Art History

ARTH 101 - Western Art I: Ancient and Medieval (4)

This course explores the art and architecture of the ancient and medieval eras, including study of the cultures of the Mediterranean, Near East, and northern Europe. Students will master a chronological history of representation and investigate the relationship between works of art and the cultures in which they were produced.

Offered: fall semester.

ARTH 102 - Western Art II: Pre-Modern and Modern (4)

This course is a chronological survey of western art and architecture from the fourteenth century through the early twentieth century. It explores various geographic regions and diverse contexts, religious, social, political and economic, in which the works were made. Key art historical periods such as the Renaissance, the Baroque, and subsequent movements such as Romanticism, Impressionism, and Modernism are discussed. Students will master a chronological history of art and architecture in relation to the cultures in which they were produced.

Offered: spring semester.

ARTH 301 - Greek and Roman Art (4)

This course studies the art and architecture of the ancient Greek and Roman worlds, from the Bronze Age Aegean through the late imperial Roman era. The study will be chronological, with focus on topics that may include the "Greek revolution," Roman architectural innovations, social constructs and the human body, urban planning, and art and political ideology. The classical ideal and its revival may be explored, including study of the Romans as early collectors of Greek art.

Offered: fall semester in odd numbered years.

ARTH 302 - Medieval Art (4)

This course examines the art produced from the fourth through the fourteenth centuries, from late antiquity through the end of the Gothic era. Painting, architecture, and sculpture will be the main concern, with some attention also to ivories, metalwork, and textiles. Works of art will be studied in their religious, political, social, and stylistic contexts, and topics may include the adaptation of late Roman art for Christian patrons, iconoclasm, monastic art, pilgrimage, manuscript painting and ideology, and the dissemination of architectural style.

Offered: fall semester in even-numbered years.

ARTH 303 - Italian Renaissance Art (4)

The art of the Italian Renaissance from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries is examined in this course. Painting, sculpture and architecture of major artistic centers such as Florence, Rome and Venice and the diverse social structure of these autonomous city-states will be the main focus. Major figures such as Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Michelangelo, Cellini, and Titian are examined in a variety of political, social, and religious contexts. Issues concerning the paragone, the changing status of the artist, artist's biographies and the construction of identity, wealth, patronage both private and public, women, and the process by which art is made and changing philosophies of conservation are some of the topics discussed.

Offered: fall semester in even-numbered years.

ARTH 304 - Baroque and Rococo Art (4)

This class concentrates on the work of the major painters, sculptors and architects of the 17th century, including Bernini, Caravaggio, Rubens, and Velazquez. French, Italian, Flemish, Netherlandish, and Spanish art is discussed in the context of historical events such as the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter-Reformation. Attention is given to the growth of the city as artistic center with particular focus on: Rome, Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid. Related issues pertaining to the growth of the art market, the patron/artist relationship, the emergence of the female artist, and the "international" exchange of ideas are just some of the issues addressed in this course.

Offered: fall semester in odd-numbered years.

ARTH 305 - 19th-Century European Art (4)

This course surveys European art from the late eighteenth century to the turn of the twentieth, with a focus on the social and political contexts in which works were produced, exhibited, sold and interpreted. The changing definitions of modernity and modernism in the visual arts; ideal images of masculinity and femininity; the hierarchy of artistic genres and the rise of landscape painting are among the many themes discussed.

Offered: spring semesters in odd-numbered years.

ARTH 306 - Early 20th-Century Art (4)

This course focuses on painting and sculpture in the first half of the 20th century, exploring the revolutionary styles developed during this period. Subjects discussed include artists' preoccupation with the "primitive" and the unconscious, the concept of an "avant-garde" and the rise of the artistic manifesto, and the development of abstract visual languages.

Offered: annually.

ARTH 307 - American Art (4)

This course provides a chronological survey of American painting and sculpture produced between the colonial period and World War I and the diverse art historical methodologies (feminism, social history and psychoanalysis, for example) that have been employed to interpret it and write its histories. Some Native American material is also included. Works of art will be situated within their broad social historical contexts and considered in light of such topics as the "Americanness" of American art and the usefulness of studying art within individual national "schools"; the place of African-American and women artists in US art history; transnational exchange with Europe; the development and role of art institutions; the connections between American art and literature; and the relationship between art and national identity.

Offered: every third year in spring semester.

Students may petition to substitute a Comparative Humanities course for this requirement when that course is at least half art history in content.

ARTH 208 - Islamic Art (4)

This course examines the history of ten centuries of Islamic art and architecture both chronologically and thematically. It begins with a study of medieval Islamic art of the Near East and Mediterranean, examining major themes and regional variations. Study will then shift to select monuments of Islamic art from the fourteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The focus may include architecture and manuscript painting, with some attention also to metalwork, pottery, and textiles. Issues considered may include: Islamic aesthetic attitudes, definitions of Islamic art, adaptations of a late antique artistic vocabulary, cross-cultural influence, architecture and ritual, and ideology and style in manuscript painting.

