c. Research its history, development and characteristic style
To fully understand a genre of art, it is best to read about its history, development and characteristic style. In short, research about it. It is the best way since it gives an overview of what the genre is really all about. As opposed to studying the art from the same period, although it has some advantages it does not always guarantee that the same period has the same genre of art. Multiple genres could have come out during the period.