Art History
2023 - 2024 Catalog
Art History minor
A minor in art history requires completion of 21 credits as follows. A student may not complete both a major and a minor in art history. In meeting the requirements of this discipline-based minor, a student may not use more than nine credits used to meet the requirements of another major or minor.
- Two courses chosen from ARTH 101, 102, 130, 140, 141, and 170
- Three ARTH courses chosen from ARTH 125, 141 (if not used to satisfy introductory requirement), 146, 195, ARTH courses at the 200 level, and, when appropriate and approved in advance, MRST 110
- Two ARTH courses at the 300 level, and, when appropriate and approved in advance, LACS 396
Students completing the minor will have familiarity with a broad swath of art history through 100 and 200-level courses, as well as exposure to specific problems or periods presented to them in 300-level seminars. Though students are not required to participate in the senior seminar for majors nor to write a senior thesis, they may do so if they wish.
- Two courses chosen from:
- ARTH 101 - Survey of Western Art: Ancient to Medieval
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 Chronological survey of Western art from the Paleolithic Age through the Middle Ages in Italy and Northern Europe. Examination of cultural and stylistic influences in the art and architecture of ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Consideration of distinct interests of Early Christian, Byzantine, and Medieval Europe. Focus on major monuments and influential images produced up to circa 1400.
- ARTH 102 - Survey of Western Art: Renaissance to the Present
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 Chronological survey of Western art from the Renaissance through the present. Topics include the Renaissance, from its cultural and stylistic origins through the Mannerist movement; the Baroque and Rococo; the Neoclassical reaction; Romanticism and Naturalism; the Barbizon School and Realism; Impressionism and its aftermath; Fauvism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop, Minimalism, and the Postmodern reaction to Modernism.
- ARTH 130 - African American Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course focuses on the creative production, contemporary reception, and critical interpretation of African American art from the colonial period to the present. While visual representations of and by African Americans provide the content for this course, the broader issues they raise are applicable to images, objects, and structures from a variety of cultures and civilizations. Indeed, this course will engage at least three general themes central to art historical and visual cultural studies generally: 1. Cultural encounters within colonial contexts; 2. Constructions of "race" and "blackness" within African American art; and 3. Conceptualizations of "blackness" as it underpins "Modernism" in 20th-21st century.
- ARTH 140 - Asian Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of artistic traditions from South (including the Himalayan region), East, and Southeast Asia from roughly the 1st to the 18th centuries CE. The course focuses on a wide range of media - including architecture, sculpture, painting, textiles, and book arts - that serve a spectrum of religious and secular functions. The broad temporal, geographic, and topical scope of this course is meant to provide students with a basic understanding of not only the greatest artistic achievements and movements in Asia, but also the historical and political contexts that gave rise to these extraordinary pieces of art.
- ARTH 141 - Buddhist Art of South and Central Asia
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course investigates the multivalent world of Buddhist art from South and Central Asia, particularly areas that now fall within the modern-day boundaries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, China, Tibet, and Nepal. We study the nascent forms of Buddhist imagery and its ritual functions from the Indo-Pak subcontinent, focus on monumental sculpture and cave architecture of Central Asia (Afghanistan and the Tarim Basin) and issues of iconoclasm, and study the art and iconography of the Himalayas, as well as current-day production and restoration practices of Tantric Buddhist art.
- ARTH 170 - Arts of Mesoamerica and the Andes
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 Survey of the art and architecture of Mesoamerica and the Andes before the arrival of the Europeans, with a focus on indigenous civilizations including the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca. Art is contextualized in terms of religious, social, political, and economic developments in each region under discussion. The class includes a trip to the Virginia Museum of fine Arts in Richmond or the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor.
- Three ARTH courses chosen from:
- ARTH 125 - The Business of Contemporary Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 4 Same as BUS 125. This course combines finance, tax policy, marketing, economics, and art history to provide a 'nuts-and-bolts' view of how the contemporary art world operates. Appropriate for business students with an interest in contemporary art as well as museum studies and art history majors who wish to gain an understanding of business concepts in the art world, the course serves as preparation for students who may anticipate acquiring art for personal or business investment/use, serving on a museum board, pursuing employment in the art world, or advising high wealth clients on business matters related to art. Each topic begins with an overview of general principles before reviewing applications to the art world. For example, discussion of charitable giving covers the general tax rules of charitable deductions before discussing the specific rules related to art and museums. Additional course fee.
- ARTH 141 - Buddhist Art of South and Central Asia
(if not used to satisfy introductory requirement)
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course investigates the multivalent world of Buddhist art from South and Central Asia, particularly areas that now fall within the modern-day boundaries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, China, Tibet, and Nepal. We study the nascent forms of Buddhist imagery and its ritual functions from the Indo-Pak subcontinent, focus on monumental sculpture and cave architecture of Central Asia (Afghanistan and the Tarim Basin) and issues of iconoclasm, and study the art and iconography of the Himalayas, as well as current-day production and restoration practices of Tantric Buddhist art.
