How does the Winterthur Program view fine art as material culture?

Winterthur Fellows treat fine art as material culture. As such, one of the connoisseurship topics students study is prints and paintings. During this class, students are taught to analyze the materials that went into creating a piece of fine art, as well as the objects depicted in a given piece. Other connoisseurship topics examine different types of objects, help Fellows identify items portrayed in fine art, how a sitter may be interacting with those items, and the social significance of these depictions. This training supports Winterthur graduates at many fine art museums and galleries where they are now employed.