Instructor: Dr. Suzanne Newman Fricke
Office Hours:
FAC 323, Fridays, 10:00-12:00
Note: Office hours are canceled Friday, Feb. 1st.
Objectives:
This course covers the art and architecture from the end of the Gothic
period about 1200 through Post-Impressionism, about 1900. The changes
during this time, including scientific innovations, new philosophies, and explorations
to the Americas, were matched by changes in the culture. Before this time, few artists’ names were
recorded, their identities not considered worth noting. With the arrival of the Renaissance, written
histories, notably by Giorgio Vasari, recorded the names and stories of
individual painters, sculptors and architects.
Artists were no longer mere craftsmen but could aspire to a higher
social status. With the end of feudalism
and the rise of the bourgeoisie, new types of art were in demand. Rather than creating cathedrals and public
sculptures for the church or the nobility, artists filled a new demand for privately
owned art works that reflected a new interest in this corporeal world rather
than the afterlife. This new emphasis on
the timely over the timeless and the personal over the spiritual led the
creation of art that continues to excite and interest today.
Required Texts:
Laurie Schneider Adams, Art Across
Time Volume II,
Linnea
Wren and David Wren, Perspectives on Western Art
Accommodation
Statement: Accessibility Services (Mesa Vista Hall 2021,
277-3506) provides academic support to students who have disabilities. If you need alternative formats for
undertaking and completing the work for this course, you should contact this
service right away to assure your needs are met in a timely manner. If you need local assistance in contacting
Accessibility Services, see the Bachelor and Graduate Programs office. The professor is willing to make whatever
accommodations are necessary.
Academic
Integrity: The University of New Mexico
believes that academic honesty is a foundation principle for personal and
academic development. All University
policies regarding academic honesty apply to this course. Academic dishonesty
includes, but is not limited to, cheating or copying, plagiarism (claiming
credit for the words or works of another from any type of source such as print,
Internet or electronic database, or failing to cite the source), fabricating
information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others,
having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another
person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering
with the academic work of other students. The University's full statement on
academic honesty and the consequences for failure to comply is available in the
college catalog and in the Pathfinder.
Class Attendance: As
in any university course, regular attendance is necessary for you to fully
grasp the material. An attendance sheet
will be passed around every class since professors are now required by the
university to know the last date a student attended in order to receive a
“withdraw pass.” It is your
responsibility to sign the list every class.
Since this class is full, it is important for everyone to observe
classroom etiquette. Please try to be on
time and ready to begin when class starts, and stay in your seat until class
time is over. If you must leave early,
please let the professor know ahead of time and sit near the back of the
class. If you are unable to come to
class on a particular day, please inform the professor as soon as possible and
obtain lecture notes from at least two students in the class. Three
missed classes will result in a “withdraw fail” from the course.
Class Readings: Reading
the text is extremely important to your understanding of the material in this
class. Assigned readings are listed on
the course syllabus by class. It is
important to keep up with the reading and to review the material before each
exam.
Dropping the Course:
If you choose to drop the course, you are responsible for reporting the
change to the registrar's office. Be
sure to drop as early as possible to maintain a good scholarship status since
the university notes when changes to your schedule occur. If you stop coming to class and do not contact
the registrar, you will receive a failing grade.
Grading:
Two exams, 25% each
Second paper, 25%
Class
participation: 10%
There
will be no make-ups on the tests. Papers
are due at the beginning of class. If
late, they will be marked down 5% per day (i.e., a paper that would have earned
an 85% if on time would be worth 75% if two days late). No incompletes will be given.
Exams: There
will be two equally weighted exams in this class. The exams will cover information presented in
class and the text. Each will last 75
minutes and will cover material and from the classroom lectures and the
assigned readings. The final will be
given May 15th, 5:30-7:30,
and it will follow the same format as the other exam; it will not be
cumulative.
5
Slide Identifications: You will be expected to know the artist,
title, date, stylistic period, and location for each piece.
5
Short Answer Questions: These
include a discussion of styles and historical information.
5
Term Definitions: These cover terms used to describe the art and
the society from which it came.
1
Compare/Contrast Essay:
Compare/Contrast essays are perhaps the most widely used and poorly
understood aspect of an art history class.
We will discuss the proper format for a compare/cont rast
essay before the first exam.
Before each exam, a slide list will be posted on my web
page which will contain approximately 60 images. Each piece is identified by: artist’s
name, title, date, stylistic period, and location for buildings or other site
specific objects (i.e., Giotto di Bondone, Lamentation from the Arena Chapel,
c.1305-10, Padua, Italy). These examples
will appear on the test in various forms: as identifications, in the
compare/contrast essays, or as part of the short answer questions. Learning these examples in vital to passing
the exam. The best way to learn these
works is to create a set of flash cards with the image on one side (a Xerox
copy, downloaded image, or a drawing) and the pertinent information on the
back. If the class is cancelled on the
exam date, the exam will take place on the next class day. Otherwise the exams will occur on the days
indicated on the syllabus whether or not we have covered all the information
listed; exams will only cover topics covered in class. There
are no makeup examinations. If you
have a compelling reason for missing an exam, you must discuss it with me as
soon as possible and we will discuss options.
