Art History: Art History I

Introduction to the visual arts, primarily painting, sculpture, and architecture from the prehistoric through the Gothic.

Degree students only even after level restrictions are removed; PACE students enroll in ARTH 005 ZRA; Total combined enrollment = 173

This is a survey of the major monuments of architecture, sculpture, and painting the have come to be recognized as forming the canon of western art history from 30,000 BCE to 1400 CE. During the course we will explore the changing roles that the visual arts have played by examining the ways that artists have responded to the societal contexts in which they have worked. We will examine the messages embedded in many of the works, the styles in which the works were created, and investigate the means that different artists have used to make their images compelling.

Each week will be a unit with a series of assignments and projects that you will need to complete. The week will start with reading a chapter in the textbook and will be followed by taking an on-line quiz. There will be a lecture, and an in-class assignment partly done before the class, and a second assignment done on-line.

The class will have several types of evaluation: weekly quizzes based on the textbook chapters, weekly in-class assignments, second on-line assignments, two short essay examinations both based on lectures, and a group project.