Mediation and Social History of Art

Summary: A renewal in the approaches and problematics of the history of art has led to a rethinking of relations between aesthetic objects, opinions on taste, and society in general. Levels of analysis have been multiplied and the study of the complex networks of microscopic relationships to which any artistic product refers, has become increasingly detailed. Three themes are explored here, each one guided by the work of an author or a set of works. The first identifies methodological problems common to the history of art and communication, the second presents examples of mediation between art and society, and the third considers political forms and symbols from an anthropological point of view.