Lectures: Mondays, 1:30-3:20pm (HW 615)
Hendrik’s Office Hours: Mondays,: 3:30-4:30pm (HN 1500E)
Sections: Thursdays, 10:30-11:20am (HN 1311); 12:30pm-1:20pm (HE 618a/b)
Jonathan’s Office Hours: Mondays, 12-1pm, by appointment only
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OVERVIEW
Nowhere are the values, beliefs, priorities, aspirations, and fears of a society more evident than in its artistic production. Artists are the mirror of their times, whether as promoters of the status quo or as catalysts for revolution and social change. Consequently, this course is designed to provide not only an introduction to the history of art and architecture, but also a sense of the ways in which art and artists both shape and are shaped by the cultures in which they operate. We will learn key art-historical periods and cultures, and a sampling of artworks and monuments most characteristic of each period and culture, as well as the methods of art history: visual analysis, descriptive and analytical writing, important terms and concepts, and basic research skills. Although we will engage most deeply with Western art history in order to maintain a sense of cohesion and structure, emphasis will be given to how cultures across the world, from ancient Egypt to the present, have exchanged ideas to create new forms of art and how objects themselves circulated globally. In addition, all weekly lectures and discussion sections will have a thematic component focused on the relationship between the creators of art and the societies in which they lived and worked. We will encounter art that engages with religion, politics, globalism, imperialism, the body, gender, sex, ethnicity, and more. Art has never been produced in a vacuum: artists and patrons are powerful actors whose technical and aesthetic prowess can inspire awe, move minds, promote agendas, reinforce existing consensus or overturn it completely.
COURSE PARAMETERS
Art History 111 lays the foundation and is a prerequisite for all other art history courses offered by the Art & Art History Department. In addition, it can be used in partial fulfillment of the Core Requirements (Stage 2D) and fulfills the “Pluralism and Diversity” Requirement – Group D. It can also be used in partial fulfillment of the “individual and society” component of the Hunter/CUNY Common Core.
EVALUATION CRITERIA AND ASSIGNMENT DATES
Quiz: 5% (in discussion sections, weeks of September 19 and October 3)
Exam 1: 20% (in discussion sections, week of October 10)
Exam 2: 30% (in discussion sections, week of December 5)
Final Paper: 30% (due to discussion section instructor by Monday, December 12)
Participation in discussion sections and attendance: 15%
COURSE ORGANIZATION
Weekly lecture:
The weekly lectures will be held in 615 Hunter West from 1:30 to 3:20. There will be a weekly folder on Blackboard, where you’ll find an “image list” with artworks and terms/concepts from each week’s lecture that you’ll be responsible for knowing. The assigned readings, lectures, and image lists will serve as the basis for the material covered on all your quizzes and exams. Make sure to check in with your TA at the beginning of each lecture so they can verify your attendance.
Discussion sections:
Like the weekly lecture, discussion sections are planned to be held in person on the Hunter campus in Fall 2022. Each section meets once a week for 50 minutes and is led by a Teaching Assistant (TA). Sections are scheduled on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays at 10:30, 11:30 and 12:30, in one of the following rooms: 1501, 1502, 1503, 1515 or 1602 Hunter North. Students should check their schedule of classes to determine when and where their discussion section meets. These sections provide a small-group context for discussing, commenting on, and asking questions about the material covered in the reading and in the lectures. Your TA will also give final instructions for all assignments, including the quizzes, exams, and final paper, and will read and grade all assignments.
CLASS MATERIALS
The course Blackboard page will include all relevant information: the course syllabus, any additional informational handouts and readings, and the weekly image lists. There is NO textbook assigned for the course. Most readings can be accessed digitally via the links in the schedule of readings on this syllabus (see below). A few other readings will be posted on Blackboard in the weekly folders. Students should complete the readings assigned for each week BEFORE lecture on Monday – this is important: the material covered in lecture (and discussion sections later in the week) will be much easier to understand after the assigned readings have been done.
