Week Four Comments

   In week four, guidelines for our textbook critique were given. I chose Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History. We were to peruse our textbook, looking for elements of a narrative structure, stated or unstated assumptions, favorite artists of the author, and any biases. Though it seemed like a tedious task, the assignment really helped me to consider textbooks in a different manner. I learned not to consider them original and absolute standards for art historical references. This assignment gave me the idea for the topic of a symposium in another class about the relationship between museums and art history textbooks.

   The remainder of the week concerned the Louvre and the origin of the Salon. The Salon originated as a method for French kings to supervise Academic works, and the Salon continued to take place annually even after the Louvre became a public museum after the French Revolution.