ARTH 175: 3 Credit Hours

ARTH 175: 3 credit hours

Introduction to Art History from Prehistory
Through The Middle Ages Fall 2010

Department of Fine Arts, CVPA

Gislebertus of Autun 1130

Dr. Laura Rinaldi Dufresne

M/W Rutledge 119 2-3:15pm

Office hours M/W 1-2pm & by appointment

102 McLaurin x 2661

website:

REQUIRED TEXT: Laurie Schneider Adams, Art Across Time, Vol. 1, any recent edition

RECOMMENDED TEXT: James Hall Dictionary of Subjects andSymbols; Sylvan Barnett A Short Guide to Writing about Art (both at Dacus at reference & reserve)

COURSE DESCRIPTION:Survey of art and architecture in the major civilizations
of ancient Egypt, the Near East, Greece, Rome, Byzantium, Medieval Europe, India, China, Japan, and Africa. No Prerequisites Required.

COURSE GOALS & EXPECTED STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES: include recognition, understanding and appreciation for the arts of ancient Egypt, the Near East, Greece, Rome, Byzantium, Medieval Europe, India, China, Japan, and Africa expressed through satisfactory written Standard English on exams as well as on a research paper; competent citation skills also evident in research paper.

GNED:ARTH 175 fulfills GNED requirements for Historical Perspective, Global Perspective and Humanities and the Arts. Goal 1.1Read, write and speak standard English is met through writing assignments and essay exam questions, Goal 3.2Analyze and use a variety of information gathering techniques is met through the research paper assignment, Goal 4. 1Analyze diverse world cultures, societies, languages, historical periods, and artistic expressionsandGoal 6.1To understand aesthetic values, the creative process, and the interconnectedness of the literary, visual, and performing arts throughout the history of civilization are met through reading, lecture, research and exams on course description content.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS:100 points possible

3 EXAMS 60 (20+20+20)

Classical facade Exercise10

Museum Paper20

ATTENDENCE 5

Grading Scale: 94-100% = A; 90-93 = A-; 87-89 = B+; 84-86 = B; 80-83 = B-; 77-79 = C+; 74-76 = C; 70-73 = C-; 67-69 = D+; 64-66 = D; 60-63 = D-; 59 or less = F

Classroom Decorum, etc:

Be respectful of Professor & Classmates during lectures. (Turn off cell phones. Be on time, do not talk, TEXT, sleep, put head on desk, use computer, phone, leave class during lecture (excessively) etc….Or you will be given an absence).
Take notes! Lots of them.
more than 3 absences results in a lowering of your grade
Keep up with weekly reading assignments & check syllabus often.
No late work or make up exams without doctor’s excuse, etc.

If you are confused about assignments, please ask for clarification (after class best)
If you have any special needs for exams, etc. contact Gena Smith @ X3290

Class Schedule (subject to revision)

W Aug 24 Introduction /Read: LS Adams Intro

M / Aug 29 / Pre-history / Read: LS Adams Ch. 1
W / Aug 31 / Pre-history & Ancient Near East/Read: LS Adams Ch. 2
M / Sept 5 / Egypt/Read: LS Adams Ch. 3/ (time line)(explore ancient Egypt) /
W / Sept 7 / Egypt
M / Sept 12 / India / Aegean / Read: LS Adams Ch. 4 & pp. 254-263/
W / Sept 14 / Aegean STUDY GUIDE EXAM ONE
M / Sept 19 / Aegean
W / Sept 21 / EXAM ONE
M / Sept 26 / Greece/ Read: LS Adams Ch. 5
W / Sept 28 / Greece /Read: LS Adams Ch. 5 & 6
M / Oct 3 / Greece / Etruscans
W / Oct 5 / Rome /CLASSICAL FACADE ASSIGNMENT DUE
M / Oct 10 / Rome
W / Oct 12 / China / Read: LS Adams pp. 201-206 / STUDY GUIDE EXAM TWO
M / Oct 17 / Fall Break
W / Oct 19 / Advising Begins / EXAM TWO
M / Oct 24 / Early Christian / Read: LS Adams Ch. 8
W / Oct 26 / Byzantine
M / Oct 31 / Islamic/ Early Middle Ages / Read: LS Adams Ch 9
W / Nov 2 / Pre-registration / Early Middle Ages
Have Art Work Approved for Research Paper by today
M / Nov 7 / Early Middle Ages/ Romanesque
W / Nov 9 / Library Research Day
M / Nov 14 / Romanesque/Read: LS Adams Ch 10
W / Nov 16 / Romanesque / MUSEUM RESEARCH PAPER DUE
M / Nov 21 / Gothic
W / Nov 23 / Thanksgiving Break begins. No classes.
F / Nov 26 / Thanksgiving Break.
M / Nov 28 / Gothic / Read: LS Adams Ch 11
W / Nov 30 / Gothic
M / Dec 5 / Mesoamerica Read: LS Adams pp. 347-363 / STUDY GUIDE EXAM 3
T / Dec 8 / Study Day
FINAL EXAM 11:30 am Tues. December 13TH
Travel plans or work schedules are not reasons to reschedule examinations.

Classical Facade Assignment10 pointsdue Wed.Oct. 5th

Examine the classical orders diagram above (also in Chapter 7on Greek Art)

On an unlined piece of paperno larger than 8x14”:

Draw and label the façade including all parts of Doric, Ionic & Corinthian Orders (see above) and add façade & pediment to your sketch & label

Walk around Winthrop Campus with your 1st drawing/diagram (above). Note the use of classical orders (and their variations) on many of our buildings at Winthrop (2, 500 years after the buildings the original buildings we are studying!).

