Office: UMF Art Gallery
Office hours/discussion: W 12-2
Course Description: This course focuses on the history of western art from the paleolithic through the medieval periods. Emphasis is placed on the social, cultural and political ideas that informed this art and architecture.
Course Objectives:
1. To demonstrate understanding of works of art and architecture within their cultural contexts.
2. To understand and demonstrate ways of critically analyzing artworks.
3. To demonstrate understanding of the development of period and individual artistic styles.
4. To demonstrate understanding of how the functions of art, the artist, the patron and the viewer change through time.
5. To identify important works by artist, culture, title, date, location and style. (To spell these things correctly, too.)
6. To define and use relevant vocabulary in discussing art.
7. To demonstrate understanding of how our view of art of different periods and people is affected by our cultural context.
Required texts:
1. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, vol. I, 12th edition. Available for purchase at Devaney, Doak and Garrett bookstore (on Broadway, across the street from Reny’s). If you have an older edition of this text or have Stokstad’s Art History volume I it will work, but use it carefully--you should regularly check a classmate’s Gardner 12th to see that you are not missing anything. Other assigned readings will be on reserve at the library. Please bring your book to class everyday.
Attendance: Mandatory. If you miss a class, get notes from a reliable classmate as soon as possible—class notes are your primary study guide. After reviewing the notes, meet with me for clarification and questions. Exams will be based on lectures, discussions, and readings. You are required to check your email regularly (daily, ideally) for updates from me
Grading: Grades will be determined by four equally weighted exams and a paper. Each of the exams will focus on material learned since the previous exam but may include questions concerning important material from previous exams (usually for points of comparison). The exams will contain several kinds of questions--slide-identifications, short answers and essays. The last test will happen during finals week and may be broader in scope. Some exams may be take-home, at my discretion. There are no makeup exams, so please clear those dates now.
The paper will be a 7-10 page formal and historical analysis of an object at the MFA in Boston on 16 September. For those of you who absolutely can’t make it to Boston with us, please see me and we’ll find alternative objects for study.
I am happy to make accommodations for disabilities or if English is not your first language: Please notify/remind me at least a week before each exam if accommodations are required.
DATES TO REMEMBER (subject to change!):
Field trip: Boston MFA, Saturday, 16 September (leave 7am, return 11pm)
Paper: Thursday, 21 September
Exam 1: Thursday, 28 September
Exam 2: Thursday, 26 October
Exam 3: Tuesday, 23 November
Exam 4: Final Exam Week Tuesday 1-3 pm (this could change depending on exam format)
TIPS ON STUDYING: I HIGHLY recommend study groups—you will do well in the course only if you are truly conversant with the material. To be conversant you should be able to explain without prompting each artwork in the ways described in the course objectives while applying material from readings and class notes in an intelligent, carefully considered way. After thoroughly reviewing and synthesizing both the readings and the class notes, most people find that the best way of studying is through comparisons. First, choose two works for comparison. Identify each work by artist, date, culture, location of culture, material and technique. Then ask yourself basic questions like these:
What, specifically, was the function/purpose of each work? Where were the works intended to be? How does scale and placement affect the work’s impact on the viewer? What was the intended response of the viewer? Who were the patrons, and what role did the patron play in determining content and
In what ways are the works similar? Think of subject matter, narrative, artist’s intent, viewer response, composition, form. Why was the work made and why was it made in this manner? What choices did the artist make?
In what ways are the works different? How do they differ and why? Identify social, cultural and political and/or aesthetic reasons for the differences. What differences are due to the artists’ individual styles vs. their period/cultural styles? In what way does the style itself convey meaning?
Models for comparison:
Works from different periods and cultures but with related functions /messages/intent
Works from the same period and culture, same or different functions/messages/intent
Works from same period/culture but different styles