Art History Course Descriptions

ARTH 102 - (4) (S)
History of Art II
Study of the history and interpretation of architecture, sculpture and painting from 1400 to the present.

ARTH 103 - (3) (IR)
History of Art III
Study of the history and interpretation of the primary artistic traditions of China and Japan from prehistoric times through the nineteenth century.

ARTH 201 - (3) (Y)
Second Year Seminar in the History of Art
A seminar on art historical problems and methods, intended for students who may be interested in majoring in art history.

ARTH 202 - (3) (IR)
Tigris to Tiber: Art of the Ancient World
A survey of major masterpieces of painting, sculpture, and architecture from Prehistoric Europe, Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Aegean, Greece, Rome, Constantinople, and Medieval Europe. Style and subject matter are studied as languages expressing the values and meanings associated with changing norms of human personality in relation to the gods, the state, and nature, and as the basis of aesthetic delight.

ARTH 209 - (3) (Y)
Sacred Sites
Examines the art and architecture of ten religious sites around the world focusing on the ritual, culture, and history as well as the artistic characteristics of each site.

ARTH 211 - (3) (IR)
Art of the Ancient Near East and Prehistoric Europe
Study of the art of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Aegean, and prehistoric Europe, from the sixth to the second millennium B.C. Course examines the emergence of a special role for the arts in ancient religion.

ARTH 213 - (3) (Y)
Greek Art
Review of the painting, sculpture and architecture of the Greeks, from the Dark Ages through the Hellenistic period. The work of art will be studied against its social and intellectual background.

ARTH 214 - (3) (Y)
Etruscan and Roman Art
Study of the painting, sculpture and architecture in Italy and the Roman Empire, from the time of the Etruscans to Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor. Special emphasis on the political and social role of art in ancient Rome, and on the dissolution of Classical art and the formation of Medieval art.

ARTH 215 - (3) (IR)
Introduction to Classical Archaeology
Introduction to the history, theory and field techniques of classical archaeology. Major sites of the Bronze Age (Troy, Mycenae) as well as Greek and Roman cities and sanctuaries (such as Athens, Olympia, Pompeii) illustrate important themes in Greek and Roman culture and the nature of archaeological data.

ARTH 221 - (3) (Y)
Early Christian and Byzantine Art
Study of the art of the early Church in East and West and its subsequent development in the East under the aegis of Byzantium. Influence of theological, liturgical and political factors on the artistic expression of Eastern Christian spirituality.

ARTH 222 - (3) (Y)
Medieval Art in Western Europe
Study of the arts in Western Europe from the Hiberno-Saxon period up to, and including, the age of the great Gothic cathedrals.

ARTH 231 - (3) (Y)
Italian Renaissance Art
Study of the painting, architecture, and sculpture in Italy from the close of the Middle Ages through the sixteenth century. Special attention to the work of major artists such as Giotto, Donatello, Botticelli, Leonardo, and Michelangelo. Social, political, and cultural background of the arts is discussed in detail.

ARTH 236 - (3) (IR)
Painting and Graphics of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries in Northern Europe
Survey of major developments in painting and graphics in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in the Netherlands and Germany. Rise of Netherlandish naturalism and the origins of woodcut and engraving. Explores the effects of humanist taste on sixteenth century painting and the iconographic consequences of the Reformation. Emphasis placed on the work of major artists such as Van Eyck, Van der Weyden, Durer, Bosch and Bruegel.

ARTH 241 - (3) (Y)
Baroque Art in Europe
Study of the painting, sculpture, and architecture of the seventeenth century in Italy, the Low Countries, France and Spain. Special attention is given to Caravaggio, Bernini, Velazquez, Rubens, Rembrandt and Poussin.

ARTH 246 - (3) (Y)
Eighteenth-Century European Art
A survey of European painting and sculpture from the late Baroque period to Neo-Classicism. Emphasizes the artistic careers of major figures and on the larger social, political and cultural contexts of their work. Artists include Watteau, Boucher, Fragonard, Chardin, Falconet, Pigalle, Greuze, Batoni, Rusconi, Hogarth, Gainsborough and Reynolds.

