Art History

This course discusses the works of Pablo Picasso within the framework of their historical context. It examines his immediate and contemporary influence on art of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. 

The course is about Dutch art – with an emphasis on painting. Since the Middle Ages, the Netherlands has played a pivotal role in the history of European art and culture. Dutch and Flemish artists were the first to use oil paints, the first to visually document the lives and cultures of ordinary people, and the first to produce art for a free market. Painters such as Van Eyck, Brueghel, Bosch, Rubens, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Mondrian are counted among the great masters of history. Their art embodies qualities that are believed to be typical for the country, such as a devotion to truthfulness, attention to detail, and a love of textures. But there were many more artists whose works are still considered among the most important in history – if only because they were the first to notice the mundane things nobody else had paid attention to, such as the beauty of a still-life or the wonders of a cloudy sky. From the late Middle Ages through the Renaissance and the Baroque to the modern era, Dutch artists have tried to come to terms with ever-changing principles and conceptions regarding the world around them and have been constantly improving techniques to visualize it. The results of their efforts are the subject of this course. The course mostly follows a chronological order. In the first lecture, the (religious) significance of art in the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Baroque is introduced. In the following lectures, students are given an overview of the development of Dutch art from the Middle Ages to the modern era. The course includes tours to various museums in Mauritshuis and the Hague. 

This course is a thematic introduction to the major artistic and cultural trends of East Asia, with a focus on the history of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese art. We study major developments and issues in the art of each culture, discussing mutual influences and cross-cultural artistic flows, as well as the many cultural and artistic differences between cultures in the region. Major monuments of East Asian art will serve as our primary evidence. We focus on how to look at works of art and architecture in an art historically-informed way, how to articulate what our visual responses might mean, and how to begin answering some of the questions our observations of the objects may raise. Our goal is to enable you to better appreciate, analyze, evaluate, and interpret works of art, both those that seem familiar at first glance and those that do not. In addition to becoming familiar with major works of art in weekly slide lectures, you are expected to develop, through weekly readings and discussion, an understanding of the various approaches major scholars in the field of art history and East Asian studies have developed to examine them. You are expected to evaluate and try out some of these methods in your own research, written work and class discussion. The course is divided into three discrete sections that focus respectively on China, Korean, and Japan. Although these three regions engaged in extensive cultural interchanges during the period of time covered by this course, each also developed its own artistic styles and forms. Discussions of these cross-cultural interactions are constant subtheme, especially as our shared understanding grows over the course. Whether the aims of their creators were philosophical, spiritual, political, social, economic, or purely aesthetic, we seek to better understand them, as well as the context in which they were acquired and cherished, the uses to which these monuments may have been put, and the grounds for both their original and subsequent appreciation. Thus, the goals of this course include developing visual and historical tools you can use outside the confines of this class to explore art and visual culture.

It aims to teach students who seek interest in a broader understanding of artistic cultural space by using examples of architecture and painting. Composed of a total of 4 well-known countries and their major cities in the world that will be studied, the course will investigate the arts of Egypt, Italy, France, and the United States. Finally, the course will attempt to provide the ability in appreciating and understanding famous art pieces of work.

The course provides a study of architecture and urbanism, focusing on primary theories, authors and works from 1750 to the present. It examines the history of production in architecture and urbanism, paying close attention to the diversity of elements common to human creativity, as well as the social use of art. Topics covered include: neoclassicism and romanticism in 19th century architecture; architectural rationalism in the second half of the 19th century; urban transformation and conservation of heritage; origins and strategies of the Modern Movement through the 1930s; postmodernism and new poetics.

"Made in Italy" may have been coined in the twentieth century, but the relationship between excellence in craftsmanship and the visual, performing, and decorative arts goes back centuries. Outstanding Italian quality, style, and know-how in a range of artistic traditions from architecture and fashion, to music, and theater have long been recognized internationally. This course examines the intersection between the Arts and Italy's reputation for luxury and high quality through a series of case studies beginning with the fifteenth century. It was Renaissance culture that first fueled the prosperity of the luxury sector in a time where the production and patronage of art was trendsetting. The course investigates how trans-Mediterranean trade inspired local craft industries like metal and stone work; the development of theatre and costume design and the theatrical influence on urban spaces and architecture across European capitals, and the effect of luxury goods on politics and economy. The course provides students the opportunity to interview local artists and artisans, and investigate and present on areas of interest of local excellence in craftsmanship and its connection with the Arts. The course visits the spaces, workshops, and ateliers in Rome that bear witness to this ongoing conversation.