Art History

professors: Hana Myslivečková, Olga Badalíková, Martin Horáček

One of the basic components of professional preparations for future art teachers is education in the theory and history of fine art, which comprises both a central lecture series following changes in visual culture from the most ancient stages of human development until the present (Art History 1–7), as well as a rich assortment of specialised disciplines: Selected Chapters in Art History (The Renaissance), Working with Artworks (Doc. PhDr. Hana Myslivecková, CSc.), Selected Chapters in Art History (The 20th Century), Analysing Images, Art Collections, Art Craft, Contemporary Art (Doc. PhDr. Olga Badalíková, Ph.D.), Introduction to the Study of Art Theory and Art History, Fine Art of the Olomouc Region (PhDr. Martin Horácek, Ph.D.).
In addition to teachers from the Art Education Department, art historians and theoreticians from the partner Philosophical Faculty of Palacký University also take part in the teaching process—doc. ing. Pavol Cerný, Ph.D. (Iconography in Christian Art), prof. PhDr. Rostislav Švácha, CSc. (20th Century Art), doc. PhDr. Zdenek Pospíšil, CSc. (Aesthetics), PhDr. Barbora Pokorná, Ph.D. (Art of the Antiquities). The department also provides survey courses in art history for other departments in the Pedagogical Faculty, including combined and parallel courses of study.
Required, required option and optional lectures and seminars taking place in multimedia-equipped classrooms and a special department library all make it possible for students to receive a broad interdisciplinary and critically-focussed overview of the history of visual art up to the present, with a natural emphasis on the Western tradition. The theoretical background received is used, tried and developed in the field, at one-day and several-day field trips to selected museums, galleries, and protected monument areas. Students can culminate their Art History studies by writing a Master’s thesis in the field.