This course, the second half of a two-semester survey, will continue to explore the visual arts worldwide. Beginning in the fourteenth century and ending in the present, the class will survey painting, sculpture, and architecture, as well as works in newer media (such as photography, video, and performance). The class will encompass works from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, arranged chronologically in order to provide a more integrated historical context for their production. In addition to the course textbook, readings will be chosen to broaden critical perspectives and to present different methodological approaches. This course is designed for those students with no background in art history as well as for those who may be contemplating a major either in Art History or Studio. Students who have taken part one of this course will be given preferential enrollment. First and second year students are encouraged to enroll.

The course studies Western and Byzantine painting through an examination of manuscript illumination, from the late classical tradition of the Vatican Virgil to the courtly elegance of the Très Riches Heures of the Duke of Berry. The course concludes with the early printed books of the fifteenth-century popular block books such as the Biblia Pauperum and the Art of Dying- and spread of movable type. The primary focus is on the painting and prints. The course also investigates the format of the book; type of manuscripts and their uses; the roles of scribe, illuminator, and patron; and the effect of changing patronage on artistic production. There are no prerequisites for this course.

The nineteenth century is so dominated by the female nude that the very term "nude" has come to stand for the female body. And yet, the history of the nude during this period is not devoid of male bodies. How did the female body come to so dominate representations of the nude? And how did the increasing challenge to the ideal (i.e. Realism, photography, Impressionism) affect the credibility of the nude? We will examine how the nude and the discourse of the ideal function to obscure social issues as well as how certain types of bodies have been defined in opposition to the ideal, thereby becoming exoticized or marginalized. Our prime focus is the work of David, Ingres, Géricault, Courbet, Manet and Renoir but we will also discuss classical prototypes, popular nineteenth-century images, and selected works by twentieth-century and contemporary artists. Required texts include Kenneth Clark, The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form (1956) and Lynda Nead, The Female Body: Art, Obscenity and Sexuality (1992). Short papers, oral presentation and final exam. This class is open to all students. Priority will be given to those who have had an introductory course in art history.

Edith Wharton's first book, On the Decoration of Houses (1902), dealt with domestic decoration, not domestic drama. An interest in the meaning and appropriateness of architectural styles continued throughout Wharton's career. In her short stories and novels, architecture not only sets the stage and mood, but also emerges as a character or chorus contributing to, commenting on, or controlling the action (or inaction). Wharton sets her characters' public or private lives and their social or moral decisions within a carefully choreographed architectural framework which complements the authorial voice. This class will analyze Wharton's narratives in both the context of the architectural principles she expounds and the building boom of the Gilded Age. Field trips to Wharton's house, The Mount, and perhaps to other relevant residences will be arranged. Extensive reading (three to four novels plus short stories), two class presentations, and three critical essays are required. This class is open to all, but limited to 14 students.

Cross-listed: AADS, LAIS, MES Religious practice within Latin America is characterized by a syncretic mix of indigenous customs, the Catholicism of the Spanish and Portuguese colonizers, and African belief systems transported with the slave trade to the Americas. The course will begin by exploring major Pre-Columbian monuments along with the sacred practices of the Inca, Maya, Taino, Aztec, etc. Next will be an analysis of how art and architecture were used by colonizers as conversion tools and how ultimately Latin America developed a unique kind of Catholic imagery and building types. A strong emphasis will be on the African-based religions originating in Brazil and the Caribbean such as Candomblé and Santería. Another component will be an examination of religious folk art and how contemporary artists use religious iconography in their work in order to both celebrate and critique issues surrounding national and personal identity. The course will be in a lecture format supplemented by films, guest lecturers and a field trip and is open to all students.

This seminar examines the ideas that inspired sculptors and the patrons who footed the bills. It explores the relationship among artists, poets, and philosophers of the Renaissance and the degree of influence exerted by patrons and their associates on the selection of the thematic content and the establishment of stylistic trends. Topics of discussion include the materials and forms of sculpture, the changing social position of the artist, the Neoplatonic movement in Florence, and Renaissance theories of love. The major sculptors of the Renaissance are studied, with an emphasis on the works of Ghiberti, Donatello, Jacopo della Quercia, and Michelangelo. Also investigated are the politicial ambitions and the socioeconomic milieu of such remarkable patrons as Cosimo de Medici, Lorenzo the Magnificent, and Julius II. This seminar is open to juniors and seniors or by permission of the instructor.

Cross-listed: Italian Studies

This seminar will study the artistic achievements of Michelangelo in sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry in the context of the biographies of Vasari (1550), Condivi (1553), and Vasari (1568). Exploration of the meaning of Michelangelo's work will be complemented by the study of the various influences on the biographies. For example, the class will consider how the political and artistic ambitions and alliances of Michelangelo's biographers shaped the texts and thus the reception of the art and artist. Discussion will also analyze Michelangelo's role in shaping his public image and creating the modern idea of the artist as isolated genius. This class is open to all students. Priority, however, will be given to students with some background in art history, Renaissance studies, and/or Italian. Students who read Italian are encouraged to read the texts in their original. Two class presentations, one short (circa 5 pages) and one longer (circa 15 pages) paper will be required.

An indisputable icon of modernism, Manet's Olympia challenged codes of representation in ways that outraged contemporaries and continue to fascinate in our time. This course examines the valences of this image, including the inflammatory discourses of realism, prostitution and interracialism, from the time it was exhibited at the Salon of 1865 to it most recent status as feminist cult image and gender bender. Extensive reading, field trip to New York, oral presentation and 10-15 page research paper required. Recommended for juniors and seniors.

This course will examine the many historical, political, and theoretical challenges involved in exhibiting art from Latin America - both from within and outside its borders. First we will study the ideological agendas often attached to the permanent installation, in particular the "art or artifact" question of the Natural History Museum and the problematic presentation of indigenous cultural production. Next will be an in depth survey of controversial thematic shows, with an analysis of their catalogues and the critical press surrounding them. Finally, students will be asked to participate in a joint effort whereby the class will curate an exhibition for an internet web-site. For this show students will write an exhibition statement of purpose, choose specific works, write the accompanying explanatory "wall texts", as well as write press releases and prepare materials for educational purposes. Preference given to CCS students and art history majors. Preliminary interview with instructor required.