ARTH 251 - (3) (Y)
Nineteenth-Century European Art
Survey of painting and sculpture from the French Revolution until 1880. Emphasizes artistic careers of major figures and the larger social, political, and cultural contexts of their work. Artists include David, Ingres, Canova, Constable, Turner, Delacroix, Friedrich, Courbet, Manet, Monet, and Cezanne.

ARTH 253 - (3) (Y)
The Formation of Twentieth-Century Art
Study of the forms, concepts and development of modern art from post-impressionism and symbolism until World War I. Emphasizes the synthetism of Gauguin and his followers, the relationship between the symbolist writers and painters at the fin-de-siecle, fauvism and Matisse, cubism, futurism, German expressionism, and dada.

ARTH 254 - (3) (Y)
Modernist Art
Study of the forms, concepts and development of modern painting and sculpture from World War I to the present. Emphasizes representational and abstract art of the 1920s and 1930s, abstract expressionism, pop art, color field painting, minimal and idea art, new realism, neo-impressionism, and the post-modern.

ARTH 258 - (3) (Y)
American Art
Study of the development of American art in its cultural context from the seventeenth century to World War II.

ARTH 261 - (3) (IR)
Buddhist Art From India to Japan
A survey of the Buddhist sculpture, architecture and painting of India, China and Japan. Consideration given to aspects of history and religious doctrine.

ARTH 280 - (3) (Y)
Art Since 1945
A survey of art production and theory in the U.S. and Europe since World War II. Relationships between artistic practice and critical theory are stressed in an examination of movements ranging from Abstract Expressionism to Neo-Geo.

ARTH 290 - (3) (IR)
The History of Photography
A general survey of the photographic medium from 1839 to the present. Emphasis on the technical, aesthetic, and critical issues particular to the medium.

ARTH 313 - (3) (IR)
Art and Poetry in Classical Greece
Study of the major themes in Greek sculpture and painting of the fifth century, including mythological narrative, cult practices, banqueting, and athletics. In order to view these themes in the context of classical Greek culture, the course seeks out shared structures of response and feeling in contemporary poetry; readings in translation in Anakreon, Pindar, Aischylos, Sophokles, and Euripides.

ARTH 315 - (3) (IR)
The Greek City
Study of the Greek city from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period, with an emphasis on developing concepts of city planning, public buildings and houses, and the inclusion within the city of works of sculpture and painting.

ARTH 316 - (3) (IR)
Roman Architecture
Study of the history of Roman architecture from the Republic to the late empire with special emphasis on the evolution of urban architecture in Rome. Also considered are Roman villas, Roman landscape architecture, the cities of Pompeii and Ostia, major sites of the Roman provinces, and the architectural and archaeological field methods used in dealing with ancient architecture.

ARTH 322 - (3) (Y)
Age of Cathedrals
An examination of the art, architecture, religion and ritual at selected medieval abbeys and cathedrals in France, England and Italy from the late 12th to early 14th centuries. Sites include the Abbey of St. Denis, Canterbury Cathedral, Chartres Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, the Ste Chapelle, Westminster Abbey, the Cathedral of Siena and the Cathedral of Florence. Students should have experience (preferably at college level) in analyzing historical issues.

ARTH 327 - (3) (IR)
Russian Art to Peter I
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Study of mosaics, wall paintings, icons and church architecture in Russia from the Kievan period to Peter the Great (950-1700). Special emphasis on connections with Byzantium and on the theological significance of icons.

ARTH 333- (3) (IR)
Renaissance Art and Literature
Examines the interrelations between literature and the visual arts in Italy from 1300 to 1600. The writings of Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio and their followers are analyzed in relation to the painting, sculpture and architecture of Giotto, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Raphael, and Michelangelo, among others.

ARTH 342 - (3) (IR)
Rembrandt
Study of the life and work of the great Dutch seventeenth-century master. Topics include Rembrandt's interpretation of the Bible and the nature of his religious convictions, his relationship to classical and Renaissance culture, his rivalry with Rubens, and the expressive purposes of his distinctive techniques in painting, drawing, and etching.