- ARTH 146 - Introduction to Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies: Problems of Ownership and Curation
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 Cultural heritage objects are powerful artifacts to own, display, and even destroy. But why? This introductory course explores the ways art and cultural heritage objects have been stolen, laundered, purchased, curated, and destroyed in order to express political, religious, and cultural messages. Case studies and current events are studied equally to shed light on practices of looting and iconoclasm. Some of the questions we consider: What is the relationship between art and war? Under what conditions should museums return artifacts to the country/ethnic group from which the artifacts originated? What role do auction houses play in laundering art objects? What nationalist agendas are at work when cultural heritage objects are claimed by modem nation states or terrorist groups?
- ARTH 195 - Special Topics in Art History
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3-4 Selected topics in art history with written and oral reports. May be repeated if topics are different.
- ARTH 200 - Greek Art & Archaeology
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 An introduction to ancient Greek art and archaeology. We encounter some of the greatest works of art in human history, as we survey the development of painting, sculpture, architecture, and town planning of the ancient Greeks. We encounter the history of the people behind the objects that they left behind, from the material remains of the Bronze Age palaces and Classical Athenian Acropolis to the world created in the wake of Alexander the Great's conquests. We also consider how we experience the ancient Greek world today through archaeological practice, cultural heritage, and the antiquities trade.
- ARTH 204 - Art Works: Careers for Art Majors and Minors
Credits 1 Same as ARTS 204. This one-credit course prepares Art and Art History students to find internships and jobs. It assesses students' abilities and skills, provides resources about a variety of industries that majors pursue, helps students develop professional development tools, coaches them through mock interviews and networking, and showcases how to search and apply for internships and post-graduate opportunities.
- ARTH 209 - History of Western Architecture
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of Western architecture, including material from the ancient world to the 20th century, addressing the major traditions of architectural visual culture and practice. The course investigates the ways in which architecture has been designed to frame the significant socio-religious and political contexts of historical cultures.
- ARTH 211 - Islamic Art and Architecture
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This survey course introduces the art and architecture of the Islamic world from the origins of Islam in the 7th Century C.E. to the present day. Students will develop analytical and conceptual tools through rigorous engagement with a diverse set of buildings, artworks, and relevant textual sources (all available in English translation). Lectures will emphasize a diversity of methodological approaches to the visual traditions of the Islamic World, while also critically engaging with the field's complicated status within the History of Art.
- ARTH 212 - Islamic Art and Architecture: The First 400 Years
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 The 7th Century CE/1st Century AH was a time of great political, cultural, and religious change in Eurasia. Amid a power vacuum created by conflict between warring Byzantium and Sasanian Iran, a polity emerged, drawing authority from a new faith, Islam. For the subsequent 400 years following the initial Islamic conquest, a series of Caliphates sponsored the construction of vast urban spaces, monuments, mosques, palaces, and other structures, some of which have remained in continuous use since. Alongside this, patronage of the visual arts more broadly including manuscripts, ivories, metalwork, and other media also thrived. The course will consider how this artistic and architectural output came to define Islamic Art as a visual tradition and as an academic discipline. It will do so by tracing artistic developments across the early Islamic world, ranging from the Iberian Peninsula in the West to North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.
- ARTH 214 - The Art History of the Qur'an
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 4 Shortly after its revelation in the 7th Century, the Qur'an became an object of aesthetic and artistic attention. This class will explore the art historical development of Quranic manuscripts, architectural inscriptions, calligraphy, and other examples from the 7th century to the present day. Visits to the Special Collections department at Leyburn Library and to the American Museum of Asian Art in Washington DC will provide hands on experience with a number of Qur'an manuscripts.
- ARTH 240 - Arts of China
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This broad-based investigation of Chinese art from the Neolithic period to the present examines a wide spectrum of media: painting, illustrated scrolls, architecture, ceramics, and sculpture. This general survey will be paired with single-focused analyses of materials, issues, and genres particular to Chines art, such as the use of jade, development of ceramics, lore of calligraphy, and tradition of landscape painting. To this end, we use objects from the W&L Special Collections.
- ARTH 241 - The Arts of Japan
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This survey of Japanese art, which includes material from protohistoric times to the 20th century, is structured chronologically with lectures addressing seminal artistic developments and movements throughout Japan's history. Central to this course is an investigation of the ways in which Japan's dynamic socio-political contexts shaped its religious and political artistic developments.
- ARTH 242 - Arts of India
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course explores the artistic traditions of India from the earliest extant material evidence of the Indus Valley Civilization (circa 2500 BCE) to the elaborate painting and architectural traditions of the Mughal period (circa 16th - 18th centuries). The course analyzes the religious and ritual uses of temples, paintings, and sculptures, as well as their political role in expressing imperial ideologies.
