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ARTH 110.01

SYLLABUS

Survey of the Visual Arts II: Renaissance to Modern

Spring, 2014

 

Classes: Tuesday and Thursday: 11:30-12:45, IRC 2.

Dr. Allen S. Farber

303 Fine Arts Center (436-2558); E-Mail: farberas@oneonta.edu

Course Web Page: http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/ARTH110/ARTH110_Syllabus.html

Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 10:00-11:00, Wednesday 1:00-3:00, or by appointment. Notes can be left in my mailbox in 222 FAC, or messages can be left through Voice-Mail at 436-2558. I would also encourage you to communicate with me over E-Mail.

Catalog Description:

Discussion of the major trends in art style and history from c. 1300 through the 20th century, with emphasis on development of visual acuity and ability to recognize and discuss major trends in the history of art. LA, AA2

 

Purposes of the Course:

The visual arts represent one of the principal vehicles of human communication. One purpose of this course is to acquaint you with the basic skills and vocabulary of critical and technical terms that will enable you to talk intelligibly and intelligently about works of art. Another purpose of this course is to introduce you to some of the major monuments of art from the Renaissance to the Modern period. It is hoped that you will leave the course with an awareness of the basic artistic periods and an understanding of the variety of ways humans have expressed themselves in the visual arts.

 

Requirements:

1) You will be responsible for material presented in class and for the readings in the text book.

2) Classes will be conducted in a lecture/discussion format. I want to involve you as directly as possible into the discussions of the works of art. I expect you to come to class prepared to participate in the class discussion.

3) You are expected to review the web site connected to this course. Here you will find electronic versions of the class hand-outs. The Slide Lists are supplemented with pictures of as many of the images in the course as possible. You are also encouraged to explore the supplementary material and links that are included on many of these slide lists. The dates for quizzes and exams and other assignments will be posted at "ARTH 110 Assignments:" http://employees.oneonta.edu/farberas/arth/ARTH110/arth110_assignments.html

4) Although no fixed grade will be given for attendance, your success in the course is dependent on regular attendance. I do hold open the option of taking attendance on an intermittent basis to gain a sense of your involvement. I also expect your attention in class. There should be no extraneous conversations, texting, etc. during class. If I become aware of this type of activity, I will call attention to it, and I hold out the option to ask you to leave the class.

5) Your final grade will be based on the best 3 of 4 grades. There will be a cumulative quiz grade, two exams, and an optional short paper.

6) Your quiz grade will be based on your performance on a series of quizzes. I plan to give a total of 5 quizzes over the course of the semester, 4 of these will be announced in advance. I hold out the option to have one of the quizzes be a "pop" quiz. Your final quiz grade will be based on the average of your 4 best quizzes. By basing your quiz grade on the best 4 of 5 quizzes, I allow for the option to miss a quiz. Because you have the option of missing one of the quizzes, I only give make-up quizzes under very special circumstances.

The quizzes will usually be multiple choice questions based on material presented in previous classes, in your reading, and on the web-site.

7) There will be two examinations. The exams will be composed of short answers plus one short essay. The short answers will consist of slide identifications and multiple choice and matching questions based on material presented in class and/or your readings. The essay will consist of a comparison of major works of art chosen to document major issues in Art History. Your answers will be evaluated primarily on the basis of your assessment of the art historical significance of the comparisons. Demonstration of a mastery of the language of art history and the coherence of your essays will also be significant factors.

The essays will be based on review questions which will appear on the slide lists for each topic. These questions are intended to review major issues discussed in the lectures, and you are strongly recommended to prepare your answers to these questions shortly after each class. Pictures of the works included in these review questions will appear on the web-site. If you conscientiously study these review questions, you should be adequately prepared for the examinations.

The second exam is scheduled for Thursday, May 8 from 2:00-4:30 in IRC 2.

8) The Optional Short Paper will be about 3-5 pages in length. The paper can be focused on any of the Questions for Review that we have had since the beginning of the semester.

See more specific instructions on the page entitled Guidelines for Optional Short Paper.

You are not required to do this short paper as long as you are comfortable with basing your final grade on the other three grades. By giving this optional paper assignment, I am effectively giving you an extra credit option. This Optional Short Paper is due on Thursday, May 1 at the latest.

No make-up quizzes or exams will be given, unless you have received my permission prior to the exam or quiz.

Text:

The text for this course is Gardner's Art Through the Ages, 14th edition, vol 2. You can certainly use a copy of the 13th edition as well. I have given the readings for both editions below. You are advised to spend as much time looking at the illustrations as reading the text. Remember that what Gardner or I have to say about a work should be considered as a secondary source; the illustrations are the primary source.

World Wide Web useful resources:

You are strongly encouraged to consult Smarthistory. This site is intended to be a replacement or a supplement to the traditional Art History survey book.

See my Art History links page.

 

List of Topics and Readings

 Topic
Gardner, 13th edition
Gardner, 14th edition
     
 Introduction    
 1)Why Art History? xxxv-xlvii 1-13
 EARLY RENAISSANCE    
 2)French Court Art: the Limbourg Brothers 532-533 550-551
3) Flemish Art: Robert Campin, Jan Van Eyck, and Rogier van der Weyden. 519-529 535-546
 4)Early Italian Renaissance Painting and Sculpture: Donatello, Masaccio, and Gentile da Fabriano 541-562 559-576
 5)Variety in Quattrocento Painting: Piero della Francesca and Botticelli

559-560;568-576

576-582; 590-593.
 HIGH RENAISSANCE    
 6)Art and Science of Leonardo da Vinci 579-584 599-605
7) Raphael 584-587 605-609

 8)Michelangelo  588-596
609-618
 First exam (approximately 2nd week of March)  
 9)Italian Mannerism  612-619
632-642
 BAROQUE ART  
 10)Early Baroque Painting: Caravaggio  649-651; 657-665
669-670;681-684
 11)Baroque Sculpture: Bernini  651-657
672-675
 12)Flemish and Spanish Baroque Painting: Rubens and Velazquez  665-679
687-701
 13)Dutch Painting  679-691
702-713
 14)The Art of Rembrandt  
 15)French Baroque Painting: Georges de la Tour and Nicholas Poussin  691-701
714-722

     
 Eighteenth Century Art    
 16)Rococo Painting in France: Watteau, Fragonard, and Chardin  751-757 727-735 
 17)Neo-Classical Painting: Jacques Louis David  757-774 736-737;745-752
 Nineteenth Century Art    
 18)Romanticism: Gericault, Delacroix, Friedrich, and Turner  777-798 755-775
 19)Realism: Courbet, Corot, and Manet  798-809 775-782
 20)Impressionism: Manet, Monet, and Degas.  821-831 799-810
 Modernism    
 21)Post-Impressionism  831-838 811-819
 22)Fauvism and Cubism 909-926 835-851
 The Second Exam will be given during the Final Week (Thursday, May 8, 2:00-4:30)    

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