Art & Art History Department

Course Descriptions

Course Descriptions: Studio Art

150. Freshman Seminar in Studio Art. (A) (3) Staff.
This course will introduce the student to many issues involved in making a work of art. It will combine written and creative projects that are designed to balance the analytical and intuitive understanding of what constitutes an aesthetic work.


211. Two-Dimensional Foundations. (GER 6) (A) (3) Barnes, Kreydatus, Patterson, Peak.
Introduction to visual expressive concerns through lectures and projects in drawing, color and design as they function two-dimensionally. Six studio hours.


212. Three-Dimensional Foundations. (GER 6) (A) (3) L. Cohen, Gaynes, Jack.
Creative problem solving in a variety of media dealing with the elements of three-dimensional form (line, surface, volume, mass, color, light and space) and exploring concepts of image, message, process, style and expression. Six studio hours. May be taken before ART 211.

309. Life Drawing I. (S) (3) Kreydatus. Prerequisite: ART 211. Or permission of the instructor.
Exploration of various drawing concepts using the human figure.


310. Life Drawing II. (S) (3) Kreydatus, Staff. Prerequisite: ART 309. Or permission of the instructor.
Continuation of ART 309.

311. Drawing. (S) (3) Kreydatus, Staff. Prerequisite: ART 211. Or permission of the instructor.
The problems of visual understanding and expression in drawing using pencil and charcoal and dealing with line, value, proportion and perspective.

312. Water-based Media: Works on Paper. (S) (3) Peak. Prerequisite: ART 211 and permission of the instructor.
For students with a strong background in drawing to explore the expressive nature of water-based media such as traditional watercolor, ink and wash, and pen and ink.

313. Architectural Design I. (S) (3) Pease. Prerequisites: ART 211, ART 212. Or permission of the instructor.
The discovery of architecture through design with emphasis on basic vocabulary; drafting, perspective, shades and shadows, scale and proportion.

314. Architectural Design II. (S) (3) Pease. Prerequisite: ART 313.
The investigation of the role of the architect with specific design problems and the development of presentation techniques.

315. Painting: Basic Pictorial Structure. (S) (3) Barnes. Prerequisite: ART 211. Or permission of the instructor.
Introduction to painting with emphasis on objective pictorial structure. Exploration and development of formal, organizational concerns as they relate to painting. Subjects may include objects, landscape, and the figure. May be repeated for credit.

316. Painting: Basic Pictorial Expression. (S) (3) Barnes.
Introduction to painting with emphasis on how visual elements, dynamics, and handling of the material create envisioned and expressive themes. Work from memory, objects, landscape, and the figure stressing and evolving significant forms and symbols. May be repeated for credit.

319. Life Modeling I. (S) (3) L. Cohen. Prerequisite: ART 212.
A study of the human figure in three dimensions. Figures are modeled directly from life in clay and plaster. Study is made of human anatomy and armature building.

320. Life Modeling II. (S) (3) L. Cohn. Prerequisites: ART 212, ART 319.
A continuation of ART 319.

323. Printmaking: Intaglio. (S) (3) Peak. Prerequisite: ART 211. Or permission of the instructor.
Exploration of visual concepts through line etch, drypoint and acquatint.

325. Sculpture: Plaster and Stone Carving. (S) (3) L. Cohen. Prerequisites: ART 211, ART 212. Or permission of the instructor.
An introduction to the basic concepts and processes of sculpture, to include instruction in direct plaster form building and stone carving. Emphasis on principles of visual language, sculptural organization, structured studio assignments. Introduction to traditional and contemporary sculptural solutions.

326. Sculpture: Wood Construction and Carving. (S) (3) L. Cohen. Prerequisite: ART 212.
An introduction to the basic concepts and processes of sculpture, to include instruction in wood construction and wood carving. Emphasis on the principles of visual language, sculptural organization, structured studio assignments. Introduction to traditional and contemporary sculptural solutions.

327. Ceramics: Handbuilding. (S) (3) Jack. Prerequisite: ART 212.
Introduction to the making of handbuilt forms with an emphasis on sculptural possibilities. Slab construction, pinch, coil, and mold-making processes will be introduced. Discussions and critiques will focus on personal aesthetics, content, and symbolism. Demonstrations and slide presentations will supplement the course.

328. Ceramics: Wheel-Forming. (S) (3) Jack. Prerequisite: ART 212.
Introduction to forming clay using the potters wheel. Assigned problems will introduce students to various forming methods and will focus on form, function, surface, and aesthetic detail. Emphasis on invention and creativity, as well as technical processes. Demonstrations, discussions, and slide presentations will supplement the course.

