History of Arts

Artibus Atque Historiae. Dedicated to Art and Its History.

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The study programme in art history offers students the opportunity to understand visual objects in all areas of the discipline of art history (architecture, sculpture, painting, applied art, and visual culture) in their various historical and contemporary forms, styles, and functions.

The four-semester Master’s degree study programme in art history is aimed at preparing university-educated specialized employees working in the areas of research into works of art and visual culture.

The subject of art history concerns itself with knowledge, analysis, and a historical understanding of works of art. It studies artistic formation, styles, functions, and later critical reception. It also examines the creators themselves: artists and patrons, the art movements and “the operations of art history” (gallery institutions, monument care, and art criticism). On the most general spectrum of interests, art history currently provides a general historical study of images and hermeneutics of visual images.

The central focus of the study programme is to further widen the knowledge the student earned in the Bachelor’s degree study programme. While the initial goal was to obtain the knowledge and skills for describing, analysing, and understanding works of art within the framework of historical epochs and to use this knowledge in practice, this degree will focus on expanding the subject with further themes linked in particular with historical understanding and interpretation of works of art in their varied contexts. Students can also analyse the openness of the work of art in relation to other parts of social and spiritual life, in its links to cultural-historical, sociological, psychological, and other aspects of life.

The Master’s degree study programme deals with current research questions, reading foreign scholarly texts and conducting research work during foreign stays. It is designed to provide students with a thorough overview of art and a widened overview of the skills of a scholarly employee working in art history, as well as a focus on their research specialization and interest.

Potential students have successfully completed a corresponding Bachelor’s degree study programme and have an interest in independent specialized work in the subject. A visual memory and interest in reading and research work are also essential for future art historians. An active knowledge of one of the world languages and a passive knowledge of another is important for future studies.

Graduates first and foremost widen their knowledge of art history material in all fields of art and periods of art history and develop their ability to work independently with scholarly and pictorial information sources. They obtain skills for applying art theories and special art history approaches in their research work and for making use of the results of this work.

The research and teaching focus of the art history seminar is traditionally focused on art history research of Moravia and Central Europe from medieval art to the present. Emphasis is placed on a knowledge of gallery museum studies and monument care as well as on historiography and art history methodology. In addition to this traditional focus, there is research into European and Byzantine art of the Early Middle Ages throughout the entire geographic range. Instruction takes place in cooperation with foreign specialists and institutes. Students consequently have the opportunity to become better acquainted with a foreign research environment and to prepare for their final Master’s thesis.

Students have the use of two libraries during their studies.

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After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

  • have a knowledge of the entire breadth of the history of works of art, artists, and art history trends in the past and present
  • work with digital information sources, the critical use of which is essential for acquiring information about works of art
  • make use of and critically evaluate art history sources (pictorial, documentary, and textual), create hypotheses, and test their relevance when solving research problems
  • recognize and use historical and contemporary art history approaches for research and application in solving research issues
  • identify the main contemporary themes in the historiography of art history, discuss them, and follow international developments in the field
  • specialize in terms of areas and time periods in art history; independently create a research plan of examined issues of their specialization
  • analyse and interpret a selected art history issue in an independently prepared specialized outcome (for example, a Master’s thesis)
  • prepare the mediation of works of art from various art disciplines in the form of lectures, scholarly articles, criticism, essays, etc.
  • present art works, or a complete art history theme, in exhibitions or expositions in galleries and museums
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Graduates of the Master’s degree study programme in art history can work in particular as specialists equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills for work in teams in art history institutes, in art history museums and galleries, in monument care institutes, in journalism, in art criticism, in publishing houses, and in tourism.

Thanks to the knowledge and skills acquired during their studies, graduates can work in positions as specialized employees who will further prepare themselves for positions as curators at museums and galleries, as monument care specialists, in art criticism, or in communicating art as authors-curators of exhibitions, coordinators in the area of tourism, or as heads of cultural columns in the areas of media, television, and radio.

Although the degree in art history prepares graduates for careers in the art world, it also equips them with intellectual and practical skills applicable to many different spheres of employment. Now, when visual culture and an understanding of it play increasingly important roles in society, graduates can make use of their abilities in a range of additional professions, such trade in art and antiques, in presentation and propagation of art work, and in publicity and marketing.

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The requirement for acceptance of students is the completion of a Bachelor’s degree study programme in art history with above-average results. Students begin in the Master’s degree study programme with their own specialization which they choose at the entrance exam. During the standard Master’s degree study programme, which lasts four semesters, students are required to earn 120 ECTS credits in all.

Upon registration, students chose independently their study curriculum based on their own choices. They are advised to choose a maximum of half of the mandatory credits in their specialization; the remaining credits can be earned during their studies in additional art history specializations.

Type A/required courses consist first and foremost of the common base of the Master’s degree (including preparation for the final Master’s thesis). The majority of the studies take place in the form of type B/selective lectures and seminars. These are offered in a range that enables the student to completely independently choose based on their preferences and interests. Knowledge of facts and data from both general and Czech art history is expanded in lectures as well as the practical specialization of the students on the basis of the actual research of the lecturers. Skills in the application of art history approaches and methods are practiced in the seminars which can contribute in an individual fashion to the development of their distinct study focus. There are also courses which enable internships in partner museum and gallery institutions.

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The final Master’s degree examination takes place as a rule after successfully defending the final Master’s thesis. During the defence, the student should demonstrate an ability to discuss the issue being analysed in a cultivated manner and with critical terminology. They should be able to react in the discussion with their readers and carry out a general argument.

The final examination is primarily focused on factual knowledge of the actual specialization and the wider foundation within the framework of the period of art history specifically chosen by the student in their final Master’s thesis.

The exam is oral and has three parts:

(1) The main question from the specialization, based upon the focus of the Master’s thesis;

(2) A supplementary question (the choice of a question from one of the four basic areas: the Middle Ages, Early Modern period, Modern and Contemporary art, Architecture); students always prepare one question from each area ahead of time and the area will be chosen by the commission during the exam;

(3) Literature about art history (the student prepares the text or publication ahead of time from the list of required publications for studies which changes every year) on the basis of which the knowledge of historiography and methodology is analysed.

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Graduates from the Master’s degree study programme in art history can continue in the doctoral study programme in theory and art history after meeting the conditions of the entrance exam.

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Field of study specifications

Field of Study: History of Arts
Abbreviation: DU
Code: 8109T002
Type: Advanced Master's state examination
Degree: PhDr.
Accreditation: to 31/12/2024
Programme: R8109 Rig-OT General Theory and History of Arts and Culture
Faculty of Arts
Field of study guaranteed by:
Faculty of Arts