Course Schedule
Week 1
Section titled “Week 1”Wed, Jan 07: Introduction & Course Overview
Section titled “Wed, Jan 07: Introduction & Course Overview”Overview of the course structure, objectives, and assessment methods.
Read:
- Sylvia Barnet, “Formal Analysis and Style” in A Short Guide to Writing about Art (available on myClass)
Fri, Jan 09: The Early Italian Renaissance: Optics, Anatomy, and Humanism
Section titled “Fri, Jan 09: The Early Italian Renaissance: Optics, Anatomy, and Humanism”From mathematics to the invention of linear perspective in Florence.
Key artists: Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Botticelli.
Read:
- Hans Belting, Florence and Baghdad: Renaissance Art and Arab Science, pp. 173–185
- “Humanism in Italian renaissance art” by Heather Graham
- “Masaccio, Holy Trinity” by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
- “Donatello, David” by Dr. Heather Graham
- “The study of anatomy” by Dr. Steven Zucker and Dr. Beth Harris
Watch:
- Linear Perspective: Brunelleschi’s Experiment
- Sandro Botticelli, La Primavera (Spring)
- Masaccio, Holy Trinity,
- Fra Filippo Lippi, Madonna and Child with Two Angels
- Alberti, Façade of Santa Maria Novella, Florence
- Andrea Mantegna, Dead Christ
Week 2
Section titled “Week 2”Wed, Jan 14: The Northern Renaissance: Sacred Realism and the Self
Section titled “Wed, Jan 14: The Northern Renaissance: Sacred Realism and the Self”Devotion, detail, and the construction of identity through the “Moment of Self-Portraiture”.
Key artists: Jan van Eyck, Robert Campin, Hieronymus Bosch, Albrecht Dürer.
Read:
- Joseph Leo Koerner, The Moment of Self-Portraiture in German Renaissance Art (excerpt)
- “Hieronymus Bosch, The Garden of Earthly Delights” by Sally Hickson
Watch:
- Workshop of Robert Campin, Annunciation Triptych (Merode Altarpiece)
- Lucas Cranach the Elder, Adam and Eve
- Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait
- Jan Van Eyck, The Ghent Altarpiece (part 1)
- Jan Van Eyck, The Ghent Altarpiece (part 2)
- Albrecht Dürer, Self-Portrait (1500)
- Albrecht Dürer’s woodcuts and engravings
Fri, Jan 16: The Spirit of the High Renaissance
Section titled “Fri, Jan 16: The Spirit of the High Renaissance”Exploration of High Renaissance art and markets.
Key artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael.
Read:
- Evelyn Welch, “Markets and Metaphors” in Shopping in the Renaissance: Consumer Cultures in Italy 1400-1600
- “Leonardo da Vinci, ‘Vitruvian Man’” by Letha Ch’ien
- “Raphael, an introduction” by Heather Graham
Watch:
- Leonardo, The Virgin of the Rocks
- Leonardo, Last Supper
- Leonardo, Mona Lisa
- Michelangelo, David
- Saint Peter’s Basilica
- Donato Bramante, Tempietto, Rome
Week 3
Section titled “Week 3”Mon, Jan 19: Artifact I
Section titled “Mon, Jan 19: Artifact I”Linear Perspective in Action is due.
Wed, Jan 21: Late Renaissance and Mannerism
Section titled “Wed, Jan 21: Late Renaissance and Mannerism”Analysis of the Mannerist style and its departure from Renaissance ideals.
Key artists: From Titian to Pontormo, Parmigianino, El Greco.
Read:
- Arnold Hauser, “The Concept of Mannerism” in The Social History of Art, Vol. II: Mannerism and Art in the Baroque Era
Watch:
- Michelangelo, Pietà
- Michelangelo, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
- Michelangelo, Slaves
- Titian, Venus of Urbino
- Paolo Veronese, Feast in the House of Levi
- Parmigianino, Madonna with the Long Neck
- Jacopo Tintoretto, Last Supper
- El Greco, The Burial of the Count of Orgaz
Fri, Jan 23: Baroque and Counter-Reformation
Section titled “Fri, Jan 23: Baroque and Counter-Reformation”Investigation of the rise of Baroque art.