CLASS PARTICIPATION AND ATTENDANCE
Active and informed participation in the discussion section is required. You must do the assigned reading before each weekly lecture and discussion section. Full attendance at both the lectures and discussion sections is mandatory for the successful completion of the course. Any student who misses over four hours of class meetings (includes Monday lecture and discussion sections), without a valid and documented excuse, will be penalized on their final grade in the course. Attendance will be taken at every class meeting.
QUIZ
The quiz will take place in discussion section, early in the semester. Instructors will give you specific information about format. It will be helpful to begin reviewing the image lists with their objects and terms each week in preparation for the quiz (and exams), and it is essential that you keep up with the weekly lectures, reading, and section discussions.
EXAMINATIONS
There are two exams over the course of the semester. One will cover approximately the first third of the material and the other will cover the rest (see course schedule for dates and material covered in each exam). These exams will be given during discussion section. For the mid-term exam, final exam and quiz, you will be asked to identify: the artist, if known; the name of the work of art; the art historical period; the date, and the materials of each item listed on the weekly image lists, and you will need to be able to discuss them in historical and analytical terms. Your instructor (TA) will provide more information on the exam format. DO NOT MAKE TRAVEL PLANS ON THE EXAM DATES. THERE ARE NO MAKEUP EXAMS. A MISSED QUIZ OR EXAM IS EQUIVALENT TO AN F.
PAPER
The paper assignment will include close examination and discussion of a single object, which students will examine first-hand (not through images on the internet or illustrated/printed on paper) at either the Metropolitan Museum of Art or theMuseum of Modern Art (or another museum, with TA’s permission). You will receive assignment guidelines in Discussion Sections early in the semester that will explain the specifics of the multiple-stage process and help you develop your papers and your art-historical writing skills. You will submit writing assignments and final papers to their discussion leader (TA). The discussion leader may require you to take your paper to the Communications Studio for tutorial help to improve your writing style, and/or grammar and compositional skills. Students are required to include the museum entrance receipt and at least two drawings they have made of the works while studying them in the Museum – they will not be graded on the artistic quality of their drawings, but they should demonstrate that they have closely observed the works first-hand. If the drawings are not included, students will not get credit for the paper. An important purpose of these papers is to train you to carefully observe, to think about, and to analyze works of art. Late work, if accepted by the teaching assistant or course coordinator, will be down-graded at their discretion. More specifics of the assignment will be provided to you by your TA.
Paper assignment, Stage 0 — Artwork selection sent to TA by 9am Thursday, October 6. Briefly introduce work to class, no preparatory research required.
Paper assignment, Stage 1 — 4-paragraph thesis and introduction (ca. 2 pages double-spaced); visual analysis: due during discussion sections, week of October 24 (Lecture 7).
Paper assignment, Stage 2 — 2 copies of draft submitted for peer review: due during discussion sections, week of November 14 (Lecture 10).
Paper assignment, Stage 3 — peer-reviewed mark-ups and suggestions: due during discussion sections, week of November 28 (lecture 12).
Paper assignment, Stage 4 — Final Paper: due in lecture on Monday, 12/12 (Lecture 14)
COURSE SCHEDULE
Thursday, August 25-Friday, August 26 (Sections only): Museums, the Humanities, and the Liberal Arts?
Suggested Reading:
— “A Brief History of the Museum“
— Bod, Rens. “Introduction of the Humanities,” in The Making of the Humanities, Volume 1: Early Modern Europe, Rens Bod et al., eds. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2010, 7-14.
Monday, August 29 (Lecture 1) Course Introduction: What is art and what does it “do”? / The Ancient Mediterranean World: Egypt [Note: Friday discussion sections do NOT meet on 9/2; Weds. and Thurs. sections DO meet]
Mandatory Reading:
— “Ancient Egypt, an introduction”
— The British Museum, “What is a book of the dead?”
