Karel van Mander (I) or Carel van Mander I (May 1548 – 2 September 1606) was a Flemish painter, playwright, poet, art historian and art theoretician, who established himself in the Dutch Republic in the latter part of his life. He is mainly remembered as a biographer of Early Netherlandish painters and Northern Renaissance artists in his Schilder-boeck. As an artist and art theoretician he played a significant role in the spread and development of Northern Mannerism in the Dutch Republic.
Portrait of van Mander from his book
Portrait of a man, Kunsthistorisches Museum
The adoration of the golden calf, Frans Hals Museum
Garden of Love, 1602, Hermitage Museum
Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today, art history examines broader aspects of visual culture, including the various visual and conceptual outcomes related to an ever-evolving definition of art. Art history encompasses the study of objects created by different cultures around the world and throughout history that convey meaning, importance or serve usefulness primarily through visual representations.
Venus de Milo, at the Louvre
Giorgio Vasari, Self-portrait c. 1567
Anton von Maron, Portrait of Johann Joachim Winckelmann, 1768
Photographer unknown, Aby Warburg c. 1900