Please note that this is a
tentative schedule of lectures to be presented and is subject to change. However, the dates of the exams are fixed;
you will be responsible only for the material covered in class.
Tuesday,
January 22: Introduction to the class
Reading:
Adams, Introduction, “Why Do We
Study Art?”
Thursday,
January 24: Trecento art from Sienna and Pisa
and Early Quattrocento art from Florence
Reading
Adams, Chapter 13, “Precursors of
the Renaissance: Thirteenth-Century
Italy and Fourteenth-Century Italy”
Week 2:
Tuesday, January 29: Early Quattrocento art from Sienna and the
International Gothic Style
Adams, Chapter 13, “Precursors of
the Renaissance: The International Gothic Style”
Thursday, January 31: Early
Quattrocento art from Florence
Adams, Chapter 14, “The Early
Renaissance: Italy in the Fifteenth
Century and Early Fifteenth-Century Painting”
Wren, Section I, “Italian Renaissance
Art of the Early Fifteenth Century”
Week
3:
Tuesday,
February 5: Renaissance in Florence, continued
Reading:
Adams, Chapter 14, “The Early
Renaissance: Early Fifteenth-Century
Sculpture”
Thursday,
February 7: Early Renaissance painting in Northern Europe
Reading:
Adams, Chapter 14, “The Early
Renaissance: Fifteenth-Century Painting
in Flanders”
Wren, Section III, “Fifteenth-Century
Northern European Art”
Tuesday,
February 12: The High
Renaissance in Italy
Reading:
Adams, Chapter 15, “The High
Renaissance in Italy: Architecture and
Painting and S culpture”
Wren,
Section II, “Sixteenth-Century Italian Art”
Thursday,
February 14: Video: “Saving the Sistine Chapel”
First Paper Assigned
Week 5:
Tuesday,
February 19: High
Renaissance in Venice
Reading:
Adams,
Chapter 15, “The High Renaissance in Italy:
Developments in Venice”
Thursday,
February 21: Mannerism
Adams, Chapter 16, “Mannerism and the
Later Sixteenth Century in Italy”
Week 6:
Tuesday,
February 26: Art of the
Reformation from the Netherlands and Germany
Reading:
Adams,
Chapter 17: “Sixteenth-Century Painting
in Northern Europe”
Wren,
Section IV, “Sixteenth-Century Northern European Art”
Thursday,
February 28: Baroque
Art and Architecture in France
Reading:
Adams, Chapter
18, “The Baroque Style in Western Europe:
Developments in Politics and Science, Baroque Style, Architecture,
Sculpture, and Italian Baroque Painting”
Wren, Section
V, “Baroque Art in Italy, France, and England”
First Paper Due
Week 7:
Tuesday,
March 4: Baroque Art
in Northern Europe
Reading:
Adams,
Chapter 18, “The Baroque Style in Western Europe: Baroque Painting in Northern Europe”
Wren,
Section VI, “Baroque Art in the Netherlands and Spain”
Thursday,
March 6: Baroque
Art in Spain and France
Reading:
Adams,
Chapter 18, “The Baroque Style in Western Europe: Spanish Baroque Painting and French Baroque
Painting”
Thursday,
March 13: MIDTERM
EXAM
Week 9: SPRING BREAK
Week 10:
Tuesday,
March 25: Art of the
Americas after 1300 of the Aztec and Incan cultures
SECOND PAPER ASSIGNED
Thursday,
March 27: Rococo Art
in France
Reading:
Adams, Chapter 19, “Rococo and
the Eighteenth Century: Political and
Cultural Background and The Age of Enlightenment”
Wren, Section VII, 1-8, “Eighteenth-Century
Art”
Week 11:
Tuesday,
April 1: Rococo Art
in German, Austria, and England
Reading:
Adams,
Chapter 19, “Rococo and the Eighteenth Century:
Rococo Architecture, Architectural Revivals, European Painting, and
American Painting”
Thursday,
April 3: Neoclassicism
in France
Reading:
Adams, Chapter 20 “Neoclassicism: The Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth
Centuries: The Neoclassical Style in France”
Wren, Section VII, 11, “Eighteenth-Century
Art”
Week 12
Tuesday,
April 8: Neoclassicism
in America and England
Reading:
Adams,
Chapter 20, “Neoclassicism: The Late
Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries:
Developments in America”
Wren, Section VII, 9-10, 12-14, “Eighteenth-Century
Art”
Thursday,
April 10: Romanticism
in France and Spain
Reading:
Adams, Chapter
21, “Romanticism: The Late Eighteenth
and Early Nineteenth Centuries: The
Romantic Movement, Architecture, Sculpture, and Figural Painting”
Wren, Section
VIII, 1-4, 6-7, “Nineteenth-Century Art”
Week 13:
Tuesday,
April 15: Realism in
France
Reading:
Adams,
Chapter 22, “Nineteenth-Century Realism:
Cultural and political Context, French Realism, French Realism in the
1860s, and Architecture and Sculpture”
Wren, Section VIII, 5, 8-10,
“Nineteenth-Century Art”
Thursday,
April 17:
The
Development of Photography
SECOND PAPER DUE
Reading:
Adams, Chapter 22,
“Nineteenth-Century Realism:
Photography”
Tuesday,
April 20: American
Realism
Reading:
Adams, Chapter 22, “Nineteenth-Century Realism: American Realism”
Wren, Section VIII, 16 and 18,
“Nineteenth-Century Art”
Thursday,
April 22: Impressionism
in France
Reading:
Adams, Chapter 23,
“Nineteenth-Century Impressionism: Urban
Renewal during the Second Empire, Painting, and Sculpture”
