ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author argues that history can be, in the appropriate sense, an applied art. He draws a parallel between the art of written history and that of history-painting. To think of history as an art was to undermine its scientific pretensions. After all, artists take liberties. They employ poetic licence. It was a serious intellectual discipline directed towards truth. Modern authors such as Jacques Maritain and Etienne Gilson conceive of art as the pursuit of beauty. This is in line with Western tradition. If, however, earlier artists and thinkers thought of art as a discipline dedicated to beauty, they did not dismiss the historical significance of art. If, however, painting is a kind of making, so too is history. Historians make an intellectual artifact. They make a representation of the past. This representation is an interpretation, an explanation, an account of cause and effect, as well as a narration.
