Medieval Studies A study of over thirteen hundred years of the art and architecture of the Iberian peninsula. The course will begin with a brief look at the Celtiberian culture and at the colonial activities of the Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. Students will investigate the complex patterns of exchange, appropriation, assimilation and tension among the Islamic, Judaic and Christian traditions and will attempt to assess the effects of this cross-fertilization of cultures on the visual arts. This seminar considers the history of recent art. It begins with a survey of the Minimalism of the 1960s and then focuses on artistic developments in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
Students give reports on selected artists or topics.
The class meets in New York City every fourth week to view current exhibitions. The purpose of this seminar is to develop an ability to think critically about a range of different approaches to the field of art history. First, we will read a variety of sources, from Vasari's Lives of the Most Eminent Painters, Sculptors and Architects to Gombrich's Art and Illusion , to familiarize ourselves with the development of the discipline of art history. Then, we will use Diego Velasquez's Las Meninas as a case study to explore the main methodologies of art history in use today. This course is designed primarily for art history majors.