Art History Online Classes

Explore 31 curated art history online classes for homeschoolers and educators. Each resource has been reviewed for quality before being listed.

To truly know your art, you need to know its roots. Explore our resources to learn about various art styles as well as art from specific cultures and regions. Regions covered include Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Mediterranean, and Oceania, and specific cultures are covered as well, including Islamic art, Byzantine art, and Western art.

History of Graphic Design

This condensed survey course focuses on four major areas of design and their history: Typography, Image-Making, Interactive Media, and Branding. In each class, we'll start by observing the factors that influence and shape aesthetic outcomes. Yo...

Art of the Islamic world

Early Period (c. 640-900 C.E.) From the rightfully guided caliphs who succeeded Muhammad, through the Umayyads' Dome of the Rock and Great Mosque of Damascus, to the decline of Abbasids rule....

Late Gothic art in Italy

Italian art from the late 13th and 14th centuries was once known as primitive because it was seen largely as a transition from Medieval abstraction to the naturalism of the Renaissance (with a dose of Byzantine influence thrown in for good measure)....

Byzantine (late Roman Empire)

Constantinople (now Istanbul) was the capital of the late Roman empire, but its ethereal mosaics, ivories, and metalwork often depart from classical naturalism....

Native American art after 1600

Native societies across North American developed diverse material cultures that reflect the character of their regions and respond to the universal issues of human and spiritual existence....

Indigenous Americas

Art of the Indigenous Americas is among the world’s oldest artistic traditions. While its roots lie in northern Asia, it developed independently between c. 10,000 B.C.E. and 1492 C.E., which marked the beginning of the European invasions. Regions and...

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Art of Mexico in the 19th century

The landscapes of José María Velasco and the first art school in the Americas, the Real Academia de San Carlos...

Art of Oceania

The islands of the eastern Pacific are known as Polynesia, from the Greek for “many islands.” Set within a triangle formed by Aotearoa (New Zealand) in the south, Hawaii to the north and Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in the east, the Polynesia...

Early Europe and Colonial Americas: 200-1750 C.E.

Medieval artistic traditions include late antique, early Christian, Byzantine, Islamic, migratory, Carolingian*, Romanesque, and Gothic, named for their principal culture, religion, government, and/or artistic style. Continuities and exchanges betwee...

A beginner's guide to Asian art and culture

Hinduism is one of the world's oldest religions. It has complex roots, and involves a vast array of practices and a host of deities. Its plethora of forms and beliefs reflects the tremendous diversity of India, where most of its one billion fol...

Art of the ancient Mediterranean

Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians - no wonder we need an introduction!...

British Colonies to the Early Republic

All content in “British Colonies to the Early Republic”...

Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical art in Europe

Get a head start on the historical developments that shape Baroque art in the Catholic Italy, Spain, Flanders, France and in the Protestant north....

The Pacific

The arts of the Pacific vary by virtue of ecological situations, social structure, and impact of external influences, such as commerce, colonialism, and missionary activity. Created in a variety of media, Pacific arts are distinguished by the virtuos...

Art history basics

New to art? This is a good place to start. Art gives us access to the way people at different moments in history have understood the world. Jump in and explore!...

AP Art History

Smarthistory is working to include each of the 250 required works of art. The new test will assess a student’s understanding of the methods used by art historians and familiarity with the cultural context in which a work of art was made and understoo...

Introduction to cultures and religions for the study of AP Art History

Explore Hinduism through clips of significant sites in South Asia and interviews with members of the Bay Area South Asian community. Learn more about Hinduism on t…...

Neolithic art

The Neolithic Revolution was the most important development in human history. The way we live today—settled in cities, protected by laws, eating food from farms—dates from approximately 10,000 years ago....

Art history

We understand the history of humanity through art. From prehistoric depictions of bison to contemporary abstraction, artists have addressed their time and place in history and expressed universal truths for tens of thousands of years....

Art in 19th century Europe

Art in 19th century Europe Explore Table of contents Topics Introduction—Becoming Modern Romanticism Early photography Victorian art and architecture The avant-garde: Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Symbolism & Art Nouveau...

Art 1010

Art 1010 is a short series of fun (and funny) animations created for the Utah System of Higher Education that introduce the history of Western art....

Victorian art and architecture

In 1848, a small group of young artists banded together and formed “The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood,” a name which sounds intentionally backward-looking and medieval. The Pre-Raphaelites looked back to art before the time of Raphael (before about 1500...

Greek art

Rio 2016, London 2012, Beijing 2008, Olympia 776 B.C.E. find out how the ancient pan-Hellenic games inspired our modern Olympiad. Then learn to identify the classical orders and you will never look at your city or town the same way....

South, East, and Southeast Asia: 300 B.C.E. - 1980 C.E.

Beliefs made visible: Buddhist art in South Asia Explore Buddhism through clips of significant sites in South Asia and interviews with members of the Bay Area South Asian community. Learn more about Buddhism …...

Medieval period

Medieval Period (c. 900-1517 C.E.) The Fatimids (909-1171) ruled north Africa, and parts of Syria and the Seljuqs contolled eastern Islamic lands and eventually Iran, Iraq and much of Anatolia....

Art of Africa

African art, an introduction 0 of 13 complete Find here a brief introduction to the peoples and cultures of Africa. Peoples and cultures Historical overview: to the 1500s Historical overview: from the 1600s to the present Aesthetics The human...

Paleolithic art

Humans make art. We do this for many reasons and with whatever technologies are available to us. But can we really know what such ancient images originally meant?...

Expressionism to Pop Art

Expressionism to Pop Art Explore Table of contents Topics A beginner's guide to 20th century art Early abstraction: Fauvism, Expressionism, and Cubism World War I, Futurism and Dada Art between the wars: the avant-garde and the rise of t...

African art, an introduction

Find here a brief introduction to the peoples and cultures of Africa....

Art of the Americas to World War I

North America before European colonization South America before European colonization Spanish colonies in the Americas Native American art after 1600 British Colonies to the Early Republic Art of the United States in the 19th century Art of Mex...

Art of Southeast Asia

Discover the extraordinary art and architecture of this vast region which includes palaces, temples and mosques inspired by the Hindu, Buddhist and Islamic religions....