The Goal:  How were images, architectures, and crafted objects perceived in an era when the concept of Art, as we know it today, was not operative?  What were the desires and motivations behind these emblems of early visual culture?  What were the qualities for which these objects were valued?  What was the place of these art objects in their society?  The objects and images that we will study in this class were deeply involved in the lives of the people who created them.  No art object from this era ever stood alone.  Be they cave wall paintings, Assyrian gateway sculptures, Egyptian pyramids, Minoan frescoes, Archaic Greek sculptures of athletes, Roman wall paintings, Early Christian ivories, Carolingian Bibles, or Gothic cathedrals, the wide array of images we will explore existed and thrived within complex and powerful ritual, social, and political contexts.  Throughout the class, we will form a critical return to these contexts, in order to better understand the interactions of their images and participants. back to top

The Classroom:  14,000 years of art in 14 weeks offer us an expansive panoply of materials for discussion, and as much as I will introduce our topics in lecture, I am also very eager to hear your comments on our subjects.  Discussion and participation are thus crucial (15% of your grade).  This grade is just as challenging to attain as those for tests and writings, i.e. attendance alone does not entail class participation: you must truly participate to do well. Because I do conceive of this classroom as a group, attendance is a must: after the third unexcused absence, your final grade goes a third of a letter grade down.  Attendance at Punch-card Events (to be explained) is also considered towards your classroom participation grade: each punch card event less than the required 4 counts as an absence. back to top

Readings: You will be reading texts as well as images for this class.  Gardner's Art through the Ages, v. 1 and Critical Perspectives on Art History await you at Fine Print Bookstore (off the square in Greencastle).  Though the number of pages from Gardner's to be read is small, the effort you are expected to put into learning these artists, images, and contexts is not.  Please take the time to visually analyze and even memorize the images included in your reading: visual "literacy" will render this class much more fulfilling. Via extensive class discussion, we will analyze the claims and assumptions of scholarly articles which focus on a particular image and its context.  These articles will be available for you for free in folders within our class's page on Blackboard (http://blackboard.depauw.edu)  - you may download them and read them on your computer, or print them from one of the schoolÕs network printers (first 400 pages are free, after that, 10 cents a page), or print them from your own printer (may take longer, but it's free).   Please always come to class prepared to discuss the readings in detail Ð it will help a great deal to be equipped with the articles themselves, or with your careful notes of said articles. back to top

Writings: 4 short response papers (2-3 pages each) will ensue from these readings and comprise 20% of your grade.  These writings seek to progressively attune you to the difficult but exciting transition from visual form to verbal state.  The assignments will be posted on the course's web site (http://fits.depauw.edu/aharris/Courses/ArtH131) and you will post your writings to me on our course's blackboard site (http://blackboard.depauw.edu) using the digital drop box function.  back to top

Final Projects: You will have the opportunity to put together your own virtual museum, as predicated upon a particular theme of your own choosing. The galleries will be due on Monday, December 8, and will be accompanied by essays defining and justifying your theme in accordance with the images. These projects will be discussed in greater detail as the semester progresses and will be worth 10% of your final grade. back to top

Quizzes: In order to lessen the timed intensity of tests and allow for more time for essays in the tests, slide identifications will be tested separately in 5 quizzes - I need to know that you "know your stuff," i.e. that you can place these works of art within their historical contexts, thus the requirement that you know key works of art according to title, date, medium and location.  The quizzes will comprise 10% of your grade. back to top

Tests: There will be three (3) tests, which, with the quizzes, will comprise the remaining 45% of your grade.  They will not be cumulative; instead, they will focus very specifically on the themes and issues raised in that particular segment of the course.  I am interested in your visual literacy, your ability to make connections between images we will have discussed separately, and your ideas about these works of art as expressed in essay form. back to top

Grade Breakdown - back to top

Class participation -15%                  4 Writings -20 %                   Final Projects -10%

Slide Quizzes -10%                           3 Tests - 45 % 

Let's Jump Into the Fray! - back to top

Wednesday, August 27 -Introduction

Friday, August 29 -Venus of Willendorf

Gardner's 2-6.

