To fellow students: If the Mona Lisa’s smile can continue to launch thousands of theories, then perhaps art history is doing exactly what it is meant to do. Contrary to many first impressions, including a recent piece in The Miscellany News, the discipline is not solely about memorization—it is about context, questioning and learning to see the world through different lenses. Tracing cultural, political and personal histories through visual forms can be deeply transformative and revelatory. Yes, memorization may be a part of the process, but so is interpretation, curiosity and critique. In the movie “Mona Lisa Smile,” the fictional Professor Watson (Julia Roberts) challenges her students to think freely through art history.
None of Vassar College’s disciplines are immune to the systematic influences of colonialism and imperialism; art history included. For decades, the discipline has operated like an exclusive club: one that overlooks non-Western traditions and the contributions of people of color and women. The field is evolving, however, with efforts to include artists of color, queer artists and female artists in both scholarship and pedagogy.
The purpose of art history is not simply to regurgitate the canon. At Vassar, key artworks are taught—an increasing number of which have historically been understudied and undervalued. The role of ART 105 and 106: “Introduction to the History of Art and Architecture” is to provide students with a foundation for analytical learning. Notably, key works are not taught because they are “masterpieces,” but rather because they are extremely referential. The so-called “canon” within art history is a catalog of art determined by generations of Western academia, which, in its refusal of a global perspective, has blurred the line between mainstream influence and cultural value. Instead of relying on a static textbook that gives precedence to the canon, the ART-105 and 106 curriculum is actively reimagined and changed each year to reflect emerging scholarship.
Teaching works within the canon does not inherently imply support for its perpetuation. To challenge the canon, however, you must understand what it excludes, distorts and damages. As a product of 18th-century Europe, the discipline of art history emerged from a time and place that denied the influence and prominence of non-Western cultures. Reckoning with its origins, acknowledging its pitfalls and transforming art history into a global study that reflects cultures beyond the canon has been, and continues to be, a work in progress. As students progress through the study of art history here, it becomes apparent that key works within Vassar’s own curriculum are always changing. In advanced classes, we are often tasked with selecting the works of art that are taught, allowing us to bring in personal narratives and define what our syllabi look like. Across the department, there is no consensus on what is “most important,” and that, at least in part, is a disruption of the canon.
As seniors within the art history major who have taken distinct academic paths, we would like to push back on the idea that art history is a one-size-fits-all discipline. From our introductory courses to our 300-level seminars, we have been taught how to think critically, go to the source and apply original thought to visual media. The team-taught model of ART 105 and 106 invites students to witness professors and scholars in the act of interpreting and analyzing artworks. You do not simply learn from observation, but from hands-on activities in conference sections, when students are brought to the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center to engage with artworks themselves. It is through these early visits that we were first introduced to and excited by curatorial work, which we have both done in our time working at the Loeb.
Indeed, curation is an excellent way to think about art spatially and emotionally, and it expands the breadth of our art historical knowledge. However, the basis of curation rests on the skills developed in art historical research, analysis and interpretation. Curators, scholars and educators have the power to rewrite, challenge or highlight certain narratives. Reevaluating the meanings of terms like primitive or oriental—turning away from their archaic, patronizing and fetishizing connotations—and instead using them to describe those problematic sentiments, say, primitivism or orientalism, is one way that art historians and museum professionals have pushed old boundaries.
Reflecting on the past can serve as an essential tool to grapple with and challenge the often incomplete, misleading and exclusionary attitudes that have coincided with canonized artworks. So, what is art history without history? Take, for example, the Hudson River School paintings on display at the Loeb. Without history, they are just pretty pictures. But with context, we often see the erasure of Indigenous people, the glorification of westward expansion and the beginnings of land commodification. History, within art, serves as a way to ground it. History is never objective, and to fight inherited agendas, we must learn to tell new stories. The art history courses at Vassar not only teach these new stories but also equip students with the knowledge and confidence to become the scholars who create this change.
Art history at Vassar was the first place I, Betsy, saw my culture reflected in art. Encountering the work of Cuban artists like Ana Mendieta, Belkis Ayón and Felix Gonzalez-Torres made me feel seen and affirmed that my history and heritage belong in these academic spaces. And still, what I have come to treasure just as deeply is the ability to explore lives and identities far from my own through art. I am writing my thesis on medieval European women’s use of pilgrim badges. I do not share their background, but I recognize something in their challenges, their humor and their quiet forms of resistance. Taking on this project has not been easy. There is a unique kind of anxiety that comes with being a first-generation student, the first in your family to graduate from college and the first to pursue a project of this scale. It frustrates me that I cannot send my parents drafts or fully explain it to them in Spanish. But the guidance from the department, and especially my advisor, has made all the difference. They have met my questions with answers, my uncertainties with encouragement and my occasional tears with reassurance and unwavering support. At Vassar, I have learned that art history can allow us to reach across differences and to claim a voice in stories that were not written for me—but that I can still help tell.
Studying art history here at Vassar has been an opportunity for me, Emma, to really spearhead my own interests. Growing up with Bavarian heritage and having family in a small town with a rich art background, I was exposed to German Expressionist art when I was young. After being introduced to art history as a teenager, I found myself returning to the aforementioned subject matter. Coming into the art history major at Vassar, I knew that I wanted to learn more about that movement in particular, even though the works of art were not taught in ART 106 or the focus of any upper-level class. That being said, I was able to speak with professors to work my interests into my learning experiences. I have also been able to integrate the German language into my research, engage it with my work in the German Studies department and connect it to my personal background all the more through those efforts, which I have always been encouraged to pursue. The department has had my back, supported me when I wanted to explore something niche and nurtured my mindset of perpetual curiosity.
A lot has changed since the 1960s, including art history. While the discipline has always sought to understand how images shape and reflect the world around us, today that world is much bigger, more interconnected and more aware of the voices that have long been ignored. We agree that it is extremely important to see ourselves and our cultures reflected back to us. This is why art history classes at Vassar are increasingly emphasizing non-Western art, as well as the international influences on works featured in courses focused on European art. We have taken art history courses on Latin American architecture, art and activism, medieval pilgrimage, Marcel Duchamp, Islamic architecture and psychedelics. By offering a wide range of classes, there is a push to reflect the multicultural student body and diverse interests here. Studying art history at Vassar provides you with the ability to mold the discipline into what you want it to look like; no interest is too niche, no question is too bold and no perspective is invalid. The Art Department at Vassar is one that does focus on its students; one that listens, adapts and challenges us to push beyond our perceived limitations in order to become the scholars of our generation.
Sincerely,
Emma Larson ’25
Betsy Subiros ’25