ART 101 • HISTORY OF WESTERN ART – FOUNDATIONS
M,W,F 10:20 – 11:10 • Fall 2004 • Fine Arts M120
Instructor: Dr. Elizabeth Lee
Office location: Fine Arts A105
Email: leee@wabash.edu
Office phone: 361-6241
Office hours: when not in class or a meeting
(email/call for an appointment or stop by)
Course description: This course spans a period of artistic production in painting, sculpture and architecture from the early Middle Ages through the end of the twentieth century. Students can expect to leave the course with the ability to identify and distinguish major artistic styles and movements included in this chronological sweep. From one period to the next, the course will take into account relevant points of continuity and change, emphasizing the historical contexts in which works of art are created. Course readings will introduce students to a variety of interpretive approaches which highlight a range of methodological perspectives used by art historians. Students will engage with some of these approaches in research projects on specific works of art, tracing how they’ve been used to interpret (and re-interpret) a single object over time. As a class, we will also discuss some of the more controversial issues in the art world today, including the role of the canon, the museum and censorship in art. In addition, the course will aid students in developing a visual vocabulary for discussing the formal aspects of art, such as color, composition and line.
Textbook: There is one required text: Fred S. Kleiner et. al, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective, 11th Edition (Wadsworth, 2003), available at the book store. There is also one copy on library reserve. Additional readings will be posted on Blackboard.
Course schedule:
F, 8/27 – Introduction to course.
The Medieval World
M, 8/30 – Early Medieval Art. Read Gardner, Chapter 11, “Europe After the Fall of Rome: Early Medieval Art in the West.”
W, 9/1 – Romanesque Art. Read Gardner, Chapter 12, “The Age of Pilgrims and Crusaders: Romanesque Art.”
F, 9/3 – Gothic Art. Read Gardner, Chapter 13, “The Age of the Great Cathedrals: Gothic Art.”
M, 9/6 – Presentation by Greg Huebner, “The Painter’s Point of View.” Meet in Fine Arts A133. Discussion of formal analysis.
W, 9/8 – Gothic Art, cont’d.
The Renaissance in Northern Europe and Italy
F, 9/10 – Northern Renaissance Art. Read Gardner, Chapter 15, “Of Piety, Passion and Politics: Fifteenth-Century Art in Northern Europe and Spain.”
M, 9/13 – Guest lecture by Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, Richard Leppert, “Food for Thought: Representation, Eating, and the Imaginary Self.”
*special event: 8-9:30pm – opening for sculptor Dale Enochs at the Eric Dean Gallery
W, 9/15 –Early Renaissance. Read Gardner, Chapter 14, “From Gothic to Renaissance: The Fourteenth Century in Italy.” Formal analysis due.
F, 9/17 – Florentine Renaissance. Read Gardner, Chapter 15, “Of Piety, Passion and Politics: Fifteenth-Century Art in Northern Europe and Spain.”
M, 9/20 – Florentine Renaissance, cont’d.
W, 9/22 – High Renaissance. Read Gardner, Chapter 17, “Beauty, Science and Spirit in Italian Art: The High Renaissance and Mannerism.”
F, 9/24 – High Renaissance, cont’d. Student presentation: Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa.
M, 9/27 – High Renaissance, cont’d. Discussion: the female nude in art. Read John Berger, Chapter 3 (on Blackboard).
W, 9/29 – Review for first exam.
F, 10/1 – Exam I
Baroque Art
M, 10/4 – Baroque Art. Read Gardner, Chapter 19, “Of Popes, Peasants, Monarchs, and Merchants: Baroque and Rococo Art.”
W, 10/6 – Baroque Art, cont’d. Student presentation: Diego Velásquez’ Las Meninas.
F, 10/8 – Baroque Art, cont’d.
M, 10/11 – Rococo Art. Discussion: oil painting as commodity. Read John Berger, Chapter 5 (on Blackboard). First response paper due.
The Enlightenment
W, 10/13 – The Enlightenment. Read Gardner, Chapter 20, “The Enlightenment and its Legacy: Neoclassicism Through the Mid-Nineteenth Century.”
