Surveying the field: The popular origins of art history in nineteenth-century Britain and France

The field of art history has often been criticized for its elitism; its beginnings are most commonly traced to German aesthetic theory that emerged in erudite circles of the nineteenth-century university. Yet, this dissertation contends that art history was a significant part of modern popular culture that was dramatically shaped by the rise of industrialization, mass communication, railroad networks, global travel, and imperial expansion. Focusing on the contexts of Britain and France between 1830 and 1900, I examine inexpensive illustrated books and public exhibitions that provided historical overviews or "surveys" of art history for non-specialist audiences. New printing and illustration technologies in the 1800s enabled the production of affordable published surveys, while such books were widely distributed via steamship and railroad lines across national and linguistic borders. Not only were art histories sold in train stations as travel reading, but public exhibitions also enabled virtual travel to art monuments around the world. My focus on art history's popular developments opens onto a constellation of issues. It enables a close analysis of modern reproductive technologies and the wide variety of media in circulation (from wood engraving, to plaster casts, to photography), while also addressing the significance of illustrations for teaching art history and other fields of general education. It provides a means of tracing the development of art canons in the context of global exploration and imperialism. In a period marked by intense national rivalries, popular surveys reveal a parallel rise of internationalism, especially among a growing cosmopolitan public with an interest in world art. Finally, a new consideration of introductory art histories allows for recognition of the crucial contribution of nineteenth-century women as art history educators.