Art History
Course Overview
Art history is history at its most accessible and most compelling. Tracing a storyline through Western history using masterworks of sculpture, architecture, and painting allows us to actively involve ourselves comparing and contrasting the determining values, physiological underpinnings, and changing world views of historical societies. The face and feeling of the human drama that underlies historical "events" is stored in these art works, providing valuable perspectives available to the keen and open eye. Art history best illustrates to us that our place and plight in the history of human consciousness is most ably understood by creatively confronting with a ready sensitivity these storehouses of perspectives from our past.
The goal of this block will be to place the art works we examine within the context of empires, epochs, trends and events of history. Comparing and contrasting the details of the artistic choices (subject matter, techniques, composition, dramatic and narrative devices) from these differing eras allows us to develop a descriptive vocabulary to better communicate our response to any work of art. Integrating art within this historical context and developing a descriptive language gives us an able confidence to intuit from our individual articulated responses to these art works larger generalizations about cultural and historical change.
Outline
- Introduction - Art and History: Definitions
- Classical - Egyptian, Greek, Hellenistic, Roman
- Early Christian/Byzantine/Medieval Art and Architecture
- Renaissance
- Late Renaissance/Reformation and Counter Reformation
- 16th and 17th Century Northern European Art
- 18th Century/Baroque vs Classicism
- Romanticism vs Realism
- Self Portraits
- Impressionism
- Post Impressionism
- 20th Century Art
- Contemporary Art
- Museum Field Trip
Evaluation
Evaluation will be based on your Main Lesson Books, in-class essay examinations, and note taking.
Main Lesson Book
- Essay (250 words) on a personal definition of art (what is art and why is art important?)
- Timeline of the significant movements, art works, and artists OR neatly synthesized class notes/outline
- Technical analysis (500 words) of a particular artwork of interest to you concentrating on the compositional choices the artist made and the effects these choices have on your appreciation of the work.
- Short biography (250 words) of an artist of interest to you.
- Comparison and contrast of two works of art (250 - 500 words) or "neatened up" versions of two of your in-class comparison and contrast essays.
- Outline/Speech/Essay (10 - 15 spoken minutes) about the history of a particular artist's painting/sculpture from the collection of the museum we choose to visit to be presented for the class. Describe how the particular work fit into the artist biography of the artist, how it is typical/atypical of the artist's style, details of the creation, technical analysis, similar works from other artist or eras, and the impact (positive or negative) the painting has on your sensibilities. Your job is to use your research and careful observation of an artwork to increase or excite our appreciation of that work as art. If you want, you can duplicate 3, 4, 5, 6 about the same artist and artwork (but where's the fun in that?)
I fully support anyone who wants to create their own Main Lesson Book requirements that illustrate their involvement with art as a reflexive source of history. If you want to substitute your own ideas of any (or all) of the requirements I have suggested above, talk to me before the end of the second week (Friday 9/17).
In-Class Essay Examinations and Note Taking
There will be short in-class essay examinations every session. You will be given 5 minute identifications (identifying artworks by artist, period, rough date, and importance of the work in the history of art) and/or 10 minute comparison/contrast of two separate works.
Writing in-class essays is a skill that you will use (and benefit from) your entire academic career. Organizing, prioritizing, and presenting your ideas and acquired knowledge in readable paragraph form is a standard college evaluation measure. You will not be expected to fully succeed as in-class essayists; your evaluation for this block will be based on your effort and your improvements.
Note taking is another vital academic skill that will also be stressed. Good notes are the foundation of good spontaneous in-class essaying; all examinations will be open note examinations. What form your note taking follows is up to you, but each student must take notes every session.
Keep your notes together in a folder, book, or binder and bring this folder, book, or binder to class every session. Each of you will take turns sharing your notes with the entire class, so if your notes are written backwards and in Latin or are in some other way only readable to your expert eye, you must re-copy (or type) your shared notes for the class' benefit.