Art History

The course analyzes the main milestones of Western Art from post-World War II to today. Topics include: debates on the notion of contemporary art; narratives and problems in contemporary art; art history "after modernity".

This course provides a study of the development of urban architecture and environmental landscape, as well as the evaluation of world-famous architectural landscape. It covers the development process and notable achievements of the aesthetic creation of architecture and environmental landscape, both in ancient and modern China and around the world. The course provides an analysis of the architectural ideas, theories, and techniques of each historical period, including the types, features, styles, forms, structural features, artistic features, and their evolution. Other topics include architectural communication culture, integration of architectural culture and art, and architectural features as well as the religious, cultural, social and technological factors that have shaped these architectural features.

The course provides a survey of Norwegian visual art from the early medieval period to contemporary art. The primary focus is on painting, but developments in sculpture, architecture, folk arts, design, installations, conceptual, and performative art are also covered. Beginning with archeological findings from the Viking Age and the arts of the stave churches, the course runs more or less chronologically through the arts with regular interventions from the present. The course develops skills in describing, interpreting, and critically reflecting upon visual art and its discourse. It analyzes Norwegian art as a key to understanding Norwegian culture, and develops an understanding of the vital role that Norwegian artists have and have not played in shaping national identity.

This course presents the aesthetic changes and new artistic currents experienced in French painting in the 19th century. It provides an introduction to and analysis of neo-classicism with the presentation of two artists: David and Ingres; romanticism seen through the works of Géricault and Delacroix; realism in France through the study of works by Courbet; the impressionists presented first by the influence of Manet, then by the analysis of works by Monet and Renoir; and post-impressionism through the presentation of four precursor painters of the 20th century painting movements: Cézanne, Seurat, Van Gogh, and Gauguin.

This course examines the history of Western art and architecture through such defining issues as the respective roles of tradition and innovation in the production and appreciation of art; the relation of art to its broader intellectual and historical contexts; and the changing concepts of the monument, the artist, meaning, style, and “art” itself. Representative examples are selected from different periods, ranging from Antiquity to Modern. 

With an emphasis on Italy, this course focuses on the looting, destruction, and reselling of antiquities, from classical antiquity to today. Together students consider issues such as what constitutes an art/cultural heritage crime, how ideas of value (both real and symbolic) have emerged historically and how have they changed over time, what constitutes "ownership" in the eyes of different entities, and how this has changed over the past fifty years, resulting in the current difficult and controversial issue of the repatriation of cultural artifacts which have crossed international borders. Themes considered include the history of collecting, illegal excavation and the illicit trade in antiquities, the role of auction houses, the Church, museums and galleries, ownership and patrimony issues, international laws and agreements, recovery and repatriation, and ongoing problems with the protection and conservation of antiquities. The course concludes with a review of cultural heritage laws and the current international situation, as well as a discussion identifying challenges and providing suggestions for regulating the market of antiquities in the future. The course includes visits to relevant sites and museums in and around Rome and includes the close investigation of actual case studies throughout.