Wren, Section VIII, 11-13, 17,
“Nineteenth-Century Art”
Week 15:
Tuesday,
April 27:
Impressionism in England and the United States
Reading:
Adams, Chapter 23,
“Nineteenth-Century Impressionism: American
Painting at the Turn of the Century and ‘Art for Art’s Sake’”
Thursday,
April 29: Post-Impressionist
Painting in France
Reading:
Adams, Chapter 24, “Post-Impressionism
and the Late Nineteenth Century: Post
Impressionist Painting and Gauguin and Oceania”
Wren, Section VIII, 14-15,
“Nineteenth-Century Art”
Week 16:
Tuesday,
May 3: Fin-de-Siecle Art across Europe
Adams,
Chapter 24, “Post-Impressionism
and the Late Nineteenth Century: Symbolism
and Fin-de-Siecle Developments”
Wren, Section VIII, 19,
“Nineteenth-Century Art”
Thursday,
May 5: Review for Final
FINAL EXAM: Thursday, May 15th, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
HOW TO TAKE NOTES IN AN ART
HISTORY CLASS
In this class, the bulk of the
information will be given during lectures.
It is important that you attend class and take careful notes as well as
reading the text. Art history has its
own terminology and this class will introduce you to the phrases and
expressions you will need when discussing art, especially if you plan to take
another art history class. Be sure to
include these phrases in your notes as you hear them in class or read them in
your book. The glossary in the back of
your text can help. In addition to
learning the language of art history, this class will help you develop a visual
memory. When you see a new image in
class or in your book it is important that you look at it.
While you will not be required to
repeat all this on a quiz or exam, you will find it helpful to have this
information when you are studying. If
you did not get all the information in class, use your textbook as a reference.
1) Title. Titles are not necessarily given by the
artist.
2) Date. This may be a range, especially with older
works, or a single date.
3) Artist,
if known, or cultural affiliation. If a
piece has no identification to an individual, name the group as it has been
identified.
4) Materials.
5) Location. This is especially relevant when looking at
architecture, murals, large outdoor sculpture, and other immobile objects, but
it can also be important with mobile art.
6) Stylistic
period as it has been established by scholars. (i.e., Old Kingdom, Hellenistic, High
Renaissance, or Cubist). Often, an
artwork does not fit neatly into one stylistic period. Some artists worked in different styles at
different points in their careers. Use
the date of the piece and the attribution discussed in the lectures and in your
book.
7) Patron,
if known.
8) Size.
The reproductions you see in class and in your book do not represent the actual
size; keep this in mind when looking at a wall sized fresco or a hand sized
illuminated manuscript.
Compare/Contrast
Essays:
In addition to the basic facts about
different pieces, you will need to learn how to discuss an artwork, both on its
own and in comparison. There are three
main areas you must cover:
1) Formal: A formal analysis is a verbal description of
a visual object. This information can help you determine the identity of the
artist, the time period, or the place where a piece was made. This includes the color, the use of line and
shape, its size, the use (or lack of) a perspective, the use (or lack of) a
canon, the materials used in the piece, the technique the artist choose, and
other visual information. At first, you may find it difficult to distinguish
between what is important to note and what is not. Use the descriptions given and read in your
text and note what is relevant. Usually,
the notable formal elements relate to the other two areas.
2) Sociological and Historical significance. All works of art reveal something about the
historical moment and situation in which it was made. Sometimes the artist intended the piece to
refer to a specific event, such as the Narmer Palette from the Egyptian Old
Kingdom period, c. 3200 B.C. which commemorates the unification of Upper and
Lower Egypt, or the Vietnam Veterans Memorial by Maya Ying Lin in Washington,
D.C. from 1982. Some works suggest the
important issues to a specific time, like Francesco Traini’s
Triumph of Death, which comments on the Black Death.
3) Symbolic or Iconographic: Many visual elements within an art work,
including colors, materials, objects, and patterns, have symbolic meanings,
especially in religious and political pieces.
Some common examples from Christian art works include: the lily refers to the Virgin Mary and her
purity; light shining through a window relates the Immaculate Conception (light
passes through but does not break the glass); and the removal of shoes
indicates a sacred ground. Iconography
creates a complex visual language that can be decoded and read to further
understand the artist’s and patron’s intentions