, and put the tiles in place flush and straight. Tile fitters may also take on creative and artistic projects, with some laying mosaics.
Art restorer: Art restorers work to perform corrective treatment based on an evaluation of the aesthetic, historic and scientific characteristics of art objects. They determine the structural stability of art pieces and address problems of chemical and physical deterioration.
Historian: Historians research, analyze, interpret, and present the past of human societies. They analyse documents, sources, and traces from the past in order to understand the past societies.
Musical conductor: Musical conductors lead ensembles of musicians directing them during rehersals and helping them atteining their best performance. They can work with a variety of ensembles such as choirs and orchestras. Musical conductors adjust the tempo (speed), rhythm, dynamics (loud or soft) and articulation (smooth or detached) of the music using gestures and sometimes dancing to motivate the musicians to play according to the music sheet.
Tiling supervisor: Tiling supervisors monitor tile fitting operations. They assign tasks and take quick decisions to resolve problems.
Paperhanger supervisor: Paperhanger supervisors monitor the hanging of wallpaper. They assign tasks and take quick decisions to resolve problems.
Archaeologist: Archaeologists research and study past civilisations and settlements through collecting and inspecting material remains. They analyse and draw conclusions on a wide array of matters such as hierarchy systems, linguistics, culture, and politics based on the study of objects, structures, fossils, relics, and artifacts left behind by these peoples. Archaeologists utilise various interdisciplinary methods such as stratigraphy, typology, 3D analysis, mathematics, and modelling.
History teacher secondary school: History teachers at secondary schools provide education to students, commonly children and young adults, in a secondary school setting. They are usually subject teachers, specialised and instructing in their own field of study, history. They prepare lesson plans and materials, monitor the students’ progress, assist individually when necessary, and evaluate the students’ knowledge and performance on the subject of history through assignments, tests and examinations.
Commercial art gallery manager: Commercial art gallery managers manage the commercial and artistic success of the gallery.
Specialised seller: Specialised sellers sell goods in specialised shops.
Antique furniture reproducer: Antique furniture reproducers duplicate and recreate antique furniture. They prepare drawings and templates of the article, create, fit and assemble parts and finish the article after original specifications.
Secondary school teacher: Secondary school teachers provide education to students, commonly children and young adults, in a secondary school setting. They are usually specialist subject teachers, who instruct in their own field of study. They prepare lesson plans and materials, monitor the students’ progress, assist individually when necessary and evaluate their knowledge and performance through assignments, tests and examinations.
Art handler: Art handlers are trained individuals who work directly with objects in museums and art galleries. They work in coordination with exhibition registrars, collection managers, conservator-restorers and curators, among others, to ensure that objects are safely handled and cared for. Often they are responsible for packing and unpacking art, installing and deinstalling art in exhibitions, and moving art around the museum and storage spaces.
Visual arts teacher: Visual arts teachers instruct students in various styles of visual arts, such as drawing, painting, and sculpting, in a recreational context. They provide students with an overview of art history, but primarily utilise a practice-based approach in their courses, in which they assist students to experiment with and master different artistic techniques, and encourage them to develop their own style.
Conservator: Conservators organise and valorise works of art, buildings, books and furniture. They work in a wide range of areas such as creating and implementing new collections of art, preserving heritage buildings by applying restoration techniques as well as foreseeing the conservation of literary works, films, and valuable objects.
Art teacher secondary school: Art teachers at secondary schools provide education to students, commonly children and young adults, in a secondary school setting. They are usually subject teachers, specialised and instructing in their own field of study, art. They prepare lesson plans and materials, monitor the students’ progress, assist individually when necessary, and evaluate the students’ knowledge and performance on the subject of art through assignments, tests and examinations.
Exhibition registrar: Exhibition registrars organise, manage and document movement of museum artefacts to and from storage, display and exhibitions. This happens in collaboration with private or public partners such as art transporters, insurers and restorers, within the museum and outside.
Paperhanger: Paperhangers are specialised in hanging up wallpaper. They apply adhesives to the paper, or to the wall in the case of reinforced wallpaper, and fix the paper straight, well aligned, and avoiding the inclusion of air bubbles.
History lecturer: History lecturers are subject professors, teachers, or lecturers who instruct students who have obtained an upper secondary education diploma in their own specialised field of study, history, which is predominantly academic in nature. They work with their university research assistants and university teaching assistants for the preparation of lectures and of exams, for grading papers and exams and for leading review and feedback sessions for the students. They also conduct academic research in their respective field of history, publish their findings and liaise with other university colleagues.
Journalist: Journalists research, verify and write news stories for newspapers, magazines, television and other broadcast media. They cover political, economic, cultural, social and sport events. Journalists must conform to ethical codes such as freedom of speech and right of reply, press law and editorial standards in order to bring objective information.
Plastering supervisor: Plastering supervisors monitor plastering activities. They assign tasks and take quick decisions to resolve problems.
Auctioneer: Auctioneers conduct auctions by accepting bids and declaring goods sold.
Plasterer: Plasterers apply plaster made from gypsum, cement or other solutions to walls as a smooth finish. They mix dry plaster powder with water, then smear the resulting paste onto a wall. The plaster is then smoothed before it hardens and forms a solid coating on the wall.
Archive manager: Archive managers ensure the care and preservation of a cultural institution and the archives within. Archive managers, along with curators, and conservators, play a very important role in the care of the institution and all the collections within.
Critic: Critics write reviews of literary, musical and artistic works, restaurants, movies, television programs and other themes for newspapers, journals, magazines, radio, television and other media. They evaluate theme, expression and technique. Critics make judgements based on their personal experience and knowledge.

References

1. Art history – ESCO