I promise, you read the title right. Don't let the words "Art History" fool you into thinking it's the most boring thing you'll ever take. Most anyone who's taken an art history class will tell you it was actually pretty interesting. The best part is, they won't be sugar coating it, even the research process for a paper is pretty fun for most people. Plus, all the awesome fun facts your friends will likely throw into casual conversation will make you jelly. You'd be amazed what cool things we learn. If you don't believe me, just keep reading.

Naked, creepy, strange depictions of baby Jesus

One of the first things you learn is, there’s no one particular way to depict baby Jesus. You'll see him depicted as a miniature old man, a premature radioactive baby, or even a dancing baby. You’ll see all that and more in art history, even parts of baby Jesus you never thought should be depicted. Here are a few of my favorites from this semester's ventures in the Northern Renaissance.

All the Annunciations

There are entirely too many to count, so many you could probably spend your entire life counting them and still not finish. Better yet, dedicate an entire class to images of The Annunciation. It could be done. But since each depiction of this event (Mary and the immaculate conception) contain the same basic subjects, the Virgin, an angel or two, lilies, and the occasional tiny baby Jesus flying in carrying a cross, it could potentially put you to sleep.

Innuendos. Everywhere.

Who knew art history could be so lewd? Certainly not an innocent little freshman who skipped right on through the content note in the syllabus. From pilgrim badges, to shoes, to swords, and small images in devotional books, the innuendos are unexpected and everywhere. Just when you thought you’d never see anything but religious art, you get a surprise. To see what I’m talking about, just take Rococo or medieval art history. You may just be exposed to this lovely image of two women playing with each other.

Every gruesome martyrdom known to man

From beheading, stoning, being skinned alive, torn apart by horses, or shot with arrows in one attempt to kill you and then shot because it didn't work,

you’ll hear all kinds of lovely stories like these. As you sit in class with a horrified expression on your face, you'll appreciate how humane our society has grown to be. You’ll also realize there is a saint for everything on the planet and thank your lucky stars you don’t have to memorize all those instead of titles, artists, and dates.

Uncertainty out the wazoo

“Professor, who painted this altarpiece?”

“We think it’s the Master of Flémalle but we’re not really sure.”

For art history students everywhere: keep a tally of how many times your professor says he or she isn’t sure about an artwork's origin or creator, or anything along those lines. Take your final tally to them at the end of the semester and say, “this is how many bonus points you owe me.” If it works, you’ll probably get enough points to make a 50 and still be able to pass the exam.

On the bright side, there’s still plenty of research to be done!

Roman arches

Once you see them, you just can’t unsee them. They’ll be everywhere, at your house, school, work, maybe even in your worst dreams, too. These bad boys definitely aren’t squares, they’ll make life exciting by appearing when you least expect them in whatever time period you’re studying.

Being exposed to the other Renaissance

Most people go through life not knowing there was another renaissance that countered the infamous Italian Renaissance we all know and love. Contrary to popular belief, the Italians can’t claim all the Renaissance rights. The northern countries deserve a bit of credit, too, since they almost gave the Italians a run for their money. Just look at van Eyck’s masterpieces that show every wrinkle, hair, twinkling eye, and sparkling gem. Then you have Quentin Massys's The Ugly Old Woman. The Italians ain't got nothing on that.

Nudity. Everywhere.

Since the dawn of time, the human figure has been depicted in art. Naturally, studying art history is going to lead you to some images of an unclothed human being. If you’re the modest, shy type that hasn’t quite realized we’re all generally made of the same stuff, art history may not exactly be your cup of tea. Over half the images you look at will contain some form of nudity, and yes, some of it will be suggestive. For those who sign up anyway and unknowingly skip through the content note your professor so kindly included in their syllabus, then get upset when the content isn’t G-rated, sorry bout it. You got a warning!

Studying said paintings in public

You sit down in your favorite coffee shop to study for your next exam. As you scroll or flip through your study guide that contains images of naked people, you become hyper aware of all the wandering eyes who must be curious of what you’re doing. Little do they know, there’s nothing to worry about, you’re just trying to ingrain the dates in your brain.

Relics are sometimes weirder than you think

You have normal relics like thorns from Jesus’s Crown of Thorns, pieces of wood from the True Cross, and bits of fabric from the Shroud of Turin. Then you get into weirder stuff like Mary’s breast milk and Jesus’s foreskin, yes that’s a thing. But wait there’s more: St. Anthony of Padua’s jaw and tongue, St. Catherine’s dismembered body that is scattered around Italy, and the best one, Saint Camillus’s salt- cured heart. I get hanging onto pieces of history, but keeping body parts and organs is just a tad overboard.

Remembering Dates

Every art history student’s arch nemesis is dates. No matter how many times you drill through your flashcards or study guide, they just won’t stick. The worst is when all the dates are around the same time with slight variations between them. Titles and artists are no problem, but thrown in numbers and it’s a completely different story. That’s just another reason we’re in art, numbers just aren’t our thing.

Scholarly Articles

Some of them will leave you feeling more confused than you were before you attempted to read the article in order to gain more knowledge. You can read a few of these articles twice and still not be able to make heads or tales of what it’s trying to say. Others will give you a little bit of insight, and some will have such lengthy footnotes that the majority of all forty pages is footnotes. Very rarely do you find an article that gives you an epiphany. You may eventually give up and just look through the nice images the author included and pretend you actually learned enough to discuss the article in class.

Wishing you could personally punch every Nazi

For some reason, one of history's favorite dictators and little known art student, none other than Hitler, felt the need to steal and hide thousands upon thousands of priceless artworks. While some of these have been recovered, others are still missing. Unfortunately, many were destroyed by the Nazis in order to make more room for what Hitler deemed good art. Nothing makes an art historian's blood boil more than destroying priceless art for no good reason. Therefore, learning Hitler destroyed so many beautiful masterpieces will make every art history student wish they could personally punch him and all his cohorts in the face.

And just because it's not art history if you don't mention van Gogh at least once in some way, shape, or form:

I think that's an offer I would refuse, too.