ReischuckHonors Art History IIPage 1
Honors Art History II (ART 22007)Instructor: Albert W. Reischuck
Section 031; [10634] Summer III 2009Office: 305-F Art Building (ph. 2-1354)
306Art Building; M-T-W-Th 9:45 – 11:40amOffice Hours: by arrangement
website: e-mail:
Required Text:
Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: A Global History. Thirteenth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Thomson, 2008. (See the “Textbook Options” page on our website).
- Only the soft cover Volume Two is required for this course [ISBN13:978-0495115502], although you may also use the second half of the large single-volume hardback edition [ISBN13: 978-0495093077]. I do not require that you use the CD-Rom or any other things that may come with your text.
- We are using the Thirteenth Edition and not any earlier edition. There are significant changes in the text and illustrations in this new edition, so it important that you use only this current version.
Barnet, Sylvan. A Short Guide to Writing About Art. Ninth Edition. New York: Longman, 2007. [ISBN13: 978-0136138556]
Course Description and Goals:
Using a chronological approach, we shall examine the history of Western Art from the beginning of the Renaissance through the current so-called Postmodern era. Through an analysis of selected works of painting, sculpture, and architecture, a meaningful recognition of different styles, concepts and concerns will be cultivated. Methods, theories, and related historical events will also be discussed when pertinent, as will examples of art from outside the Western tradition. Through an analysis and comparison of techniques and styles, the student will hopefully experience a greaterunderstanding of the visual complexity and rich history of ideas that lay beneath many works of art.
Grading:
1. Exam I (Thursday, July 30th)...... 33 %
2. Exam II (Tuesday, August 11th)...... 33 %
3. Exam III (Thursday, August 20th)...... 33 %
The three non-cumulative examinations will each cover approximately one quarter of the course material. You will be provided with a study guide (available online only and downloadable in Microsoft Word format) prior to each exam. Each exam will be worth 100 points and will consist of:
1. a slide identification section (15 points)
2. a left-right comparison section (5 points)
3. a term identification and issues section (30 points)
4. a Take-Home Essay section (50 points)
Important:Failure to take an exam on the assigned date will result in a "0" for that exam. Make-up exams will only be given for those students with a valid written excuse (for example, a written statement from your physician in the case of illness). Make-up exams must be taken within one week of the missed exam date and may be different in format than regular in-class exams (i.e., they may be a combination of different formats, including essay).
Your final grade for this semester will be determined from the following scale using your semester total of exam points:
276-300 = A 270-275 = A- 264-269= B+ 246-263 = B 240-245 = B- 234-239 = C+ 216-233 = C
210-215 = C- 204-209 = D+ 180-203 = D 0-179 = F
Attendance:
Since my lectures supplement and do not merely duplicate the reading material in the text it is important that you are present at each class in order to be prepared for the exams. I will pass around an attendance list for you to sign at the start of most of our lectures. This will provide me with an indication of your commitment to covering all of the important class material.
Registration Requirement:
University policy requires all students to be registered in each class they are attending. Students who are not officially registered for a course by published University deadlines should not be attending classes and will not receive credit or a grade for the course. Each student must confirm enrollment by checking his/her official class schedule (using Student Tools in FlashFAST) prior to the deadline indicated. Registration errors must be corrected prior to the deadline.
Office Hours:
There are no official office hours during the summer, but, if you wish to speak to me about anything, just let me know at the end of class. We can talk at that time in our classroom or in my office, Room 305-f in the Art History wing of the Third Floor.
Students with Disabilities Statement:
University policy 3342-3-18 requires that students with disabilities be provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, please contact the instructor at the beginning of the semester to make arrangements for necessary classroom adjustments. Please note, you must first verify your eligibility for these adjustments through Student Disability Services (contact 330-672-3391 or visit for more information on registration procedures).