Offered: spring semester in even numbered years.

ARTH 231 - Native Arts and Archaeology of Latin America (4) (Same as: ANTH 231.)

This course focuses on the development and character of indigenous cultures of Latin America before the arrival of Europeans. Themes of power, economy, religion, ritual, and symbolism that uniquely characterize Latin American native societies are examined primarily through art, architecture and material culture. The course follows a topical and comparative approach drawing on data from archaeology, art history, ethnography and ethnohistory.

Same as: ANTH 231.

Offered: Check ANTH listings for up-to-date offering times.

Prerequisite: ANTH 103, ANTH 104 or permission of the instructor.

ARTH 251 - Arts of Africa and The Diaspora (4)

Topics discussed will include: Art and Audience (considering the relationship between the object and its content of display, which can include masking as well as royal regalia meant to reinforce leadership); Space and Place (art works as markers of space--spiritual, domestic, etc.)--and referents of place); The Cultured Body (the human form in art, as well as dress and body arts); and Africa in the World (art works that reflect Africa's historic engagement with the world, ie., use of imported materials, "foreign" iconography, but also the impact of African art in the world). Within these themes, we will examine select case studies in depth and will incorporate historic and contemporary forms.

Offered: Check ANTH listings for up-to-date offering times.

ARTH 256 - The Art of Ancient Egypt: History and Modern Myth (4)

In this course we study the art and architecture of ancient Egypt, from the Predynastic era through Roman rule, from the fourth millennium BCE to the fourth century CE. Students will master the major sites and monuments of ancient Egypt, achieving an in-depth understanding of the artistic, religious, political, and social contexts of these works. The second major goal of the course will be to study the historiography of ancient Egypt and consider contemporary constructions of the culture of ancient Egypt, examining the effect of global forces such as colonialism and discourses such as Orientalism on the creation of a history of Egypt. The strong local collections of ancient Egyptian art will be incorporated into the course through museum visits, discussion, and paper assignments.

Offered: spring semester in odd-numbered years.

ARTH 312 - Arts of Asia (4)

This course focuses on a special theme or period in Asian art, such as Chinese traditions and their modern expressions, the East Asian nature traditions, and arts of India.

Course may be repeated.

Offered: spring semester in even-numbered years.

ARTH 310 - Colloquium in Art History (4)

A course primarily based on student discussion, reading, argumentation, and presentation. Topics will vary and might include: Rivalry in the Renaissance: Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo; Bernini and the Visual Arts; Symbolism and the 1890s; Figurative Art of the 1940s-1980s. The colloquium will introduce students to various research methods, the scholarship related to the particular topic of the course. Students will become familiar with the variety of sources available and learn to access, assess and utilize them in a critical fashion.

Signature of instructor required for registration.

Course may be repeated.

Offered: every year.

ARTH 385 - New York Semester on Contemporary Art (4-8)

The New York Semester on Contemporary Art offers students the unique and exciting opportunity to learn about the ongoing history of art since 1945 through the combination of reading, class presentation and discussion, and visits to artists' studios, museum and gallery exhibitions and public art projects. By pursuing each of these paths of discovery students learn about the major movements associated with the postwar period (Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Feminist Art, and others) as well as overarching themes of expression (identity, for example), changing processes and modes of making, interpretive methodologies, expanding definitions of art, relationships between art theory and practice, and the roles of art institutions and cultural workers (critics, curators, historians) in mediating our experience of contemporary art.

Signature of instructor required for registration.

Offered: fall semester.

Prerequisite: ARTH 306.

ARTH 400 - Research Seminar Capstone (4)

Topics vary. Reading and discussion of primary texts and scholarship pertinent to a special topic, such as Michelangelo, decorative ensembles of the 16th and 17th centuries, Symbolism and the 1890s, and Abstract Art. When possible, seminar topics are linked to a special exhibition on view in New York City. Seminars involve an in-depth study of the historiography and the scholarship related to a particular topic resulting in the ability to recognize and employ a variety of art historical methodologies and theories and contribute original research to the field through a final research paper or project.

Offered: every year.

8 credits of studio courses offered by the Art Department.

Special Topics:Each year additional courses will be offered on more specific topics, such as Medieval Manuscripts. These will be offered under ARTH 319 - Special Topics in Art HistoryandARTH 310 - Colloquium in Art History. We urge students to take a variety of additional courses beyond the basic requirements.

Languages: Proficiency in French or German is recommended if students anticipate pursuing a graduate degree in Art History.

Regular use of New York and area museums and galleries is considered part of all course work.