Courses
All courses carry 3 credits unless otherwise specified.
602 Evaluating Greek Art: Ancient Culture, Scientific Technology and Modern Politics
The origins, unfolding, and flowering of Greek sculpture, architecture, and painting from approximately 900 to 100 B.C. Readings from ancient literature provide essential historical and cultural background. Particular attention paid to the powerful magic of early Greek images and to issues and controversies surrounding Greek art as it is presented to the American public. LaFollette
603 Roman Art: Politics, Power and Society
The artistic and cultural achievements of the Romans—portraiture, illusionistic wall painting, and the development of vast interior spaces in architecture—as well as the creation of a multi-ethnic empire extending from England to Egypt. Particular attention paid to the dynamic of reciprocal influence between conquered and conqueror. LaFollette
605 Early Medieval Art
Development of Christian art in Western Europe from early Middle Ages to beginning of Romanesque period. Focus on Early Christian Byzantine, Hiberno-Saxon, Carolingian and Ottonian periods and related political, intellectual and cultural developments. Drimmer
607 Romanesque and Gothic Art
Development of architecture, sculpture, painting and minor arts from 1050 to 1400 in France, England and Italy; society in which these art forms developed. Relationship of monuments to contemporary political, social, intellectual, and literary trends. Drimmer
608 Medieval Painting
The history of the illustrated book from early Christian period through the high middle ages. Problems in materials and technique; stylistic and iconographic questions. Drimmer
610 Art and the City-State in Early Renaissance Italy (1250-1500)
How city-states developed distinctive artistic styles, and how different governmental systems favored various forms of patronage. Cities include Naples, Rome, Siena, Florence, Milan, Mantua, Ferrara, Padua, Urbino, and Venice. Focus on the revival of interest in classical antiquity and the development of the mathematical system of one-point perspective. Schmitter
613 Late Renaissance and Mannerist Italian Art
The development of the visual arts in the major artistic centers of Italy during the 16th century, including Florence, Rome, Venice, Mantua, Ferrara, Parma, and Bologna. The lives and works of specific artists, such as Leonardo, Raphael, Titian, and Michelangelo. Focus on thematic issues concerning the relationship between art and society, including: the rise in social status of the artist and the conception of artistic genius; the influence of patronage and collecting; art and the creation of political identities; women as subjects, patrons, and practitioners of art; classicism and “anti-classicism” (Mannerism); art and religious reform; government and city planning. Schmitter
614 Sexuality, Drama and Invention: The Baroque Artist in Italy
The lives, works, and careers of five Baroque artists and architects: Michelangelo da Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Guido Reni, Gianlorenzo Bernini, and Francesco Borromini. Focus on the role of sexuality in the artists’ lives and works as well as in Baroque culture more broadly. Concepts of drama and invention in relation to the theory and practice of Baroque art and architecture. Schmitter
623 European Art, 1780-1880
Major artists and developments from David through Impressionism. Emphasis on historical context and related cultural and intellectual developments. Çakmak
624 Modern Art, 1880 to Present
Focus on movements from Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, to post-World War II and contemporary directions from Abstract Expressionism to Post-Modernism. Kurcynski
626 Criticism of Modern Art
Practical exercises and studies in evaluation of modern painting, including supporting theory. Readings, discussion, and reports on assigned topics. Kurcynski
627 Contemporary Art
Issues and developments in American art after 1940 from perspective of the nineties. Questions of cultural and art historical contexts for the work of American artists during the postwar period, from Abstract Expressionism through recent options raised in the works themselves, artists’ writings, critics’ interpretations, and public reception and support. Kurcynski
628 American Art to 1860
Survey of American art and architecture to 1860. Emphasis on major painters within the cultural and historical contexts.
629 American Art 1860 to 1940
Survey of American art and architecture from 1860 to 1940. Emphasis on major painters within the cultural and historical contexts.
634 History of Decorative Arts
The history of the decorative arts from the Renaissance to 1960. Various media examined, with an emphasis on furniture.