Barasch, Mose. "Discovering Prehistoric Art," in Theories of Art, 3: from Impressionism To Kandinsky.  Routledge, 1998: 210-228.

Fascinating site about the Venus of Willendorf!
Venus and her Sisters!

Monday, September 1 - Cave Paintings

Gardner's 6-11.

Hauser, Arnold.  "Old Stone Age: Magic and Naturalism," and "New Stone Age: Animism and Geometrism," in The Social History of Art vol. 1. New York: Vintage Books, 1951:3-21.

Cave of Lascaux official web site!
Cave of Chauvet official web site!

Wednesday, September 3 - Stonehenge

Gardner's 12-15.

Ray, Benjamin.  "Stonehenge, a New Theory," History of Religions 26:3 (February 1987): 225-278.

All the phases of Stonehenge!

Friday, September 5 - Rulers of Mesopotamia

Gardner's 18-31.

Winter, Irene J.  "'Idols of the King:' Royal Images as Recipients of Ritual Action in Ancient Mesopotamia," Journal of Ritual Studies 6:1 (Winter 1992): 13-42.

A Gudea statue at the Detroit Institute of Art!
The Law Code of Hammurabi
Archaeological Institue of America website (click on "A Personal Account from Baghdad" to read about and see images of the looting of the Iraq Musuem in Baghdad)
Web Site of Professor Francis Deblauwe (running tally of missing and damaged pieces)

Monday, September 8 - Assyrian Art

Gardner's 31-41.

Tablets VI-VIII from the Epic of Gilgamesh.

"The Death of Enkidu," and other excerpts from the Epic of Gilgamesh. trans. N.K. Sandars. Penguin Books, 1972: 90-119.

The Epic of Gilgamesh!
Terrific images of art for this week!

Plans and incredible photographs from Persepolis!

Wednesday, September 10 - Old Kingdom Egyptian Art: The Pyramids

Gardner's 44-59.

Barasch, Mose. "Understanding Distant Cultures: the Case of Egypt," in Theories of Art, 3: from Impressionism to Kandinsky.  Routledge, 1998: 243-261

Schaaf, Larry.  "Charles Piazzi Smyth's 1865 Conquest of the Great Pyramid," History of Photography 3:4 (October 1979): 331-354.

Fitchen, John.  "Building Cheops's Pyramid," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 37:1 (March 1978): 3-12.

Another great NOVA site about the pyramids!

Friday, September 12 - Middle Kingdom Egyptian Art and Akhenaten
DESCRIPTION PAPER DUE

Gardner's 59-74.

Hauser, Arnold. "Naturalism and the Age of Akhenaton," in The Social History of Art vol. 1. New York: Vintage Books, 1951: 43-49.

Freed, Rita E.  "Art in the Service of Religion and the State," in Pharaohs of the Sun: Akhenaten, Nefertiti, Tutankhamen. ed. Rita E. Freed et al.  Boston: Bullfinch Press, 1999: 110-130.

Awesome Akhenaten!
Terrific images of art for this week!

Monday, September 15 - Tutankhamen

Carter, Howard.  Excerpts from The Discovery of the Tomb of Tutankhamen. compiled by Christopher Frayling in The Face of Tutankhamun.  London: Faber and Faber, 1992: 100-120.

Howard Carter's diairies - http://www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk/gri/4sea1not.html

Wednesday, September 17 - Minoan and Mycenean Art
SLIDE QUIZ #1

Gardner's 78-95.

Astounding British School at Athens QuickTime Virtual Tour!

Images of Knossos (including frescoes)!
Virtual Tour of Knossos!
Images of Minoan and Mycenean Art!

Friday, September 19 - Archaic Greek Sculpture

Gardner's 98-113.

Spivey, Nigel.  "Heroes Apparent,"  in Understanding Greek Sculpture; Ancient Meanings, Modern Readings.  London: Thames and Hudson, 1996: 105-122.

Images of Archaic Greek Sculpture!

Monday, September 22 - Ancient Greek Vase Painting

Gardner's 114-117.

Neer, Richard. Style and Politics in Athenian Vase-Painting: The Craft of Democracy, ca. 530-460 B.C.E. Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Techniques and Examples of Vase Painting!

