Term "Visual Art" used for art before 16th century. There were not demands for artists and art, neither the
agreed definition of art, which started to appear in the Renaissance..
Annotations:
Visual
Culture - used to underline method rather then definition, implying
that various arts are inseparable from the visual symbolism of power and
material culture of society.
Before
16 century art were not displayed in galleries, but been used as a
persuasive power and cultural identity (coins, ceremonial relics, gender
indicator, carpets)
The objects were made with purposefulness not solely as an artistic entity.
The public had skill of looking and interpreting.
A
work of art during the medieval and Renaissance periods was expected to
be of high quality as well as purposeful - it was important to get the
right artists , which means that some criteria existed to differentiate
the level of art works and artists.EX: some artistic guilds required a"masterpiece" to be submitted for scrutiny.
Changing the values:15 century - some objects were created for visual delight rather then function or meaning.EX: antique cameos owned by the Medici.
From 16 century - ART - painting, sculpture and architecture. Demands: talent, intellectual application and
the acquisition of manual skills. Lots of Italian architects and painters were originally trained as goldsmith
to learn design. EX. Botticelli
1291 - disappearance of the crusader states in the Holy Land;1453 - Constantinople fell to the
Ottomans;1492 - Columbus discovered the New World; 1563 - first funded art academies in Florence
The medieval and Renaissance periods were not parochial and neither were its artists.