ART216-01: The History of Art: From the Renaissance to the Present

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1 Summer I, 2006 Prof. R. Barris course home page: office: 224 Powell; hrs: M-Th ART216-01: The History of Art: From e Renaissance to e Present Overview of course: Part two of e art history survey spans a period of extraordinary developments and changes in art. These changes include e nature and role of e artist, reasons for making art, e public s responses to art, e materials and media used, and e subject matter of e art work - in short, noing is constant and everying changes. To make sense of it, we will take a chronological approach, but given at comparable developments in norern Europe and in Italy do not occur at e same time or same rate, at times we will appear to be covering e same period twice, using a different group of artists and art works each time. Guiding questions for is survey include e changing nature of patronage and its effect on art; e role of gender in terms of who makes e art work, what it looks like, and who uses it; and e grow of national issues and eir reflection in art. Finally, as your textbook title indicates, is class focuses on e western tradition of art (Europe and Nor America). Goals and Objectives: to understand e history of art as e history and visualization of ideas about people and e world ey live in to recognize e interaction between regional styles, period styles, and e personal expressive style of e artist to recognize and trace changing approaches to e representation of e human st figure in sculpture and painting from e Renaissance to e early 21 century to recognize e roles of gender, economic systems, and politics in bo e creation and reception of art to understand e difference between a personal response and a critical response based on eory, history, and visual analysis when speaking and writing about art Textbooks Fred S. Kleiner. Gardner s Art rough e Ages: The Western Perspective. V. II. (Thomson- Wadswor, 2006). Sylvan Barnet. A Short Guide to Writing about Art. 8 ed. (Pearson-Longman, 2005). Reserve readings in e library Topic Outline and Readings The outline does not include dates but everying is listed in e correct sequence. Since is is an intensive course, it may be useful to ink of each day as e equivalent of one week of material. Wi about twelve major topics listed, it is reasonable to assume at some will require more an one session but oers will require less. I. Introduction to Art History Survey II an overview of major changes and emes in art from e Ren. to e present an introduction to analytic tools and concepts Reading: Gardner: look at e section called Basics and make note of some of e tools it provides; read e Introduction Barnet: ch. 1

2 II. The Italian World of Order: e Renaissance in e 15 century 1. Space, perspective and illusion in Renaissance art 2. Renaissance architecture 3. The sacred becomes secular and e secular becomes sacred 4. Patrons and portraits 5. Donatello s humanist sculpture Reading: Gardner, ch. 16 Barnet, ch. 2 III. Notions of Perfection: The Italian Renaissance in e 16 century 1. Artists of e Classical Renaissance: Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael 2. The Venetian Renaissance: Bellini, Titian, and Giorgione: e role of color 3. Mannerism and e Counter-Reformation 4. Women in e Renaissance: subject, artist, and patron Reading: Gardner, ch. 17 Barnet: ch. 6 IV. Norern Europe: The Battle wi Religion 1. Renaissance and Reformation in norern Europe and Spain 2. Understanding art by understanding e context: altarpieces by Bosch and Grünewald 3. Dürer and Holbein: e cult of portraits replaces e cult of saints 4. A feast for e eyes: visual rhetoric in norern painting Reading: Gardner: p. 444 (on Bosch) and ch. 18 Barnet: ch. 3 V. The Baroque era: The Power of Theater, Politics and Religion 1. The sacred becomes personal: Caravaggio and A. Gentileschi 2. Bernini: e total work of art 3. Baroque architecture in Italy Reading: Gardner, begin ch. 19 VI. The power of light: Baroque painting in N. Eur. and Spain 1. Versailles and e Baroque landscape 2. Rembrandt, Velazquez and Vermeer: e power of allegory Reading: Gardner, complete ch. 19 VII. The eater of love and e eater of morality: from e Rococo to e neoclassical 1. New patrons and new subjects: Rubens and e aristocracy 2. The entertainment value of art: Rococo paintings and architecture 3. Morality intrudes: e moral genre paintings of Hogar and Greuze Reading: Gardner, pp (on Rubens); ch. 20 (rough p. 643)

