Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-5cf477f64f-tgq86 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-03-31T05:22:18.840Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 10 - The Timescale of Art History

from Part II - Entangled Timescales of Visual Arts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 March 2025

Paul van Geert
Paul van Geert
Affiliation:
Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
Get access

Summary

Chapter 10 focuses on the time scale of art history, which spans centuries or even millennia. It begins by showing how art historical processes can be interpreted in terms of complex dynamic systems. It then discusses patterns of art historical change, from linear to stepwise to metastable change. The chapter addresses the question of continuity and discontinuity in art history from both quantitative and qualitative perspectives. Finally, it discusses how the concepts and methods of network theory can help us to understand the complex dynamics of artworlds.

Keywords

art historyartificationnon-linearityrandom walkself-organized criticalitynetworkdiscontinuityparadigmend-of-art theoryvisualization
Type
Chapter
Information
A Complex Systems View on the Visual Arts , pp. 239 - 302
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

  • The Timescale of Art History
  • Paul van Geert, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Book: A Complex Systems View on the Visual Arts
  • Online publication: 20 March 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009378970.013
Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

  • The Timescale of Art History
  • Paul van Geert, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Book: A Complex Systems View on the Visual Arts
  • Online publication: 20 March 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009378970.013
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Timescale of Art History
  • Paul van Geert, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands
  • Book: A Complex Systems View on the Visual Arts
  • Online publication: 20 March 2025
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009378970.013
Available formats
×