- ARTH 243 - Imaging Tibet
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 4 An examination of images and imaging practices of the early 1900s to the present in order to define and analyze the ways in which both Western and Asian (particularly Tibetan and Chinese) artists have imagined Tibet and its people.
- ARTH 245 - Ancient Cultures, New Markets: Modern and Contemporary Asian Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course examines the art movements of the last one hundred years from India, China, Tibet, and Japan primarily through the lenses of the larger sociopolitical movements that informed much of Asia's cultural discourses: Colonialism, Post-Colonialism, Socialism, Communism, and Feminism. We also address debates concerning non-Western 20th-century art as peripheral to the main canons of Modern and Contemporary art. By the end of the course, students have created a complex picture of Asian art/artists, and have engaged broader concepts of transnationalism, as well as examined the roles of galleries, museums, and auction houses in establishing market value and biases in acquisition practices. Meets simultaneously with ARTH 394B-01. Students may not register or receive credit for both.
- ARTH 253 - Medieval Art in Southern Europe
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 Examination of the art and culture of Italy and Greece from the rise of Christianity to the first appearance of bubonic plague in 1348. Topics include early Christian art and architecture; Byzantine imagery in Ravenna and Constantinople during the Age of Justinian; iconoclasm; mosaics in Greece, Venice and Sicily; sculpture in Pisa; and the development of panel and fresco painting in Rome, Florence, Siena and Assisi.
- ARTH 254 - Medieval Art in Northern Europe
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 Survey of the art of France, Spain, Germany, and the British Isles from circa 700 to circa 1400. Discussions include Carolingian and Ottonian painting and architecture, Celtic and Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, and French cathedral design and decoration during the Romanesque and Gothic periods.
- ARTH 255 - Northern Renaissance Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of Northern painting from 1300 to 1600, examined as symbols of political, religious, and social concerns of painters, patrons, and viewers. Among the artists covered are Campin, van Eyck, van der Weyden, Durer, Holbein, and Brueghel. Emphasis placed on interpretation of meaning and visual analysis.
- ARTH 256 - Italian Renaissance Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 Survey of the art and architecture of Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries. The course focuses on innovations of the Early, High, and Late Renaissance through the work of Brunelleschi, Donatello, Masaccio, Alberti, Leonardo, Bramante, Raphael, and Michelangelo. Images are considered as exponents of contemporary political, social, and religious events and perceptions.
- ARTH 257 - Dutch Arts, Patrons, and Markets
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 During the 17th century, the practices of making and buying art boomed as never before in the Dutch Republic. With the creation of the first large-scale open art market, prosperous Dutch merchants, artisans, and civil servants bought paintings and prints in unprecedented numbers. Dutch 17th-century art saw the rise of new subjects, and landscapes, still lifes, and scenes of daily life replaced religious images and scenes from classical mythology. Portraiture also flourished in this prosperous atmosphere.
- ARTH 258 - Baroque and Rococo Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of the art and architecture that focuses on the stylistic and ideological issues shaping western Europe during 17th and 18th centuries.
- ARTH 261 - History of Photography
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 An art-historical introduction to the history of photography, from its origins in the 19th century to the present day. Lectures and discussions examine photography's aesthetic, documentary, and scientific purposes; important contributors to photography and its history; the evolution of the camera and related technical processes; and issues of photographic theory and criticism. Photography is considered as a medium with its own rich history - bearing in mind stylistic shifts and changes in subject matter related to aesthetic, social, and cultural concerns - but also as a key component in the wider narrative of modern art.
- ARTH 262 - 19th-Century European Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course begins in the late 18th century and covers major European art movements and criticism up to c.1900. Topics include the art of the French Revolution as an instrument of propaganda; the rise of Romanticism; the advent and impact of early photography; and the aesthetic and ideological origins of Modern Art.
- ARTH 263 - 20th-Century European Art
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course covers major European art movements and criticism from the late 19th century through the 20th century. Lectures and discussions explore the implications of what it means for art to be/appear modern," the social and aesthetic goals of the early avant-garde, the "rise and fall" of abstraction, and artistic responses to post-war mass culture. Movements discussed include Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, and New Realism."
- ARTH 264 - Surrealism
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 Surrealism was one of the most multi-faceted and influential intellectual movements of the 20th century with a legacy and practice that continues today. This seminar examines the key writings and ideas that underlie surrealism with a focus on its artistic practice. We will consider works by artists including Salvador DalÃ, René Magritte, and Max Ernst; watch surrealist films; discuss the significance of dreams; and play surrealist games of chance.
