AH202 History of Art II: Renaissance to Contemporary Art Spring 2014

AH202 History of Art II:Renaissance to Contemporary Art Spring 2014

Instructor: Dr. Louise ArizzoliOffice: Meek Hall, Rm. 145Office Hours: Tue. and Thur. 8.30-9.30 or by appointmentEmail: larizzol@olemiss.edu

SyllabusCourse Objectives1. Students will become familiar with the major stylistic developments in art history from the Renaissance to now2. Students will be able to craft a description of an artwork using the skills of formal analysis.3. Students will be able to compare and contrast two artworks of the same or different cultures or time periods using formal analysis and key terminology.4. Students will be able to situate works of art within the historical and social contexts of the periods and cultures covered in the course.5. Students will know the most significant representative works from the periods covered by the course, which will allow them to apply this knowledge in higher-level courses, and in other complementary disciplines.Required TextbookFred S. Kleiner,Gardner's Art through the Ages: A Global History, Volume II, 14th Edition,Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2013.

COURSE REQUIREMENTSYour success in this course will depend on careful listening and looking, thorough note-taking, and the completion of the writing assignment listed in the schedule. It is essential that you reserve time each week to read the assigned readings.Reading: Students are responsible for the readings listed in the course schedule. Your comprehension of the material and participation will be aided by completing the readings before you come to class.Examinations: There will be 3 quizzes, 2 exams and 1 writing assignment over the course of the semester. These will involve slide identifications and essay questions. Quizzes and exams will be given during class time, on the dates noted on the syllabus. Make-up exams will only be given with a verifiable documented medical excuse. There will be no make-up for the final exam.

AttendanceI expect you to come to class, that is to say, show up on time, stay the entire class period, and participate fully in each class the whole time you are there. Students often ask me how many times they are allowed to cut my class. The answer is that every absence or late arrival will have a negative effect on your grade. More than three unexcused absences are sufficient grounds for failing this course.Attendance will be taken electronically at the start of class, using the ID-scanner systems at the front of the classroom. You will see and hear confirmation from the scanner after you have successfully checked in. The scanner will begin accepting ID barcodes at 9.15 and will NOT accept any after 9.40 a.m.!!!Fair Warnings: - If you forget your ID (which school policy requires you to carry when you are on campus) and cannot scan in, you will not be marked present!!! - Scanning-in for a classmate is prosecutable as Academic Fraud under the University Honor Code.- Scanning and leaving class without a documented and approved (in advance) excuse is also Academic Fraud.Three lates = one absence. If you are late on the day of an exam and miss a slide question, you will not get access to that question after the test is done.

CLASSROOM DECORUM:

Your classroom decorum will be taken into account in the assignment of your final participation grade.Classroom Laptop and Technology Policy: Art history is hard. When you are in class, the content will require your full attention and engagement. Thats half of the battle, re: getting a good grade fully listening when youre in class. Technology that contributes to that goal is allowed. Otherwise, turn it off. Enjoy being disconnected. Laptop/notebook computers may be used for note-taking and collaborative group activities ONLY. Students engaging in non-course related computer activities during the course (i.e., social media, e-mail, work for other classes, etc.) will be required to shut off their laptops, asked to leave, and will be marked absent for the class session. Cell phones must be turned off during class, unless exceptional circumstances require use of a cell phone. Consult with the instructor for approval. Students texting during the class will be asked to leave, and will be marked absent for the class session.

Quiz #1: 40 points02/11Midterm: 100 points03/04Quiz #2: 40 points03/27Quiz #3: 40 points04/15Writing Assignment: 100 points due 04/2Final Exam: 150 points05/08 at 8.00 AMParticipation & Attendance: 30 points

Quizzes will be short, class resumes afterwards. Blue books required.

Readings are listed with the class session in which they will be discussed. Please complete them in advance of the class meeting.

introduction1. Course schedule2. Formal analysis3. Review of fundamentals of art

Formal or Visual AnalysisIt answers the question What do you see?

