Courses offered Fall 2012

AH110 Survey of Art: Paleolithic to Gothic
AH111 Survey of Art: Renaissance to Modern (fulfills FA core requirement)
AH204D Islamic Art (fulfills Diversity Core Requirement, counts towards East Asian Sudies)
AH320 Contemporary Art 1945-Present
AH322 Michelangelo
AH351 American Urban Culture (cross-listed as HS351, fulfills 300-level History Core requirement)

Courses offered Spring 2013

AH 111 Survey of Art: Renaissance to Modern
AH 210 Survey of Architectural History
AH 315 Art of the Revolutionary Era
AH 319 History of Photography
AH 326 The Crusades in Medieval Visual Culture (fulfills Diversity Core Requirement)

Course Descriptions

AH110 Survey of Art: Paleolithic to Gothic: A broad overview of art from the Paleolithic age to the Gothic era, focusing on Egyptian, Greek and Roman, early Christian, and medieval art and architecture. Same course as CL241. Generally offered each fall.

AH111 Survey of Art: Renaissance to Modern: A survey of major artistic styles from the beginning of the Renaissance to the modern era. Fulfills fine arts core requirement. Offered every semester.

AH200 Women in Art: Since antiquity, women have been among the most popular subjects for painters and sculptors, most of whom have been male. Examines the multiple roles that have been assigned by male artists to women in art, both positive and negative--as objects of beauty (and sometimes passivity), and as images of power (and sometimes powerlessness). In the final course segment, students explore the self-consciously feminist response of modern artists to the representation of women in art. Counts toward Gender Studies minor.

AH202 African Art: An introduction to the great variety of both the ancient and living arts of Africa focusing primarily on those traditions in sub-Saharan Africa. An overview of African art exploring its distinctive genesis, history, and evolution by emphasizing such traditional media as sculpture, architecture and fiber, and body arts. Looking at African art in its cultural context reveals its importance as an integral part of African society, as well as awakening an awareness of the great beauty, refinement, and aesthetic appeal of the arts of Africa. Counts toward Gender Studies minor and African and African-American Studies minor.

AH204 Islamic Art: A survey of the rich and diverse artistic heritage of Islamic civilization from the 7th century to the present. Covers a wide range of media including: architecture, calligraphy, ceramics, textiles and manuscript illumination. Examines religious and secular art within its historical context in Spain, North Africa, the Middle East, and central and south Asia. Counts towards Asian Studies Minor.

AH207 African-American Art: This survey of African-American art begins in the slave communities of eighteenth century colonial America, continues with African-American artists’ adaptations of Western art in the nineteenth century, and ends with the political and aesthetic concerns of black artists in the twentieth century. Examples of architecture, decorative arts, folk art, painting, sculpture, graphic arts, and photography demonstrate how African-American artists have enriched the art and culture of America. The social and political place of African-Americans throughout America’s history is also explored to provide a context for the struggle these artists experienced in pursuing their careers. Counts towards American Studies minor.

AH210 Survey of Architectural History: An examination of major architectural monuments from ancient Egypt to the present. Explores the relation between the appearance and function of buildings, the use of ornament in relation to materials, and the social and symbolic importance of architecture.

AH308 Art of Ancient Greece: A survey of Greek art and architecture from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic Era. Among the topics considered are Mycenaean tombs and palaces, the development of temple architecture, and the ways in which polytheistic religion shaped life in ancient Greece. Same course as CL308.

AH309 Art of Ancient Rome: A survey of Roman art and architecture from the emergence of the Etruscan Civilization to the fall of the empire. Topics include the forging of a new Roman culture from Italic and Greek origins, the invention of new construction techniques, and the appropriation of art for propagandistic purposes. A section of this course is offered in Rome. Same course as CL309.

AH310 Early Medieval Art: An exploration of European art beginning with the earliest emergence of Christian art in the mid-third century through the flowering of magnificent church architecture in the twelfth century. Brilliant mosaics, sculpture in stone, ivory and bronze, glittering reliquaries holding saints’ bones, monasteries, and illuminated manuscripts will number among the types of artworks examined in the course. Students will investigate how Christianity and the growing influence of Germanic ethnic groups transformed the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire during this period, and how pilgrimage, aesthetic theories of beauty, the fear of idolatry, assertions of sacred and secular power, and other contextual factors shaped artworks.

AH312 Renaissance Art in Italy: Investigates art's reflection of the rise of humanism, the rebirth of interest in antiquity, and a new concentration on the earthly world in thirteenth to sixteenth century Italy. Studies art and patronage in Republican Florence, Papal Rome, and the Ducal courts of Northern Italy, from the time of Giotto to the High Renaissance of Leonardo and Michelangelo, and on to Mannerism and the Counter-Reformation. Counts toward Catholic Studies, Italian Studies and Medieval Studies minors.

AH313 Renaissance Art in Northern Europe: A study of the developing humanism of the fifteenth century in Flanders where the manuscript tradition of painting developed into the naturalistic and symbolic painting of the "late Gothic," as well as the increasing influence of Italian art on Northern Europe in the sixteenth century. Counts toward Catholic Studies and Medieval Studies minors.

AH314 From Caravaggio to Rembrandt: The Art of Baroque Europe: Originating in the late sixteenth century in Italy, the Baroque soon spread, influencing the production of painting, sculpture and architecture throughout Western Europe. The course will begin by examining the rise of the Baroque in the workshop of Caravaggio and then trace the development of the style throughout Europe, culminating with the works of Rembrandt and the Dutch School. Counts toward Catholic Studies and Italian Studies minors.