Wednesday, September 24 - Classical Theory

Chapter 3: "The Classical Tradition," in Critical Perspectives on Art History: 29-36.

Mark, Ira S.  "The Lure of Philosophy: Craft and Higher Learning in Ancient Greece," in Polykleitos, the Doryphoros, and Tradition. Ed. Warren G. Moon.  Madinson, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995: 25-37.

Tobin, Richard.  "The Pose of the Doryphoros," in Polykleitos, the Doryphoros, and Tradition. Ed. Warren G. Moon.  Madinson, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995: 52-64.

Friday, September 26 - Classical Statuary

Gardner's 117-126.

Images of classical statuary!

Monday, September 29 - TEST 1 - back to top

Wednesday, October 1 - The Acropolis

Gardner's 126-136.

Funeral Oration of Pericles, 431 B.C.E.

Chapter 1: "Democracy and the Greek Ideal," in Critical Perspectives on Art History. Ed. John C. McEnroe and Deborah F. Pokinski. Prentice-Hall, 2002: 1-13.

The Acropolis!

Friday, October 3 - The Parthenon
DEBATE PAPER DUE

Chapter 2: "The Parthenon and Patrimony," in Critical Perspectives on Art History: 14-28.

Images of the Parthenon!
British Museum
The Acropolis Museum!

Monday, October 6 - Late Classical Statuary

Gardner's 139-144.

Images of late classical statuary!

Wednesday, October 8 - Hellenistic Sculpture and Statuary

Gardner's 148-159.

Smith, R.R.R.  "Goddesses and Women," and "Baroque Groups: Gauls and Heroes," in Hellenistic Sculpture; a Handbook.  London: Thames and Hudson, 1991: 75-126.

Click here for Laocoön passage from the Aeneid.
Scroll through and read the lines between these verses:
"A greater omen, and of worse portent,
Did our unwary minds with fear torment,
Concurring to produce the dire event.
…………………………………………
And to the tow'r of Pallas make their way:
Couch'd at her feet, they lie protected there
By her large buckler and protended spear."

Images of the Laocoon!

Friday, October 10 - The Roman Republic and Pompeii
SLIDE QUIZ #2

Gardner's 176-194.

Good explanation of 4 Styles of Roman Wall Painting!

Chapter 4: "Portraits and Politics," in Critical Perspectives on Art History: 37-51.

Monday, October 13 - Augustus

Favro, Diane. "Reading the Augustan City," in Narrative and Event in Ancient Art. ed. Peter Holliday. Cambridge University Press, 1993: 230-257.

Holliday, Peter James.  "Time, History and Ritual on the Ara Pacis Augustae,"  Art Bulletin 72 (December 1990): 542-57.

Everything on Augustus!

Wednesday, October 15 - The Early Roman Empire

Gardne's 194-204.

The Colosseum

Friday, October 17 - The High Roman Empire

Gardner's 204-219.

The Pantheon

FALL BREAK - ENJOY!!! - back to top

Monday, October 27 - The Late Roman Empire
APPROPRIATION PAPER DUE

Gardner's 219-226.

Veyne, Paul.  "Pleasures and Excesses," in A History of Private Life, vol. I: From Pagan Rome to Byzantium.  ed. Paul Veyne.  Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press, 1987: 183-205.

Baths of Caracalla!
Demo of bath construction!

Wednesday, October 29 - The Late Antique Transformation: Constantine

Gardner's 226-229.

Pierce, Philip.  "The Arch of Constantine: Propaganda and Ideology in Late Roman Art," Art History 12:4 (1989): 387-418.

Art and Architecture of Constantine!
Arch of Constantine!

Friday, October 31 - The Early Christian Sensation: Rome

Gardner's 232-246.

Official site of the Christian Catacombs of Rome!
Great Early Christian images!

Monday, November 3 - The Early Christian Sensation: Ravenna

Gardner's 246-253.

Elsner, John.  "Christian Sacrifice," in Art and the Roman Viewer; the Transformation of Art from the Pagan World to Christianity.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995: 221-245.

Monuments of Ravenna!

Wednesday, November 5 - Hagia Sophia and Byzantine Art

Gardner's 256-263.