Decorum:
You are expected to arrive on time (not after 9:45) and once class starts you should not disturb me or those around you with private chatter, doing work for other classes, reading the Kent Stater, listening to an iPod, or especially sending or receiving text messages, so please turn your phone off (completely off, not just to vibrate mode!) unless you are expecting an emergency call, in which case you probably shouldn’t be anywhere near campus. Also, if you know that you have to leave at some point during our class, let me know beforehand so that it is less disruptive to our meeting. If you miss a lecture, simply get the notes from a fellow student (preferably from several students) and keep up with the scheduled text readings.
General Tips:
To maximize your success this semester, you should read each chapter before it is discussed in class[1], visit the class website regularly for added materials, take substantial notes in class (that means not just writing down what is on the board…some of the words are there just because the spelling may be problematical), and avoid sitting in the back few rows where the proximity to the important sights and sounds of this class is the worst. If you do not do well on the first exam, you must see me promptly for an office hour appointment so that we can identify any problem areas and address them immediately. There is often little that can be done after the final drop date has passed and only the last exam remains.
Web Page:
This course has a web page component that I personally maintain on a regular basis in order to assist you in finding out more about the topics that we may touch on all too briefly in class. You will find this to be quite valuable in preparing for each exam, as the links I provide for you tend to parallel a variety of issues from our class meetings, many of which
are not found within our textbook. You may also use this web page to locate any essential materials that have been distributed in class, such as the syllabus, study guides, updates, etc., and it will serve as a vital link for information in the event of any unexpected cancellations or changes in our schedule.
Course Schedule:
Probable Topics:Art Historical methodologies…The end of the Middle Ages…The nature of the Renaissance…The Early Renaissance in the North…manuscript illumination …oil painting… patrons…The Early Quattrocento in Italy….linear perspective…The revival of classical sculpture… fresco painting…woodcuts and engravings…the Later Quattrocento in Italy…Urbino and Mantua…the age of the Condottieri…the High Renaissance in Italy…Leonardo’s genius…Pope Julius II and the Sistine Chapel…Michelangelo’s terribilitá…trompe l’oeil illusionsm…Venetian painting… iconoclasm…Later Northern Renaissance…the Protestant Reformation…Mannerism in Italy…the Counter Reformation…women artists…Holbein and Henry VIII in England…
JulyM20Introduction
T21lecture
W22lecture
Th23lecture
M27lecture
T28lecture
W29lecture
Th30Exam I / lecture
Probable Topics:The Baroque, country-by-country…Caravaggio and his followers…
tenebrism…the Academy and the Salon…etchings…Grand Manner painting…Rubens in Belgium…Rembrandt in Holland…Bernini in Rome…Vermeer and the camera obscura…Louis XIV at Versailles…Velazquez’s court portraits…artists’ workshops…Rococo artifice…the Enlightenment… David and the French Revolution…Neoclassicism…Goya in Spain…
The Age of Napoleon in Art…Photography…Romanticism and the Sublime…Realism… Positivism…the Salon des Refusés…
Lithography… Orientalism…
AugustM3lecture
T4lecture
W5lecture
Th6lecture
M10lecture
T11Exam II / lecture
Probable Topics:Impressionism…Japonisme…Post-Impressionism…
Modern Architecture…American painting…modernism in general…
Belle Epoque Europe…Early Abstraction…Fauvism…Cubism…Futurism…
Dada…Duchamp’s Readymades…Surrealism…
Non-objective painting…Hitler’s Entartete Kunst…
chance and automatism…Abstract Expressionism…Happenings…
Pop Art…Minimalism…Post-Modernism…Earth Art…
Photorealism…Performance Art…Censorship Issues
W12lecture
Th13lecture
M17lecture
T18lecture
W19lecture
Th20Exam III
[1] A list of artists will be provided for each exam, presented in the general order that I plan to present them in class. This list will be found only on the website at that time. Go to the website, look up each artist in the index and see what pages he/she appears on in your text, and at least read about that artist before we discuss them in class. Carefully consider the objects by that artist that are illustrated in the text, as you will soon be seeing many of those artworks in class. You will then be quite familiar with the objects and won’t need to use class time for your introduction to them. This technique is critical to managing the vast number of artists and images that we will be looking at this semester.