historical study of the visual arts, being concerned with identifying, classifying, describing, evaluating, interpreting, and understanding the art products and historic development of the fields of painting, sculpture, architecture, the decorative arts, drawing, printmaking, photography, interior design, etc.

Art historical research has two primary concerns. The first is (1) to discover who made a particular art object (attribution), (2) to authenticate an art object, determining whether it was indeed made by the artist to whom it is traditionally attributed, (3) to determine at what stage in a culture's development or in an artist's career the object in question was made, (4) to assay the influence of one artist on succeeding ones in the historical past, and (5) to gather biographical data on artists and documentation (provenance) on the previous whereabouts and ownership of particular works of art. The second primary concern of art historical research is to understand the stylistic and formal development of artistic traditions on a large scale and within a broad historical perspective; this chiefly involves the enumeration and analysis of the various artistic styles, periods, movements, and schools of the past. Art history also involves iconography (q.v.), which is the analysis of symbols, themes, and subject matter in the visual arts, particularly the meaning of religious symbolism in Christian art.

Art historical scholarship depends greatly on the broad experience, intuitive judgment, and critical sensitivity of the scholar in making correct attributions. An extensive knowledge of the historical context in which the artist lived and worked is also necessary, as well as empathy with and understanding of a particular artist's ideas, experiences, and insights. Attribution plays a key role in art historical research, because when one art object can be conclusively authenticated (by a signature, contemporary accounts, or other forms of provenance), other works of a similar or closely related character can be grouped around it and assigned to that particular artist or period. This and other methods have been used to build up modern scholars' detailed and comprehensive understanding of art products and traditions extending into the remote past.