ARTH 357 - (3) (IR)
American Art and Literature
Prerequisites: Background in either American art and/or literature (e.g., ARTH 258, ENLT 213, ENLT 214, or the ENAM 300/400 sequence) is useful
Studies in the relation between American visual art, especially painting, and American literature as forms of cultural expression, defined around a particular topic: e.g., seascape in art and literature; realism in the late 19th century; New England as region.

ARTH 380 - (3) (IR)
African Art
Study of Africa's chief forms of visual art from prehistoric times to the present.

ARTH 385 - (3) (IR)
Women in American Art
Analysis of the roles played by women both as visual artists and as the subjects of representation in American art from the colonial period to the present. Explores the changing cultural context and institutions that support or inhibit women's artistic activity and help to shape their public presentation. Some background in either art history or women's studies is desirable.

ARTH 437 - (3) (IR)
Michelangelo
Prerequisite: One course in the history of art beyond the level of ARTH 101 and ARTH 102 and permission of instructor
The work of Michelangelo in sculpture, painting and architecture, studied in relation to his contemporaries in Italy and the North. Study of preparatory drawings, letters, poems and documents.

ARTH 491 - (3) (S)
Undergraduate Seminar in the History of Art
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Subject varies with the instructor, who may decide to focus attention either on a particular period, artist, or theme, or on the broader question of the aims and methods of art history. Subject is announced prior to each registration period. Representative subjects include the life and art of Pompeii, Roman painting and mosaics, history and connoisseurship of Baroque prints, art and politics in revolutionary Europe, Picasso and painting, and problems in American art and culture.

ARTH 497, 498 - (6) (S)
Undergraduate Thesis
A thesis of approximately 50 written pages is researched and written during the fall and spring semesters by art history majors in their fourth year who have been accepted into the department's Distinguished Majors Program.

ARTH 501 - (1) (Y)
Library Methodology in the Visual Arts
Review of printed and computerized research tools in fine arts, including architecture and archeology. Required of all incoming art history graduate students.

ARTH 516 - (3) (IR)
Roman Architecture
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
A survey of Roman architecture in Italy and the Roman Empire from the Republic to Constantine, with special emphasis on developments in the city of Rome.

ARTH 518 - (3) (IR)
Roman Imperial Art and Architecture I
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Study of Roman sculpture, painting, architecture and minor arts from Augustus to Trajan.

ARTH 519 - (3) (IR)
Roman Imperial Art and Architecture II
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Study of Roman sculpture, mosaics, architecture and minor arts from Trajan to Constantine.

ARTH 522 - (3) (IR)
Byzantine Art
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Study of the art of Byzantium and its cultural dependencies, from its roots in the late Antique period to the last flowering under the Palaeologan dynasty.

ARTH 533 - (3) (IR)
Italian Fifteenth Century Painting I
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Study of the major and minor masters of the Quattrocento in Florence, Siena, Central Italy, Venice and North Italy.

ARTH 537 - (3) (IR)
Italian Renaissance Sculpture I
Prerequisite: Permission of instructor
Study of the major developments in Italian sculpture from the late Dugento through the early Quattrocento.

ARTH 559 - (3) (E)
Representations of Race in American Art
Examines the depiction of Asian, Blacks, Indians, and Latinos in American art from colonial times to the present, in order to identify and describe some of the ways in which visual images have functioned in the construction and reinforcement of racial mythologies.

ARTH 580 - (3) (IR)
African Art
A survey of Africa's chief forms of visual art from prehistoric times to the present.

ARTH 590 - (3) (Y)
Museum Studies
Prerequisites: 9-12 credits in art history or permission of instructor
A lecture course on the nature of public art collections, how they have been formed, and the role they play in society. Examines the concept of connoisseurship and its role in collecting art for museums.

ARTH 591, 592 - (3) (S)
Advanced Readings in the History of Art

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