— “Hunefer’s judgment in the presence of Osiris” (there’s also a video that accompanies this article that you can watch, if you’d like)
— Egyptian Art in the Age of the Pyramids (The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 2000)
Audran Labrousse, “Pyramids and their Temples” (pp. 21-26)
Krzysztof Grzymski, “Royal Statuary” (pp. 51-56)
Monday, September 5 (NO LECTURE): SCHOOL CLOSED. [Note: All discussion sections meet later in the week!]
Monday, September 12 (Lecture 2): The Ancient Mediterranean World: Greece
Mandatory Reading:
— “Greek Art in the Archaic Period”
— “The Art of Classical Greece”
— “Architecture in Ancient Greece”
— “Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer)”
— N. Spivey, Understanding Greek Sculpture, Ch. 8: “Revealing Aphrodite” (pp. 173-86) – in the Lecture 2 folder on Blackboard.
Monday, September 19 (Lecture 3): The Ancient Mediterranean World: Rome
Quiz in Wednesday and Friday discussion sections
Mandatory Reading:
— “Introduction to Ancient Rome”
— “Introduction to Ancient Roman Art”
— “Introduction to Ancient Roman Architecture”
— P. Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus, Ch. 1: “Conflict and Contradiction in the Imagery of the Dying Republic” (pp. 5-18) – in the Lecture 3 folder on Blackboard.
THURSDAY, September 29 (Lecture 4): The Medieval World: Byzantium and early medieval Europe [NOTE: Thursday classes follow Monday schedule this week. So: Lecture on Thursday, and no Thursday Discussion sections. Weds and Fri sections meet as usual]
Mandatory Reading:
— “The Byzantine State under Justinian I (Justinian the Great)”
— “Justinian Mosaic, San Vitale”
— “Icons and Iconoclasm in Byzantium”
— “Introduction to the Middle Ages”
— “A new pictorial language: The image in early medieval art”
Monday, October 3 (Lecture 5): The Medieval World: Islamic and Ottoman art and architecture [Note: no Weds. discussion sections; Thurs. and Fri. sections meet as usual]
ESSAY ARTWORKS DUE WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, AT MIDNIGHT. I will ask everyone to introduce their work to the sections on Thursday. No preparation is needed.
QUIZ ON THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6. About the quiz: The quiz will consist of five artwork identifications, each with three to five sentences of response needed. Points will be based on the following criteria: Name (2pts.); Time-period (2pts.); Cultural context (2pts.); Visual analysis, keywords, comparisons, stakes or reason for importance, etc. (4pts). 10 points total. Be sure to review the keywords and key-works in advance of the quiz. Blue Books will be provided.
Mandatory Reading:
— “Arts of the Islamic World: The early period”
— “Introduction to mosque architecture”
— “The great mosque of Córdoba”
— “Illumination of the Qur’an”
–“The Age of Süleyman ‘the Magnificent’ (r. 1520-1566)”
“Mimar Sinan, Rüstem Pasha Mosque, Istanbul”
Monday, October 10 (NO LECTURE) – COLLEGE CLOSED. All discussion sections meet as usual for Exam 1.