Read:
- Gauvin Alexander Bailey, “Introduction,” in Baroque & Rococo
- “The global Baroque, an introduction” by Carmen Ripollés
- “Artemisia Gentileschi, Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting or La Pittura” by Letha Ch’ien
- “Juan Sanchez Cotán, Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber” by Sally Hickson
Watch:
- How to recognize Baroque art?
- Caravaggio, The Supper at Emmaus
- Caravaggio, The Conversion of St. Paul (or The Conversion of Saul)
- Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Baldacchino, Saint Peter’s
- Diego Velázquez, Las Meninas
- Nicolas Poussin, Et in Arcadia Ego
Week 4
Section titled “Week 4”Wed, Jan 28: Mapping the Dutch Golden Age
Section titled “Wed, Jan 28: Mapping the Dutch Golden Age”Study of Baroque art in the Netherlands and Flanders.
Key artists: Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer.
Read:
- Svetlana Alpers, “The Mapping Impulse in Dutch Art” in The Arts of Describing: Dutch Art in the Seventeenth Century
- “Rembrandt, Self-Portrait with Two Circles” by Saskia Beranek
Watch:
- What is genre painting?
- Symbolism and meaning in Dutch still life painting
- Asia in Holland, 17th-century Delftware
- Frans Hals, Malle Babbe
- Judith Leyster, Self-Portrait
- Rembrandt, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp
- Rembrandt, The Night Watch
- Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance
- Jacob van Ruisdael, View of Haarlem with Bleaching Grounds
Fri, Jan 30: Rococo & Enlightenment
Section titled “Fri, Jan 30: Rococo & Enlightenment”Exploration of the Rococo style and its characteristics during the reign of Louis XV.
Key artists: Watteau, Fragonard, Boucher.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Week 5
Section titled “Week 5”Wed, Feb 04: Art in Encounters: The Global Baroque
Section titled “Wed, Feb 04: Art in Encounters: The Global Baroque”The “New World” after contact: Hybridity, tequitqui, and the global baroque.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Fri, Feb 06: Pre-Columbian Art and Architecture
Section titled “Fri, Feb 06: Pre-Columbian Art and Architecture”Exploration of Aztec and Inca art and architectural achievements.
Read:
- Elizabeth Hill Boone, “Writing in Images,” in Stories in Red and Black: Pictorial Histories of the Aztecs and Mixtecs
- “Introduction to the Aztecs (Mexica)”
- Coatlicue
- Codex Borgia
- “The Inka, an introduction” by Sarahh Scher
Watch:
- The Templo Mayor and the Coyolxauhqui Stone
- Coyolxauhqui Monolith
- Tlaloc Vessel
- Aztec feathered headdress
Week 6
Section titled “Week 6”Mon, Feb 09: Artifact II
Section titled “Mon, Feb 09: Artifact II”Wed, Feb 11: From the 14th Century to the Mogul Empire in the Indian Subcontinent and Beyond
Section titled “Wed, Feb 11: From the 14th Century to the Mogul Empire in the Indian Subcontinent and Beyond”Study of South Asian art from the 14th century.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Fri, Feb 13: Chinese Art from the late Yuan through the Qing Dynasty
Section titled “Fri, Feb 13: Chinese Art from the late Yuan through the Qing Dynasty”An overview of Chinese art of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties.
Key topics: Literati painting, porcelain, the Forbidden City.
Read:
- Julie Hochstrasser, “Remapping Dutch Art in Global Perspective: Other Points of View” in Cultural Contact and the Making of European Art since the Age of Exploration (CCMEA), pp. 43–48
- “Yuan dynasty (1279–1368), an introduction”
- “Ming dynasty (1368–1644), an introduction”
- “Qing dynasty (1644–1912), an introduction”
- The Forbidden City
- “The Abduction of Helen Tapestry” by Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank
- “Kim Hongdo, album of genre paintings”
Watch:
- Buddha of Medicine Bhaishajyaguru (Yaoshi fo)
- The David Vases
- Wang Lü, Landscapes of Mount Hua (Huashan)
- Wang Shimin, Cloud Capped Mountains and Misty Riverside
Week 7
Section titled “Week 7”Wed, Feb 18 – NO CLASS: Winter Break
Section titled “Wed, Feb 18 – NO CLASS: Winter Break”Fri, Feb 20 – NO CLASS: Winter Break
Section titled “Fri, Feb 20 – NO CLASS: Winter Break”Week 8
Section titled “Week 8”Wed, Feb 25: Art in Japan since the 14th Century
Section titled “Wed, Feb 25: Art in Japan since the 14th Century”From the Muromachi to the Edo period.