AH315 Art of the Revolutionary Era: Neoclassicism and Romanticism: Bracketed by two revolutions, this course explores the radical politics of art in France from 1780 to 1848 and the concurrent emergence of landscape painting and portraiture as art forms that reflected the values of the growing middle class in England, Germany, France, and Spain.

AH316 Realism and Impressionism: Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, artists such as Courbet, Manet, and Monet struggled to free themselves from older art forms in an effort to become "modern," to capture the life and spirit of their own times. Investigates the artistic transformation that occurred in an era of rapid social change as artists struggled with new avenues for marketing their works (through dealers and galleries), mined new urban spaces and newly created suburbs, and combed the diminishing countryside for their images. Counts toward Gender Studies minor.

AH317 Modern Art in Europe 1880-1945: At the end of the nineteenth-century, artists prized self-expression over centuries-old conventions for art. Examines the dreamy world-weariness of Symbolist artists at the end of the nineteenth century; the assault on conventional art forms by artists such as Picasso, Matisse, and Duchamp in the early twentieth century; and the Surrealist effort to capture and objectify the subjective in art.

AH318 American Art: Art for Democracy: Although American artists looked to European models for their inspiration, their art consistently reflected the complexities of American culture. In America, English aristocratic portraits were transformed into Puritan celebrations of hard-earned and therefore, well-deserved wealth; American architects responded to the practical demands of climate and materials at hand; painters of American life glorified the wilderness even as it was disappearing; the democratic process was both glorified and satirized. Examines the American response to European art as it was assimilated and transformed by American artists from the seventeenth century to the Great Depression. Same course as HS356. Counts towards American Studies minor.

AH319 History of Photography: An examination of the major technical and aesthetic movements in the history of photography since its invention. Covers the works of major artists working in this medium as well as the major styles. Students in this class will not be expected to produce photographs. Same course as PT319.

AH320 Contemporary Art, 1945 to the Present: In the aftermath of World War II and with the advent of the Abstract Expressionists, American artists seemingly pioneered the successive waves of post-painterly and hard-edged abstraction, Pop and performance art, conceptual art, and earthworks. Explores the diversity of European and American art from 1945 to the present.

AH322 Michelangelo: Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was arguably the most important artistic figure of the sixteenth century. Active as a painter, sculptor, architect, draftsman, and poet, Michelangelo greatly influenced the development art in Italy (and Europe) both during and after his life. Works such as David and the Sistine Chapel ceiling are examined in the context of the political, religious, artistic, and philosophical concerns of the time. Michelangelo's art also is examined in relation to that of his predecessors, contemporaries, and followers, so that students may come to understand not only his art but his impact on the art of the Renaissance and, more broadly, on Western European art. Counts towards Italian Studies minor.

AH325 Gothic Art and Architecture: Beginning around Paris in the mid-twelfth century, this course investigates the emergence and development of Gothic--a style of art and architecture that dominated Western Europe for centuries and offered new ways of envisioning the world and the divine. Gothic is studied in its social contexts across a range of media, from towering churches to manuscripts in local collections.

AH326 The Crusades in Medieval Visual Culture: Explores the crusades as a catalyst for artistic encounter between western Europe, Byzantine, and Islamic cultures in the Holy Land and the Mediterranean from the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries.  The investigation of the richly varied art and architecture of this period- which includes intricately carved ivory boxes, scintillating mosaics, and imposing castles- provides critical insights into the complex historical processes of cultural conflict and convergence.

AH351 American Urban Culture: Students explore the growth of cultural institutions in four American cities--Baltimore, Boston, New York, and Philadelphia--in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For much of the time under consideration the elite and the citizenry in each of these cities competed to establish exemplary cultural institutions that would be emulated--or envied--by other cities. Early urban planning, religious edifices, monuments, parks, museums and libraries, and department stories are among the topics considered. Same course as HS351. Counts towards American Studies minor.

AH391 The American West in Art and Literature: This team-taught course explores visual and verbal images of the West in the unfolding history of American culture. Counts towards American Studies Minor. Same course as EN391.

AH400 Methodology and Historiography: Prerequisite: Written permission of the instructor. Through readings, discussions, museum and gallery visits, students examine the diverse methodologies of art history and the history of the discipline from its emergence in America in the 1930s to the present. Strongly recommended for fine arts majors and minors with a concentration in art history. Generally offered in alternating spring.

AH402 Special Topics: Prerequisite: Written permission of the instructor. An intensive investigation of a special topic, artist, limited span of time, or a particular artistic "problem" in the history of art. Combines a lecture and seminar format. May be repeated for credit with different topics.

AH403 Internship: Art History: Prerequisite: Written permission of the instructor. Students interested in an internship in the history of art or museum studies should contact the instructor.

AH405 Prints and Printmaking: A History of the Print in the West: Prerequisite: Written or electronic permission of the instructor. Examines the history of European and American prints from the early fifteenth century up to the present day. Prints will be looked at in their historical, artistic, material, and cultural contexts and numerous meetings will be held in the print room of the Baltimore Museum of Art. The course will use critical theory and may feature practical demonstrations of printmaking techniques.

AH412 Senior Project in Art History: Students develop an advanced research project under the direction of a faculty member. Work on the project continues throughout both semesters of the student's senior year. Proposals for senior projects must be approved by the fine arts faculty during the student's junior year.

Questions about courses? Contact us.