When it comes to understanding art, the best advice is to treat everything like a clue. Masterful works of art contain no accidents, with each line, colour or angle a deliberate decision designed to evoke an idea or feeling. Approaching a work of art like this, as a riddle, is an exercise in visual analysis that then needs historical grounding. Art is deeply contextual, finding meaning and resonance in time, geography, biography and philosophy.
For those who have never formally studied art history, learning how to understand a work of art can be intimidating – but it doesn’t have to be. With these resources, you develop an understanding of art in your own time and your own way.
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Now in its 16th edition, Ernst Gombrich’s The Story of Art is still widely considered the best entry point to art history, starting in the Ancient Era and running all the way up to Modernism. Once in Modernism, we recommend reading Robert Hughes’s The Shock of The New – a wildly entertaining book and docu-series about Modern art – as well as John Berger’s Ways of Seeing, another television show and book that will prime your brain to look at art.
Charles Blackman 'Shrinking Alice'
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If there is a particular artist or movement you would like to delve into, Kanopy probably has a documentary that you can watch for free with any public library membership. You can also see whether your local state gallery has any courses or tours. Investing in art knowledge ought not to feel like homework or a prerequisite for collecting, but rather an enriching journey – the development of art is compelling, funny, strange and revealing, more often than not shining a light back on humanity itself.
