Art History

The course is about Dutch art – with an emphasis on painting. Ever 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 Mondriaan 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 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 are 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 field trips to various museums in Amsterdam, the Hague, or Arnhem to view the original works.

This course begins with the origins of pop art in the UK before turning to more famous proponents, such as Warhol. It explores major post-war developments in visual culture, including minimalism, land art, and conceptual art. It also explores new media such as installations, performance art, and moving image art. In architecture and design, the late 20th century reaction to modernism, expressed through the pop movement and postmodernism, is a key focus.

For the understanding of Southeast Asian cultures and peoples, this course explains the general historical change from the 19th century to the 1990s by focusing on cultural change. In this area, what is formed is not a gathering of each history of present nations, but total perspectives based on several important historical waves. Topics: early colonization, the period of mercantilism: before 18th century; Imperialism-19th century; birth of Nationalism - first half of the 20th century; decolonization - 1940s and 50s; The Cold War - 1960s); New Change Period - 1970s and 80s. Generally Southeast Asian history in the Modern times was recorded by documents written in several languages. For easier understanding this course focuses on material cultural elements or pictorial data in each period.

The course consists of one component, titled Art History and its Materials and Techniques. This is a single-semester course taught in semester one. It examines some of the most common issues of the discipline such as style labels, periodization, the role of patrons, and the wide range of media used by artists at different times. It will also look at the practice of art history itself in the writings of notable art historians from Vasari onwards.

This course engages with the architectural and pictorial inheritance of France. It focuses on the architecture of Bordeaux and the region of Aquitaine during the 18th century. The course studies urban and countryside architecture, sculpture, painting, and decorative arts.