F, 10/15 – Midsemester Break
M, 10/18 – The Enlightenment, cont’d. Student presentation: Jacques-Louis David’s The Oath of the Horatii.
W, 10/20 – The Enlightenment, cont’d. View On Orientalism in class. Read Linda Nochlin, “The Imaginary Orient” (on Blackboard).
F, 10/22 – No class. Work on Orientalism worksheet.
Modern art
M, 10/25 – Realism. Read Gardner, Chapter 21, “The Rise of Modernity: The Later Nineteenth Century.” Orientalism worksheet due.
W, 10/27 – Realism, cont’d.
F, 10/29 – Impressionism.
M, 11/1 – Post-Impressionism and Symbolism. Student presentation: George Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte.
*special event: 8-9:30pm – opening at the Eric Dean Gallery for installation artist Jennifer Mannebach
W, 11/3 – Fauvism, German Expressionism. Read Gardner, Chapter 22, “The Triumph of Modernist Art: The Early Twentieth Century.”
F, 11/5 – Cubism. Student presentation: Pablo Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.
M, 11/8 – Futurism, Dada.
*special event: 8pm – The Guerilla Girls in Salter Hall (required).
W, 11/10 – Surrealism and Abstraction.
F, 11/12 – American art between the wars.
M, 11/15 – Review for second exam.
W, 11/17 – Exam II
Postmodernism
F, 11/19 – Abstract Expressionism and Pop art. Read Gardner, Chapter 23, “The Emergence of Postmodernism: The Later Twentieth Century.” Student presentation: Jackson Pollock’s Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist).
M, 11/22 – F, 11/26 – Thanksgiving break
M, 11/29 – Minimalism and site-specific art.
W, 12/1 – Preparation for field trip. Discussion: the museum as institution. Read Diepveen/Van Laar, “Art Museums: Organizers of Culture” (on Blackboard).
*special event: Thursday, December 2 – Field trip to Chicago (required)
F, 12/3 – Postmodern art. Read Gardner, 895-919.
M, 12/6 – Postmodernism, cont’d. Discussion: the politics of culture. Read “Culture Wars and the Canon” from McEnroe/Polinski text (on Blackboard). Second response paper (on museum visit) due.
W, 12/8 – Discussion: censorship and art. Clip from Damned in the U.S.A. Read “Public Funding for the Arts” from McEnroe/Polinski text (on Blackboard).
F, 12/10 – Course evaluations and prepare for final exam.
Thursday, December 16 at 9:00am – Final Exam!
Attendance policy: Students are expected to attend class regularly and to arrive on time. Up to three unexcused absences are allowed – any absence after that will cost a letter grade in the final grade for the course. For every two latenesses (defined as anytime after class has started), a student will receive one unexcused absence. Attendance is required outside the classroom for one of the two gallery openings (Sept. 13 or Nov. 1), at the Guerilla Girls performance (Nov. 8) and the field trip to Chicago (Dec. 2).
Assignments: By definition, a survey course moves quickly over a broad period of time. Students are encouraged to preview assigned chapters prior to coming to class and then read them more carefully after class based on material covered. Reading questions will be posted on Blackboard with every chapter to help identify significant points in the text. Students are also encouraged to review the material on a weekly basis in order to avoid being overwhelmed before the exam. A review sheet will be handed out prior to each exam with specific works of art students are expected to be able to identify (name of artist, title of work, approximate date) and discuss. Essays and other types of discussion questions will be emphasized on the exam more than the memorization of straightforward facts. In addition to three exams, there is a short paper assignment due early in the semester on one of the works of art in the Wabash College collection. In addition, students will be divided into groups and assigned a specific painting from the book (see syllabus) to research. They will present these findings in class and submit a group paper – both a draft and a final version – on their results. There will also be two short response papers required on discussion oriented readings.
The breakdown of assignments is as follows:
Formal analysis (1st paper): 10%
Three exams: 20% each – total of 60%
Group reports: 15% (includes draft and class presentation)
Two response papers: 10%
Participation and miscellaneous
homework assignments: 5%