3 VIII. Reframing Frankenstein: revolutions and eir afterma 1. Intellectual revolutions and e first Industrial revolution 2. The Neoclassical rejection of superficiality in art and architecture 3. David s neoclassical representation of revolution: a bridge to romanticism 4. The art of revolution and horror: e Romantic movement Reading: Gardner, complete chapter 20 IX. From realism to impressionism 1. Realism and politics in e 19 century 2. Oer revolutions: international expositions and e invention of photography 3. The impressionist impulse Reading: Gardner, begin ch. 21 X. Dreaming in front of nature at e end of e 19 century 1. Responses to impressionism: neo-impressionism and proto-expressionism 2. Fin-de-siècle decadence 3. Symbolism and synesesia Reading: Gardner, complete ch. 21 XI. Early 20 century avant-gardes 1. Changes in e representation of e human body 2. Expressionist and analytic approaches to abstraction 3. Pure abstraction 4. World War I and e radicalization of art Reading: ch. 22 XII. Redefining art in e second half of e 20 century 1. The call to order and disorder: Dada, Surrealism and Socialist Realism 2. Existentialism and e artist 3. New media, new subjects, and new materials 4. Art after e end of art Reading: ch. 23 Requirements Procedures: Generally, e primary meod in is class is lectures wi digital images. Due to e fact at e summer enrollment is smaller an usual and classes last longer an usual, I will expect you to participate by asking and answering questions. You will also have to keep up wi e work since we will be covering a lot of material in a short amount of time. Textbook reading is required and should be done before class: is will enable us to have class discussions. If you have questions about what you read, eier bring em wi you to class or post em rough . Don t be afraid to ask em.

4 Attendance: Attendance is mandatory and essential. Since missing class is equal to missing one week, you will lose 15 points for each absence. Grading and Assignments: Alough I do not give optional assignments, in many cases I do give you choices about how to fulfill em. Because your grade will be based on a variety of assessment measures, you don t need to be good at everying in order to excel. In oer words, a single bad grade is not cause for despair. Quizzes and e final exam will involve identification of key art works by artist, name of work, and date, and some key factor which distinguishes it from anoer work of e same type. In some cases you will also need to identify e style. There will be no make-ups for missed quizzes. The final exam will be longer an a quiz and will include essay questions. In addition to ese testing formats, you will also have to write take-home essays. I expect all quizzes and tests to be done in pen. You will need a blue book for e final exam (go to e bookstore to buy it). Essays must be prepared in a word processing program and submitted as an attachment or printed out and submitted on paper. No essay should ever be less an 2 complete pages, using a small font, margins of no greater an one inch on any side, and putting your name on a single line as e header. 8 quizzes (twice weekly) at 20 points each = 160 points. 4 essays (due every Monday) at 50 pts = 200. Final exam at 100 points = 100. Attendance and participation = 60. Total possible points = 500. Suggestion for studying: 1) find e images in ARTstor or on e class web site. Print em out, write e identification material on e reverse side, along wi a summary of important issues raised by e work. 2) Make similar index cards for each artist or movement we cover in class. Include e names of e art works you re responsible for, oer important work which you don t need to memorize, and key ideas associated wi e artist. Using e Class Web Site My home page is: On at page, you can find a link for e ART216 home page. If you re working from your own computer, you can create a bookmark. The course home page will contain links to study guides. These are outlines and summaries of key ideas covered in class, wi some of e images. They are not verbatim transcripts of lectures, so do not expect to read em instead of coming to class. The best way to use e study guides is as a back-up for your own note-taking it will help you fill in what you missed but it does not have everying we cover in class. Students who do e best work in my classes generally read e text book before class, take detailed notes on lectures, and en compare eir notes and e text wi e material on e web site. They also try to stay on top of ings is material can make sense or it can seem strange and foreign to you. The trick is to engage wi it ask e art questions and let it speak to you. Good students also ask questions in class and are willing to take a chance and answer em. I update e web site frequently so check often, and make sure you hit e refresh button if you ve created a bookmark. Images download slowly, so use a computer wi a good network connection or work on campus.