Cormack, Robin. "Interpreting the Mosaics of S. Sophia at Istanbul," Art History 4:2 (June 1981):131-149.

Cameron, Averil. "The Language of Images: the Rise of Icons and Christian Representation," in The Church and the Arts. Ed. Diana Wood. Blackwell, 1992: 1-42.

Great Byzantine Images!
Byzantine Icons

Friday, November 7 - Byzantine Ravenna
SLIDE QUIZ #3

Gardner's263-271.

Byzantine Ravenna - click on pages 1, 6, 7, 8, and 9

Monday, November 10 - TEST 2 - back to top

Wednesday, November 12 - Iconoclasm and the Islamic Middle East

Gardner's 271-273, 290-297.

Chapter 6: "Iconoclasm, Vandalism, and the Fear of Images," in Critical Perspectives on Art History: 65-78.

Iconoclasm Texts
Dome of the Rock site
Dome of the Rock history site
Dome of the Rock pictures and links
Description of the Pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj)

Friday, November 14 - Islam in Spain/Islam and the Medieval Crusades

Gardner's 297-299.

Dodds, Jerrilynn D.  "The Great Mosque of Cordoba," in Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain.  New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1992: 11-30.

Great Mosque at Cordoba

Monday, November 17 - Hiberno-Saxon Art

Gardner's 316-324.

Lewis, Suzanne. "Sacred Calligraphy: the Chi Rho Page in the Book of Kells," Traditio 26 (1980): 139-159.

Images of Anglo-Saxon Art
Great Images of Hiberno-Saxon Art

Wednesday, November 19 - Carolingian and Ottonian Art

Gardner's 324-339.

Cohen, Adam and Ann Derbes.  "Bernward and Eve at Hildesheim," Gesta 40:1 (2001): 19-38. Readings Folder

Thumbnail Images of Carolingian Art
Hildesheim Doors

Friday, November 21 - Romanesque Architecture
IMAGINATION PAPER DUE

Gardner's 342-353.

Katzenellebogen, Adolf.  "The Central Tympanum at Vezelay," Art Bulletin 26 (1944): 139-151. Readings Folder

Chapter 8: "Anti-Semitism and Stereotypes," in Critical Perspectives on Art History: 92-105.

Vezelay thumbnails!
Vezelay interiors!
(Begin by clicking on “Basilica” and click your way through images)

Monday, November 24 - Romanesque Sculpture
SLIDE QUIZ #4

Gardner's 353-366.

Dahl, Ellert. "The Statue of Sainte Foy of Conques and the Signification of the Medieval 'Cult Image' in the West," Acta ad Archaeologiam et Artium Historiam Pertinentia 8 (1978): 175-191. Readings Folder

Visit Sainte Foy Abbey Church!
Click-able images of the statue of Sainte Foy!

Wednesday, November 26 and Friday, November 28 - THANKGIVING BREAK Ð ENJOY!!!

Monday, December 1 - Romanesque Manuscripts and Textiles

Gardner's 366-373.

The entire Bayeux Tapestry on one page!

Wednesday, December 3 - Early Gothic Architecture: Chartres

Gardner's 376-390.

Chapter 5: "The Gothic Cathedral," in Critical Perspectives on Art History: 52-64.

Click-able Chartres images

Friday, December 5 - Later Gothic Architecture: Reims

Gardner's 391-399.

Sadler, Donna.  "Lessons Fit for a King: the Sculptural Program of the Verso of the West Façade of Reims Cathedral," Arte Medievale 9 (1995): 49-68.

Click-able Reims images

Monday, December 8 - Gothic Altarpieces
VIRTUAL MUSEUM DUE

Begin your exploration of the astounding Ghent altarpiece!

Wednesday, December 10 - Love and War

Duby, Georges. "Love," from Women of the Twelfth Century vol. 3: Eve and the Church trans. Jean Birell.  University of Chicago Press, 1998: 81-120.

Mirror Back with Falconing Party

Friday, December 12 - Gothic Manuscripts and Sculpture
SLIDE QUIZ #5

Gardner's 399-406.

Click-able images of the Book of Hours of Mary of Burgundy

Thursday, December 18, 9:30-11:30 a.m. - TEST 3 

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