Choose one buildingon campus to DRAW

(give the building’s name and date)

and on unlined paperno larger than 8 x14”:

Draw and label its façade, (identifyas many elements as possible from the diagram above).

Write a paragraph (typed) describing what, if anything, has changed in the design of the orders of your building from the Greek originals? Describe changes in detail? (short answer- 1 paragraph)
Turn in 2 drawings and written description in a protective folder with your name on it October 5th

You will be graded on accuracy and neatness, not artistic ability (but that can’t hurt!)

Museum Research Paper 20 points / Image due 11/2nd - Paper due Mon. Nov. 16th

Go to the website of a MAJOR museum

-Explore the website – look for works from the same period we are covering in class (nothing AFTER 1400 CE)

Choose a work of art from that museum to research

-Choose a work that you think you can describe formally (how it looks) as well as decode iconographically (meaning)

-This work of art can be in any medium, from anywhere in the world before 1400 ce

-This work of art cannot be modern! Do Not use a work from your text! (although it can be like something in your text)

Use the research on the museum site and follow any suggested sources

-You must include the date, original context and current location of your piece!

Print a high quality color image of your art work noting it’s title, medium, artist (if known), original and current location and date
Have your work of art approved by me before 11/2nd
Once approved, write a 4-5 page research paper(typed, double spaced) Consider?

-What are the facts (culture, date, function, medium, location)

-What does it look like (formal analysis – see style handout)

-What does it mean (include scholars theories, etc)

-compare it to works in your text it may resemble

Include a Bibliography of 4 sources (not including LS Adams). UseWikipedia with caution. Instead, utilize a source listed on that page.
Your paper must be stapled or in a folder!
Properly cite your ideas and quotes (otherwise it is plagiarism)
Submit your paper to Turnitin.com by midnight 11/17th

Class name: ARTH 175
enrollment password:dufresne (case sensitive)
class id:4245088

Hard copy and (high quality)image due in class 11/17

Art: Introductory Study Guide

Style: The way in which a thing is done.

What are the various visible characteristics that make up a work of art’s general appearance? (Read Sylvan Barnet’s “Asking Questions” chapter in A Short Guide to Writing about Art for help with analysis.)
Does it exemplify a period or era?(as STYLE PERIODS: Historical and Cultural divisions of art, For example: Classical Greek, Byzantine, Renaissance, and Dada)

Formal Elements: These are the visual elements of creating style:

COMPOSITION: The arrangement of the artwork. Where is everything? At the top, bottom, middle…lower left? Is it balanced, symmetrical, organized in registers, diagonals?
SCALE: Size: a) Bigger than a breadbox? Colossal? Tiny? b) In a painting or relief- forms in relationship to one another. (Are the people bigger than the house?)
SHAPE: Geometric? Soft, indistinct? Irregular? 3-d? 2-d?
MEDIUM: Material the work is made of: bronze, wood, marble, paper, mosaic, fresco, oil, clay, watercolor, pastel, woodcut, engraving, plastic, trash…
SPACE: Is there an illusion of depth? Why or why not? Are the shapes shaded & modeled to suggest 3-d? Are the items in the background softly indicated to suggest distance? Does the design stress the 2-d aspect of the surface?
COLOR: What are the colors: Warm, cold, monochromatic, bright, subdued, or muddy? What does this contribute to the work?
LINE: Thick, even, curvilinear, uneven, jerky, straight, ragged, sketchy? Are the forms strongly outlined? Is line used within the form?
TEXTURE: Is the surface rough, smooth, textured paper, thick paint? Is it indicated in a painting? Ex. Stubby beard, satin gown
MOVEMENT: Do the forms imply movement (diagonals) or stability (triangles) or rest (horizontals)?
TONE: what is the emotional feeling implied by the piece? (Active, still, violent, serene, harsh, melancholy) Is it intended by the artist, or is it your personal reaction?

Iconography: meaning, symbolism, and subject matter in art

Function: What is the purpose of the piece? How was it used? How does that affect its appearance? Is it a jug, a church, a portrait? Is it narrative, symbolic, decorative, or religious, political, secular? Also, consider the following:

WHO: Who made it? Who was it made for? (group of people)
WHAT: What is it? What is its subject? Does it do anything?
WHEN: When was it made? (What century or era?)
WHERE: In what country and or city? Significance of cites.
WHY: Why was it made; for what purpose? Is it functional? What does the object suggest about the society to which the artist belonged?
HOW: How was it made? What was the process utilized?

COMMON WRITING ERRORS TO AVOID

Titles:

ALWAYS put titles of works of art in on of the following:

EX: The Annunciation or theAnnunciation or “The Annunciation”

Words & Phrases to avoid

-Talks or talks about:

Use a thesaurus – use discusses claims, wrote, argues….

-Seems or seems like:

Just strike it out – too passive, be strong!

-Feels or feels like:

“Tone” a better word choice – again use thesaurus

-Really:

Just avoid it

-Fabulous – too over the top – describe it well, and this will not be necessary

-Try not to start a sentence with:

“And”, “But”, or “Because”

Other errors:

-No contractions!

Example…Use do not (not don’t) etc… in a formal paper

-Avoid these phrases:

The author “starts out”---- (begins is a better choice)

The author “goes on to” -- (explain)

The author “talks about” – (discusses, states, continues)

-Do not use the same phrase or word over & over…boring – use your thesaurus!

-Do not begin paper with birth date & place of the artist ---

Too unimaginative – Find an interesting fact or quote about them or something!!