5 Using ARTstor Artstor is an image library to which Radford University subscribes. Most of e images I show you in class come from e Artstor collection, but not all of em do. This is why you need to check e images on my web site as well as e images in Artstor. Because of licensing requirements, I will not put e Artstor image lists on my web page. You can access em quite easily and eier save em to your computer or print em out for yourself. 1. Access Artstor rough e library data base system or by typing in: The first time you use Artstor, you must eier be on campus or go to e artstor site by using e Radford library link. Once you have a log-in and password, you can work from home for 4 mons wiout working on a campus computer. 2. Make sure you allow pop-ups for is site. Oerwise, it will not work. 3. Whenever you use Artstor, after e home page comes up: Click on e launch button on e right side of e Artstor home page: Search and Browse for Images. You can t register until you do is. 4a. The first time you use it, you must register. Hit e register button (on e right side of e page you re now on) and complete e form. Your Artstor user name must be e same as your Radford address. You can change your password, but why make ings complicated. 4b. Now at you re registered, e next time you use it, instead of hitting e register button, you log in (e button is below e register button). You must always log in when you use it. 5. Register for e course. You only need to do is once. Go to e Tools menu on e top of e page, and choose: access shared folder. It will come up wi your name entered for you and ask you for password: art216summer This will give you access to e folders I create for Art History 216 Summer which will now show up when you hit e button for select a course folder. After you choose is folder, you can choose an image group. As I create slide study groups, I will add em to is folder and ey will show up as additional options under select image group. You can also use Artstor to browse for images which I haven t put in e study folders; you need to log in but you do not need to choose a course folder when you do at. You can save e folders I make into your own work folder and en you can add comments to e images. You can print out e images, wi or wiout e comments, and you can save em on your own computer. Let me know if you need help wi any of is. Artstor includes a lot of information at you do not need to know and occasionally it includes incorrect information. This means at you need to sort out e information included and learn what is necessary. For instance, I will never ask you where an artwork is currently located. Alough it is useful to know e dates of an artist s life, I will not test you on at. In contrast, you should know e date when e art work was made. In e case of discrepancies between information I give you in class and information in Artstor, use e material I ve given you in class.

6 Classroom Contract 1. Arrive on time. Arrive promptly and be prepared to begin class when it is time for class to start. The dominant rule of conduct should always be consideration for your peers and for your instructor. That means staying awake, not having private conversations, turning off your cell phone and oer electronic equipment, and not leaving e class after we ve started. I do allow you to use your computer in class, but if I become aware at you re using it for non-class activities, you will lose e right to bring it wi you. 2. Disagreements and Personal Responsibility We should expect to disagree on issues about art. Some questions are factual, in which case ere s only one correct answer, but art questions are often interpretive. Some interpretations or explanations may be better an oers. Disagreement is not a value judgement and I may disagree wi you. Likewise, you may disagree wi me. This is not a problem if e question is about interpretation or preferences; it is a problem when e question is about social or historical context or someone else s interpretation - in oer words, ings which can be supported by research. This is where personal responsibility enters: it is your responsibility as a student in is class to back up your interpretations wi evidence based on reading and research. Perhaps more important: don t confuse personal preferences wi analysis and learning. 3. Academic Honesty Students are expected to abide by e Radford University Honor Code in is and all your classes. This includes e avoidance of plagiarism on all writing assignments. 4. Assistance for Students wi Disabilities: If you have a learning disability recognized by e Disabled Student Services Office of Radford University, you should advise me of e nature of your disability during e first week of e semester. Oer problems: a lot of ings happen to us and we can t always cope wi em as well as we d like. You may not want to confide your personal life problems in me, but if someing is impacting your performance, you should find a way to let me know - before e last week of e semester! At e same time, recognize at you have choices to make and a university education does make demands. Sometimes e right choice is knowing when you can t do someing. 5. Academic Freedom: from e Radford University Handbook: Faculty and students have e right to express eir views wiout fear of censorship or penalty. Such freedom must apply bo to teaching and research and includes not only e rights of a teacher in teaching but e rights of a student in learning. To me is means at least two ings: not only is it highly possible at we won t believe e same ings, but we can feel free to say it wiout penalty. It also means at as an educator, my decisions about how to present material to you and what material to present may be different from ose made by your oer teachers. 6. Read e syllabus. A copy of e syllabus will be posted on line. If you lose your copy, check e online syllabus so you can stay on track. I have read e classroom contract and syllabus and agree to follow e procedures and expectations listed. I understand at not doing so will negatively affect my grade. Signature and date:

ART216-01: Art History Survey II: From the st. Renaissance to the 21 Century

ART216-01: Art History Survey II: From e st Renaissance to e 21 Century Instructor: Prof. Roann Barris Fall 2006, T Th 11-12:15, 107 Cook web site: www.radford.edu/rbarris Office: 224 Powell (inside e