The 1960s and 1970s marked a turning point in the encounters between generalist historians and art historians regarding the study of art. Before that moment, art history, from its very inception as an independent department in universities, had been entirely distinct from the discipline of generalist history. However, three case studies—art and the Reformation, the rise of the art market, and the proliferation of political monuments—reveal the convergence between the two disciplines that has unfolded during the last half-century, culminating in recent discussions of agency and attempts to answer the question, What is Art?

The arts suffered no crisis in the middle of the seventeenth century, although major changes in style took place around the year 1600. However, a crisis of representation that began in natural philosophy was eventually to become more general. A contrast in tone or mood that was evident between the arts in the first and the second half of the century may be interpreted as a response to economic, social, and political crises.