Course Catalog

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Course Catalog

BAROQUE & ROCOCO ART & ARCHITECTURE (AH2014)

This course examines the reverberations and multi-faceted reactions to the reform movements known as the Reformation and the Counter-Reformation, and explores different notions of the Baroque in a global context. We will consider the art and architecture of sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, and France, as well as the art of colonial Latin America and East Asia. Key themes and issues of consideration will include the changing role of religious images; heresy and persuasion in art; colonial art and questions of transmission, reproduction and hybridity; the rise of artists' academies and art theory; the development of genre painting; cabinets of curiosity and collecting; and eroticism, artifice and Orientalism in Rococo art and architecture.

19TH & 20TH CENT. ART & ARCHITECTURE (AH2016)

Introduces the principal arts and aesthetic issues of the 19th and 20th centuries from the French Revolution to World War II. Studies artists such as David, Turner, Monet, and Picasso, as well as movements such as Romanticism, Impressionism, and Surrealism, stressing continuities beneath apparent differences of approach. Regular museum sessions at the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, and the Centre Pompidou.

ART AND THE MARKET (AH2018)

Investigates economic and financial aspects of art over several historical periods. Examines painting, sculpture, drawing, and decorative arts as marketable products, analyzing them from the perspective of patrons, collectors, investors, and speculators. Studies artists as entrepreneurs. Assesses diverse functions and forms of influence exercised by art market specialists: critics, journalists, public officials, auctioneers, museum professionals, experts, and dealers.

INTRO TO ISLAMIC ART & ARCHITECTURE (AH2024)

The aim of this course is to introduce students to the multifaceted and dynamic character of Islamic art by focusing on the highest achievements of the major dynasties. The time frame will span over one thousand years and, geographically, will cover lands from the western Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent. Lectures will concentrate on the most representative monuments and works of art from each period. After examining the distinguishing features of the art and architecture of the principal dynasties, their salient characteristics and their greatest contributions to Islamic art as a whole, it should become evident that the field is both full of striking diversity and overall unity.

CURATORIAL STUDIES (AH2030)

This course is designed to introduce students to the history and practice of curating artworks. “Museums, like asylum and jails, have wards and cells — in other words, neutral rooms called ‘galleries.’” Writing these words in the 1970s, the artist Robert Smithson expressed sharply the struggle of many 20th century artists with curatorial settings. From the private cabinet of curiosities to the Academic Salons, from experimental art galleries to large museums and the use of exhibitions themselves as an artistic medium, curatorial practices never ceased to shape our “understanding” and appreciation of artworks. Relying on historical and theoretical texts, on-site visits (museums and art galleries) and a dialogue with museum professionals, the class is focused on the creation of a virtual exhibition by the students, taking into account all aspects of the project from its conception to its realization. This course has a course fee included.

This is a parallel course offered at the 2000-level and 3000-level. While the assignments are similar at both levels, the written component of the final project goes up from 25 000 to 35 000 characters (space included) and an upper-level degree of precision in the critical apparatus of the final project (research; bibliography, theoretical and methodological pertinence) is expected. Faculty approval is required for AH3030.

TOPICS IN ART HISTORY (AH2091)

Topics vary by semester

IMPRESSIONISM - POST-IMPRESSIONISM (AH3000)

The course studies how the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists revolutionized form and conveyed major shifts in society at the end of the 19th century. Through class sessions and museum visits (Orsay, Marmottan, Opéra Garnier, Musée de Montmartre…), the students will explore the rich history of Paris, grasp the complex phenomenon of modernity, which set aesthetic and political interrogations still relevant today.

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAPHY (AH3017)

Introduces students to the evolution of photography, which is both closely related to modern painting and clearly distinct from it. Focuses on K60major figures such as Atget, Weston, Stieglitz, Steichen, Hine, Brassao, and Man Ray, in an effort to develop the visual skills necessary to understand photographs as specific forms of artistic vision and creation. AH 1020 is strongly recommended as a prerequisite. Please note this course carries a fee.

CURATORIAL STUDIES (AH3030)

This course is designed to introduce students to the history and practice of curating artworks. “Museums, like asylum and jails, have wards and cells — in other words, neutral rooms called ‘galleries.’” Writing these words in the 1970s, the artist Robert Smithson expressed sharply the struggle of many 20th century artists with curatorial settings. From the private cabinet of curiosities to the Academic Salons, from experimental art galleries to large museums and the use of exhibitions themselves as an artistic medium, curatorial practices never ceased to shape our “understanding” and appreciation of artworks. Relying on historical and theoretical texts, on-site visits (museums and art galleries) and a dialogue with museum professionals, the class is focused on the creation of a virtual exhibition by the students, taking into account all aspects of the project from its conception to its realization. This course has a course fee included.

This is a parallel course offered at the 2000-level and 3000-level. While the assignments are similar at both levels, the written component of the final project goes up from 25 000 to 35 000 characters (space included) and an upper-level degree of precision in the critical apparatus of the final project (research; bibliography, theoretical and methodological pertinence) is expected. Faculty approval is required for AH3030.

VERSAILLES: FROM ABSOLUTISM TO ENGLIGHTENMENT (AH3043)

This course examines the cultural and artistic history of Versailles in the 17th and 18th centuries. It traces the development of the palace, garden and city as a total artwork and an expression of changing ideas around the court, the monarchy and the state. From its origins as a hunting retreat and setting for ephemeral courtly entertainments, through to its apogee as the seat of the absolutist state at the end of the 17th century, and then its decline and collapse less than a century later, we will see how architecture, painting and decorative arts articulated evolving ideas around the divinity of the monarch, and the opposition between the private, courtly and public spheres. We will see how artists and architects such as Mansart, LeBrun, Le Nôtre, Gabriel, Mique and Robert created artworks and settings for the amusement and glorification of the king. In addition to class lectures there will be visits to the Louvre, Versailles, and Vaux-le-Vicomte.