Key topics: Zen gardens, tea ceremony, Ukiyo-e prints.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Fri, Feb 27: African Art After European Contact
Section titled “Fri, Feb 27: African Art After European Contact”Art, power, and the impact of colonization.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Fri, Feb 27: Artifact III
Section titled “Fri, Feb 27: Artifact III”Week 9
Section titled “Week 9”Mon, Mar 02: Midterm Exam
Section titled “Mon, Mar 02: Midterm Exam”Midterm Exam covering material from weeks 1-8.
Wed, Mar 04: Art of Pacific Cultures
Section titled “Wed, Mar 04: Art of Pacific Cultures”Arts of Oceania: Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Fri, Mar 06: North American Indigenous Art
Section titled “Fri, Mar 06: North American Indigenous Art”Study of indigenous art forms from various North American cultures.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Week 10
Section titled “Week 10”Wed, Mar 11: Neoclassicism and Romanticism
Section titled “Wed, Mar 11: Neoclassicism and Romanticism”Study of Neoclassical and Romantic art movements.
Key artists: Ingres, Delacroix, Goya.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Fri, Mar 13: Realism
Section titled “Fri, Mar 13: Realism”Analysis of the Realist movement and its focus on everyday life.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Week 11
Section titled “Week 11”Wed, Mar 18: The Modern Gaze: Photography & Impressionism
Section titled “Wed, Mar 18: The Modern Gaze: Photography & Impressionism”How the invention of photography challenged painting and gave rise to Impressionism.
Key figures: Daguerre, Talbot, Monet, Renoir, Degas.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Fri, Mar 20: Post-Impressionism
Section titled “Fri, Mar 20: Post-Impressionism”Exploration of Post-Impressionist artists and their diverse styles.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Week 12
Section titled “Week 12”Mon, Mar 23: Artifact IV
Section titled “Mon, Mar 23: Artifact IV”Wed, Mar 25: Pre-War Modernism
Section titled “Wed, Mar 25: Pre-War Modernism”Overview of early 20th-century modernist movements such as Fauvism, Cubism, and Expressionism.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Fri, Mar 27: Interwar Backlash
Section titled “Fri, Mar 27: Interwar Backlash”Examination of modernist movements between the World Wars.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Week 13
Section titled “Week 13”Wed, Apr 01: Post-War Art Movements
Section titled “Wed, Apr 01: Post-War Art Movements”Overview of Abstract Expressionism and other post-war art movements.
Read:
- TBA
Watch:
- TBA
Fri, Apr 03 – NO CLASS: Good Friday
Section titled “Fri, Apr 03 – NO CLASS: Good Friday”Week 14
Section titled “Week 14”Wed, Apr 08: Neo-Avant-Garde Movements
Section titled “Wed, Apr 08: Neo-Avant-Garde Movements”Study of Pop Art, Minimalism, and Conceptual Art.
Read:
- Lucy R. Lippard, “Introduction” in Pop Art
Watch:
- Jasper Johns, Flag
- Robert Rauschenberg, Bed
- Andy Warhol, Gold Marilyn Monroe
- The case for Andy Warhol
- Claes Oldenburg, Floor Cake
Fri, Apr 10: Art after the Long Sixties
Section titled “Fri, Apr 10: Art after the Long Sixties”Exploration of movements leading to contemporary art practices.
Mon, Apr 13: Artifact V
Section titled “Mon, Apr 13: Artifact V”Thu, Apr 16: Final Exam
Section titled “Thu, Apr 16: Final Exam”Final Exam covering material from weeks 9-14 will be available for 24hr.