Putting it into context

So I'm looking through some of my notes on chapters up to this point and I found a link to this article:
Portrait d'une négresse by Marie-Guilhelmine Benoist
As I reviewed the article again I was reminded of what I find interesting about art histroy. I love the way it puts the art and times and the artist into probable context. We all know that it is probable context rather than actual factual context becasue so many sites and references contradict each other. Still, I find that it's great to have that historical, cultural context. I personally am of the opinion that many artists may not have painted or sculpted or otherwise made a work for the reasons given by art historians, but it's wonderful to know what was going on at the time.

I believe as artists that we are influenced by our times and our world, we may not want to acknowledge it, but some things are ture if you believe them or not.