Art History I Syllabus

Art History I Syllabus

ReischuckArt History IIPage 1

Art History II (ART 22007)Instructor: Albert W. Reischuck

Section 006; [10730] Spring 2009Office: 305-F Art Building (ph. 2-1354)

202 Art Building; T Th 11:00am – 12:15pmOffice Hours: Friday12:00 – 1:30 pm

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” pageon 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.

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 greater understanding of the visual complexity and rich history of ideas that lay beneath many works of art.

Grading:

1. Exam I (Tuesday, February 17th)...... 25 %

2. Exam II (Tuesday, March 17th)...... 25 %

3. Exam III (Thursday, April 16th)...... 25 %

4. Exam IV (Thursday, May 14th12:45pm)...... 25 %

The four non-cumulative examinations will each cover approximately one quarter of the course material. You will be provided with a study guide and artist list several weeks before each exam. Each exam will be worth 100 points and will consist of:

1. a slide identification section (30 points)

2. a left-right comparison section (10 points)

3. a term identification and issues section (60 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 average:

92.0–100.0 = A 90.0–91.9 = A- 88.0-89.9= B+ 82.0-87.9 = B 80.0-81.9 = B- 78.0-79.9 = C+

72.0-77.9 = C 70.0-71.9 = C- 68.0-69.9 = D+ 60.0-67.9 = D 0-59.9 = 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. Attendance will be taken several times during the semester and although it has no literal point value, it will provide me with an indication of your commitment to covering all of the important class material.

Registration Requirement:

The official registration deadline for this course isFebruary 1, 2009. 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:

My office is in Room 305-f in the Art History wing of the Third Floor (near the upper exit to this lecture hall). If I am not in my office at any particular moment during my posted office hours, I am probably just around the corner in Room 305-n, the Slide Library. Don’t be shy about asking for me if you need to see me—the Slide Library it is not necessarily a hallowed place and it is always open to all students. Dropping by the department will probably work just fine for the first few weeks, but, since I have many students to attend to this semester I suggest that you reserve your time with me during my office hours. You can do this via e-mail, in person, or by leaving a message on my voicemail at 2-1354.

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 11:00am) 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 all of the vital materials there, take substantial notes in class (that means not just writing down terms that may be on the screen but listening and thinking about the issues involved), 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, as there are no extra credit projects.

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” page for each exam will provide extended information a variety of issues from our class meetings, many of which are not found within our textbook. You will be tested on a number of these issues from this “Links” page, so don’t overlook it. The website will also serve as a vital link for information in the event of any unexpected cancellations or changes in our schedule. Please keep this web page address bookmarked on any computer that you use regularly, and also keep a handwritten version of the address and my e-mail address someplace other than on this syllabus, lest you lose them when you need them most (e.g., the day before an exam).

Probable Topics:
Art History methodologies…The end of the Middle Ages…
The nature of the Renaissance…Trecento Italy…Early Northern Renaissance…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…

Jan.T20lecture

Th22lecture

T 27lecture

Th 29lecture

Feb.T3lecture

Th5lecture

T10lecture

Th12lecture

T17Exam I (bring a #2 pencil and have your Banner ID# memorized)

Th19lecture

Probable Topics:
Mannerism in Italy and the North…the Reformation and Counter Reformation…women artists…Holbein and Henry VIII in England…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

T24lecture

Th26lecture

Mar.T3lecture

Th5lecture

T10lecture

Th12lecture

Probable Topics:
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…the avant-garde…Orientalism…Impressionism…Japonisme…Post-Impressionism…
Modern Architecture…American painting…modernism in general…

T17Exam II(#2 pencil, Banner ID#)

Th19lecture

T31lecture

Apr.Th2lecture

T7lecture

Th9lecture

Probable Topics:
Later Belle Époque Europe…Fauvism…Cubism…Futurism…Dada… chance and automatism…Duchamp’s Readymades…the Armory Show…German Expressionism…Surrealism…non-objective painting…the Bauhaus…Hitler’s Entartete Kunst… American Regionalism…Abstract Expressionism…Happenings…Pop Art…
Minimalism…Post-Modernism…Environmental Art…
Super Realism…Postmodernism…Text and Image…Recent Controversies…

T14lecture

Th16Exam III(#2 pencil, Banner ID#)

T21lecture

Th23lecture

T28lecture

Th30lecture

MayT5lecture

Th7lecture

Thurs. May 14th: Exam IVat 12:45pmin our regular room and over material since Exam III only(#2 pencil, Banner ID#)

[1] A list of artists will be provided for each exam about three weeks before that 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.