The canon in art history: Concepts and approaches

Although the canon has recently been increasingly the focus of art-historical research, there does not seem to be clarity, much less agreement, on how such research should be conducted. Art historians have taken various positions on the subject. This article intends to explain the main positions that dominate literature on the canon and canon formation, the theoretical and methodological starting points that provide the framework for such research, as well as to propose that social art history offers a more comprehensive approach that might overcome the strict separation between these positions.