- ARTH 266 - American Art to 1945
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of painting and sculpture in the United States from its earliest settlement to about 1945. Lectures and discussions emphasize the English eastern seaboard development in the 17th and 18th centuries, though other geographical areas are included in the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics include art of the early colonies, the Hudson River School, Realism and Regionalism, and the reception of abstract art in the United States.
- ARTH 267 - Art Since 1945
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course introduces students to art and art theory from 1945 to the present. The objectives of the course are: (1) to enhance student knowledge of the major works, artists, and movements of art in Europe and the United States since 1945; (2) to integrate these works of art within the broader social and intellectual history of the period; and (3) to help students develop their skills in visual analysis and historical interpretation. Among the issues we examine are the politics of abstract art; the ongoing dialogue between art and mass culture; the differences between modernism and postmodernism; and contemporary critiques of art history's prevailing narratives. This is a lecture course with a heavy emphasis on in-class discussion.
- ARTH 268 - Modern Art in Barcelona
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 4 Spanning the years 1888 to 1939, a period bookended by the Barcelona Universal Exposition and the end of the Spanish Civil War, this course provides a firsthand look at the artists, architects, and designers who defined Catalan modern art in the late-19th and early 20thcentury. Students will study the aesthetic and socio-political circumstances of the 'Renaixança;' 'Noucentisme;' and the young artists who merged to define modern European art - famous names that include Picasso, Miró, and Dalí. We will then turn to the national capital, Madrid, to visit some of these artist's most celebrated artworks. Anticipated site visits during our abroad experience include Gaudí's Palau Güell, Casa Batlló, the Fundació Joan Miró, the Fudació Gala-Salvador Dalí, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina.
- ARTH 271 - Arts of Colonial Latin America
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of the art and architecture of Latin America from the 16th through 18th centuries. This course begins with an exploration of the art of the Aztec, Maya, Inca, and Spanish before cultural contact. Classes then explore the cultural convergence that resulted from the European military and spiritual conquest in the 16th century, focusing on the role of indigenous artists and traditions in the formation of early colonial culture. Later lectures consider the rise of nationalism and its effect on the arts. This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor.
- ARTH 274 - Art and Revolution: Mexican Muralism
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 A survey of public monumental art produced by Mexican artists Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros in Mexico and the United States from 1910 to the 1970s. Lectures focus on art that promotes social ideals and the role that art played in building a new national consciousness in Mexico. Students also examine the impact of Mexican muralism throughout Latin America and the United States. This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor.
- ARTH 275 - Community Muralism: The Art of Public Engagement
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 4 Same as ARTS 275. Our nation is currently witnessing a community mural renaissance. Public murals help to create welcoming and inclusive public spaces, build and solidify community identity, commemorate individuals or events, arouse social consciousness or impact social change, and recognize the voices of traditionally disempowered groups. During the term, we trace the historical development of community murals. Students participate in studio exercises that give them experience with a variety of methods, materials, and techniques necessary to plan, design, and produce a largescale community mural. We produce and document a mural in collaboration with a local community partner.
- ARTH 276 - Chicana/o Art and Muralism: From the Street to the (Staniar) Gallery
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 4 This class examines the process by which Chicana/o artists have garnered public attention and respect, taking their artworks from the peripheries of the art world to museum and gallery spaces. Using the half-mile long mural entitled The Great Wall of Los Angeles as a connecting thread, this class considers the broad theme of identity creation and transformation as expressed by Chicana/o artists from the 1970s to the present. This course fulfills the Arts and Humanities requirement for the LACS minor. Open to all students.
- ARTH 288 - Chinese Export Porcelain and the China Trade, 1500 to 1900
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3 This course covers the development and history of Chinese export porcelain made for the European and American markets and its role as a commodity in the China Trade. Students examine Chinese export porcelain from several different perspectives, including art history, material culture, and economic history.
- ARTH 295 - Special Topics in Art History
FDR HA Fine Arts Distribution Credits 3-4 Selected topics in art history with written and oral reports. May be repeated for degree credit if the topics are different.
when appropriate and approved in advance:
- MRST 110 - Medieval and Renaissance Culture: Humanities
FDR HU Humanities Distribution Credits 3 An introduction to the interdisciplinary study of the Medieval and Renaissance periods through the study of a particular topic. Recent studies: Elizabethan England, and Life and Death in Dante's Florence.
- Two ARTH courses at the 300 level
and, when appropriate and approved in advance:
- LACS 396 - Capstone Seminar in Latin American and Caribbean Studies
Credits 3 Prerequisite Latin America and Caribbean Studies minor This capstone course builds upon the foundations developed in LACS 101 and related coursework in the distribution areas. Students discuss assigned readings centered around a key theme or themes of Latin American Studies in connection with an individualized research project. This project is carried out with continual mentoring by a faculty member and in collaboration with peer feedback. Each student presents his/her findings in a formal paper, or other approved end-product, and summarizes the results in an oral presentation.