642 19th-Century Architecture: History Reform and Technology
The economic, social, and political forces that led to the creation of new building types, institutions, and technologies from 1750 to 1914. Seminal figures, monuments, urban environments such as Pugin, Viollet-le-Duc, Wright, Haussmann’s Paris, Olmsted’s Central Park, the Gothic Revival, the Beaux-Arts, and the various city-planning movements. Rohan
643 20th-Century Architecture: Modernism, Capitalism and Globalism
The architecture, design, and theory of the Modernist movement considered in relation to the primary ideologies of the twentieth century—socialism, capitalism, and globalism. Includes the works of founding figures—Wright, Mies, Gropius, and Le Corbusier—and significant themes such as the individual vs. the collective; European vs. American ideals; contributions of non-western cultures; impact of war, mass culture, and new technologies. Rohan
645 Architecture Now
What is sustainable architecture? How can we build sustainably, and what lessons can we learn from the past? This course addresses the history of environmental concerns about the built and unbuilt environment, from vernacular and indigenous buildings to 19th- and 20th-century reactions to the Industrial Revolution and the modern city. Through a study of landscape painting, landscape architecture, and architectural history we will review Western perceptions of nature and industry to better understand evolving expectations of the two and how these expectations affect the way we live. The course covers the environmental movement of the 1960s and 70s and how architects responded to the oil crisis. It concludes with a study of recent work by contemporary architects who are intent on addressing ecological and climate-related challenges. Vickery
647 History of Islamic Art and Architecture I
Chronological study of history of Islamic art from its origins in Byzantine and Sasanian traditions of Near East, to its formation under Arab Empire and subsequent Turkish and Iranian dynastic patrons. Islamic world from Spain to India, with emphasis on the central Islamic lands of Middle East. Architecture, painting, textiles, carving in wood, crystal, stucco, stone, and ivory, metalware, ceramics, other media. Museum field trip. Given alternate years with ART-HIST 537. Denny
648 History of Islamic Art and Architecture II
Continuation of ArtHis 536. Artistic legacy of Islamic peoples from 14th through 17th centuries, including the arts of the Mamluk, Timurid, Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal dynasties in the Middle East and India. Museum field trip. Given alternate years with ART-HIST 536. Denny
655 Chinese Painting
The concept of landscape, or "mountains and waters" (shanshui), was a central preoccupation for Chinese artists, viewers, and collectors. Focusing primarily on the ninth to the eighteenth centuries, this course surveys historical changes in representations of nature through paintings produced for tombs, the imperial court, scholars, and merchants, but also through the decorative arts, private gardens, and imperial grounds. We think about what it meant to make paintings but also what it meant to view paintings. Reading primary texts in translation by seminal artists such as Guo Xi, Dong Qichang, and Shitao in conjunction with analysis of major monuments, students gain a foundation in the development of Chinese painting, while investigating the cultural, political, and economic contexts that have shaped ideas about landscape and environment. All readings in translation. Ho
671 5 Great Themes in Art History
Changing treatment of central themes, issues and problems in art history. Topics often cut across traditional geographic or chronological boundaries. Although topics change from semester to semester, offerings are usually available every year in Modern, Islamic, and American art and architecture. List of current offerings available in Art History Office, 317B Bartlett. Prerequisite: upper-level survey course bearing on the particular theme, or consent of instructor.
688 Special Topics in Asian Art
This course surveys the art of China's modern age, beginning in the mid-nineteenth century with the treaty port cultures following the second Opium War in 1860, and ending with the 2008 Olympics. Topics include urban print cultures, modern ink painting, Sino-Japanese exchanges, arts institutions, popular and mass culture, socialist state art, experimental art and exhibitions in the Reform era, and art of the diaspora. We consider recurring questions over definitions of the avant-garde, political participation and representation, modernity and tradition, nationalism and transnationalism, urbanization and globalization, and gender and identity. All readings in translation. Ho
693 Images and Reproductions
Meets one evening a week through the early part of the semester. The various ways in which works of art have been reproduced and how reproduction affects our perception of art. Includes methods of photography used in the scientific examination of art works. Practical discussion of photography of art and architecture, sources of reproductions, copyright laws. (Pass/Fail) Credit, 1.
696 Independent Study: Art History
Credit, 3-12.
697P The Portrait in Medieval Europe
This course takes as its object of focus one of the most contested forms of medieval art: the portrait. Drimmer
697V Vexed Antiquities
The probelms of looted art and the ancient world. La Follette
697W Oriental Carpet/East & West
A historical overview of the most iconic of all Islamic art forms. Denny
697X Special Topics in American Art
"Nuestra Senora: Popular Marian Devotion in Latin America". Gomez
Graduate Seminars
(Topics may change from semester to semester.)
700 Problems in Greek Art
701 Problems in Roman Art
705 Studies in Medieval Iconography
710 Problems in Italian Art of the Early and High Renaissance
711 Problems in Italian Art of the Later Renaissance and Mannerism
718 Art of Northern Europe 1400-1600
719 Art of Northern Europe 1600-1700
721 19th-Century Painting and Sculpture
722 Art Since 1880
725 Problems in Contemporary Art
743 Themes in Postwar Architecture, 1945-1972
747 Problems in Islamic Art and Architecture
781 Methods of Art History
History of the discipline, methodological orientations, and the conceptual and technical framework for art-historical research. Required of all M.A. candidates in Art History during first year of study.
782 Museum Studies
Introduction to museum methods and practices. Issues such as the role of museums in society, the development of collections, conservation, curatorial and registrarial responsibilities, museum management, public relations, funding, ethics, and the production of exhibitions and catalogs. Includes field trips to area museums. Consent of instructor required.
791G Asian Art
797D Special Topics in Modern Art