Conclusion
Maria Americo
Conclusion
We have reached the end of our journey together, learning about premodern history through art!
By now, you should have gained experience in spending time with art, built your capacity for seeing, understanding, and feeling with art, learned some terms useful for learning and speaking about art, and, of course, learned some facts about history through art.
As we have explored, and as you now know from experience, art is one of the best ways for learning about history. Not only can it illuminate traditional historical facts about things like trade and commerce, access to materials, war and conquest, religion and ritual, and theories and ideas, art also connects us to our human ancestors of the past, allowing us a window into human emotion, experience, and relationships—all without the use of words. Take all of these ideas, and all of this experience in looking at and feeling with art, with you wherever you go. Art is everywhere. And art is for all of us.
Final questions for reflection
1) What is art? Has your answer to this question, or your understanding of what art is, changed since going through this book?
2) What was your favorite art piece from this book? What do you remember about it? Why did it resonate with you?
3) What kinds of things can we learn about history through art? Recall five historical facts you learned through art by reading this book.
4) Where in your own life do you encounter art? Identify one tool or idea you learned in this book that will help you look at and understand the art you enjoy in your own life!