Exam Review with Prof. Dey on Monday, 10/11 from 1:30-3pm, via Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83474051645
***EXAM 1: Takes place in discussion sections (Wednesday 10/12—Friday 10/14); it covers ancient Egypt through medieval Islamic and Ottoman art (Lectures 1-5)
Monday, October 17 (Lecture 6): The Medieval World: Later medieval Europe
Mandatory Reading:
“Relics and Reliquaries in Medieval Christianity”
“Pilgrimage in Medieval Europe”
“Pilgrimage Routes and the Cult of the Relic”
“The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris”
Monday, October 24 (Lecture 7): The Early Modern World: The Renaissance in Europe
** 2-page visual analysis due in discussion sections (final paper, Stage 1)
Mandatory Reading:
— “Europe and the Age of Exploration”
— “The Rediscovery of Classical Antiquity”
— “Anatomy in the Renaissance”
— “Architecture in Renaissance Italy”
— “Giotto, Arena (Scrovegni) Chapel”
— “Filippo Brunelleschi and Lorenzo Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac” (Video)
— “Masaccio, The Tribute Money and Expulsion in the Brancacci Chapel”
— “Titian (ca. 1485/90?-1576)”
— “Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528)”
Monday, October 31 (Lecture 8): The Early Modern World: Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) China
Mandatory Reading:
— “East and West: Chinese Export Porcelain”
— “Landscape Painting in Chinese Art”
— “Chinese Porcelain: Production and Export”
— “Chinese Porcelain: Decoration”
— “The abduction of Helen tapestry”
Monday, November 7 (Lecture 9): The Early Modern World: Baroque Art in Europe and the Americas
Mandatory Reading:
— “Baroque Rome”
— “Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680)”
— Caravaggio, Calling of St. Matthew” (Video)
— “Peter Paul Rubens, Elevation of the cross”
–“Master of Calamarca, Angel with Arquebus”
Monday, November 14 (Lecture 10): The early modern World: Africa
**First Draft of Paper Due in Discussion Section (Stage 2)
Mandatory Reading:
— “Historical Overview: to 1600”
— “Historical overview: from the 1600s to the present”
— “Aesthetics”
— “Form and meaning”
— “Religion and the Spiritual Realm”
— “Art and politics”
— “African art and the effects of European contact and colonization”
Monday, November 21 (Lecture 11): The Modern World: Eighteenth-Century Art in Europe (Rococo to Neoclassicism) [Note: Weds discussion sections meet on 11/23; Thurs and Fri discussions don’t meet on 11/24-25]
Mandatory Readings:
— “A Beginner’s Guide to Rococo Art”
— “Jean Honoré Fragonard: The Swing”
— “A Beginner’s Guide to the Age of Enlightenment”
— “Hogarth, A Rake’s Progress”
— “ Neoclassicism: an introduction”
— “Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii”
— “The Grand Tour”
— “Venice in the Eighteenth Century”
— “Antonio Canova (1757-1822)”
–“Eighteenth-Century Women Painters in France”
–“Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (1749-1803)”
Monday, November 28 (Lecture 12): The Modern World: Nineteenth-Century Art (Romanticism to Impressionism)
**Commented drafts of paper due in discussion sections (Stage 3)
Mandatory Readings:
— “Romanticism”
— “Daguerre (1787-1851) and the Invention of Photography”
— “Impressionism: Art and Modernity”
— “Constable and the English Landscape”
— “A Beginner’s Guide to Realism”
— “Courbet, The Stonebreakers”
— “Early Photography: Niépce, Talbot and Muybridge”
— “Haussmann the Demolisher and the Creation of Modern Paris”
— “A Beginner’s Guide to Impressionism”
— “What does ‘Impressionism’ Mean?”
Monday, December 5 (Lecture 13): The Modern World: The era of the World Wars in Europe and the Americas (c. 1900 – 1945)
**EXAM 2: Takes place in discussion sections (12/7-12/9); it covers later medieval Europe through 1945 (Lectures 6 – 13)
Mandatory Readings:
— “Surrealism”
— “Expressionism, an introduction”
— “A Beginner’s Guide to Fauvism”
— “Cubism”
— “Italian Futurism: An Introduction”
— “Mexican Muralism: Los Tres Grandes: David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and José Clemente Orozco”
Monday, December 12 (Lecture 14): Post-War Art in the United States (Harlem Renaissance—Pop Art)
***FINAL PAPERS DUE TO YOUR DISCUSSION SECTION INSTRUCTOR IN TODAY’S LECTURE (Stage 4).
Mandatory Readings:
— “Modern Storytellers: Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence, Faith Ringgold”
— “Jacob Lawrence: The Migration Series”
— “Abstract Expressionism, an Introduction”
— “The Impact of Abstract Expressionism”
— “Pop Art”
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