In any work of art, all of these elements and principles will be present, but some will be more obvious than others. When engaging in formal analysis, you should select the elements you feel are most strongly represented in the piece you are analyzing.A good place to start formal analysis is to look at a work of art and see how your eye moves around the object. Where does your eye go first, and why were you attracted to that part of the image? What colors, textures, and shapes appear in the image? What did the artist include in the composition to guide your eye or to direct your gaze to a certain part of the image?

Formal analysis is an important technique for organizing visual information. In other words, it is a strategy used to translate what you see into written words. This strategy can be applied to any work of art, from any period in history, whether a photograph, sculpture, painting or cultural artifact. It is the starting point for understanding any work of art.

The Elements: The elements of formal analysis are building blocks that can be combined to create a larger structure (line, value, shapes, forms, space, color, texture)

The Principles: scale, proportion, balance, unity, variety, visual rhythm, emphasis, focal point.

Two-Dimensional ArtElements of artThe basic vocabulary of artLine is a fundamental element of artPrinciples of artThe grammar of artA set of rules an artist uses to organize his or her designTwo-dimensional artIs flatHas height and width, but not depth Includes drawing, painting, graphic design, and printmaking

Types of Lines

Shape

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Red, Blue and Yellow, 1930Types of shapes:

Geometric Shapes:

Composed with regular lines and curves

Organic Shapes:

Composed of unpredictable, irregular lines that suggest the natural world

Line: Mark or implied mark between two points. It defines boundaries between two planes and defines the shape. It directs the viewer eyes and conveys movement.

Shape: is a two-dimensional area, defined by the line. Geometric and Organic shapes.

Form: Object that can be defined in three-dimensions.

Volume: amount of space occupied by an object.

Mass: suggests that something is solid and occupies a space

Volume and MassThree-dimensional Artworks: length, height and width. A three-dimensional object is called a FORMSculpture and architectureA form has two attributes: Volume and Mass

Pierre Paul Prudhon, Study for La Source, c. 1801.ChiaroscuroItalian: light-dark

Method of applying value to a two-dimensional work to create the illusion of a three-dimensional solid form.

Highlight: point in the drawing that is most directly lit (bright white)From highlight we movie toward the shadow, progressively less light is cast on the object. Core shadow: darker values. Reflected light: Bottom of sphere lighter value produced by shadow mixed with light reflected from surrounding environment.

Hokusai, The Great Wave off-shore at Kanagawa, 1826-27

Illusion of Depth:

-Overlapping

-Nearer object larger than more distant ones

-Object placed at the lowest point of the picture is closer to the viewer Space and Perspective

Raphael, The Schools of Athens, 1510-1511, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican CityTwo-dimensional works use techniques to create the illusion of space and three-dimensionality.

Artist creates special relation between objects to create the illusion of depth.

Importance of architectural setting in Raphaels School of Athens. It represents philosophers gathered in a unified compositional space.

Space is core notion of artwork: objects are related by spatial relationships: foreground and background

Principles of Design:Unity, Variety, Balance

Raphael, The School of Athens, 1510-11, Stanza della Segnatura, Vatican CityHokusai, The Great Wave off Shore at Kanagawa, 1826-33Unity: order and harmony of design, cohesiveness repetition of shapes, colors, texture, and patterns. Keeps the viewer focused.Visual harmony, even if the scene represents the chaos of a stormAlternation of solids and voids create varietySimplified structure18Polykleitos, Doryphoros, c. 450-440 BCE(Roman copy after a Greek bronze)

Contrapposto:Bodys shifting of weight to obtain balance, one leg bears the weight the other is relaxed, upper torso shift. Diagonal across the body. Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Decapitating Holofernes, c. 1620

Emphasis creates drama:Light, directional lines of the bare arms, sword, blood.

Artists can use direction, dramatic contrast and placement relationship in order to create the focal point.

Great Mosque of Crdoba, prayer hall, 784-86, Spain

Goya, The Third of May, 1808, 1814Pattern is a repeated shape/form

Visual Rhythm arises through the repetition of pattern