*335. Ceramics: The Italian Experience. (3) Jack.
An intensive art course in ceramics taught in Urbino, Italy. Assignments will be designed to provoke students interpretations of the architecture, sculpture, ceramics, and culture of Italy. The majolica technique, a method dating from the Renaissance, will be introduced. Visits to museums and collections will supplement the course.

408. Advanced Drawing. (3) Kreydatus. Prerequisites: ART 309, ART 310, ART 311.
Advanced work with visual concepts through drawing. Emphasis on further development of drawing skills, including work from various subjects in diverse media. May be repeated for credit.

410. Advanced Painting. (3) Barnes. Prerequisites: ART 315, ART 316, or two semesters of either ART 316 , or permission of instructor required.
A continuation of ART 316 with more complex problems in the materials, methods, and concerns of painting. Students will focus on an independent project beyond assigned class work. Possible field trip. May be repeated for credit.

412. Advanced Printmaking. (3) Peak. Prerequisite: ART 323.
The student through consultation with the instructor will create three intaglio images. Techniques not covered in ART 323 such as soft ground, lift-ground and color printing will be presented and demonstrated. May be repeated for credit.

*414. Advanced Watercolor. (3) Peak. Prerequisite: ART 312.
A course designed to broaden a student's understanding of the medium of watercolor by deeper exploration through selected problems determined by the instructor and student. There will be individual and group critiques every week. May be repeated for credit.

416. Advanced Ceramics. (3) Jack. Prerequisites: ART 327, ART 328. Or permission of the instructor.
Advanced problems in clay. Students will explore an individual topic, as well as assigned projects. Group critiques, discussions, and individual appointments will be used to evaluate work. Slide presentations, field trips, and reading assignments. Students will be expected to learn to fire all kilns. May be repeated for credit.

418. Advanced Architecture. (3) Pease. Prerequisites: ART 313, ART 314.
This studio will explore architectural issues using both two-dimensional and three-dimensional media with an emphasis on computer aided drafting (CAD). Students will engage in a series of investigations that examine the historic, symbolic, technical and environmental issues that inform contemporary architecture. May be repeated for credit.

420. Advanced Sculpture. (3) L. Cohen. Prerequisites: ART 325, ART 326.
Advanced problems in sculpture: welding and cast metals, mold-making, cast paper, and cast stone. Structured assignments to promote advanced solutions to organization and sculptural invention. Significant outside work load, group critiques, field trips, reading assignments, opportunity to select topics. May be repeated for credit.

*443. Advanced Studio - Independent Study. (3) Barnes, Jack, Kreydatus, Patterson, Peak, Pease.

*444. Advanced Ceramics: The Italian Experience. Jack.
Same as ART 335, however, students will be assigned more complex problems and will be expected to work at a higher level.

*495. Senior Honors in Art. (3) Staff.
Application information available from the chair and the Charles Center. For College provisions governing the Admission to Honors, see page 72, Undergraduate Course Catalog.

*496. Senior Honors in Art. (3) Staff.
Application information available from the chair and the Charles Center. For College provisions governing the Admission to Honors, see page 72, Undergraduate Course Catalog.

The above information is subject to change. Please consult the current version of the Undergraduate Course Catalog.

back to the top

Course Descriptions: Art History

150W. Introduction to Art History. (4) Staff.

251. Survey of the History of Art I. (GER 4A, 5) (A) (3) Staff.
The study of Ancient and Medieval art. Illustrated lectures and readings. ARTH 251 and 252 are prerequisites for upper level art history courses.

252. Survey of the History of Art II. (GER 4A, 5) (A) (3) Levesque, Chappell.
The study of European and American art from the Renaissance to the present. Illustrated lectures and readings. May be taken singly and before ARTH 251. ARTH 251 and 252 are prerequisites for upper level art history courses.

330. Topics in Art History. (4) Staff. Prerequisite: ARTH251 or ARTH252.
Courses of special subject taught by resident and visiting faculty. Course may be repeated for credit when the topics vary.

351. Medieval Architecture. (S) (4) Staff. Prerequisite: ARTH251.
This covers the architecture of western Europe from 300 to 1450. Religious architecture is examined in relation to liturgy, popular beliefs and philosophical movements. Secular architecture: town planning, fortifications, domestic structures, is examined within economic and social contexts.

352. Medieval Figure Arts. (S) (4) Staff. Prerequisite: ARTH251.
The multifaceted character of Medieval figure art from the ca. 450 to the beginning of the Renaissance will be covered. Topics will include: Germanic non-figurative traditions, the revivals of classical art forms, and the rise of the secular artist.

353. Early Christian and Byzantine Art. (S) (4) Staff. Prerequisite: ARTH251.
The study of the formation of Christian art in the 2nd century and their persistence and elaboration of these themes and styles in the Byzantine Empire until 1453.

360. Italian Renaissance Art, 1250-1600. (S) (4) Chappell. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
Art from the Proto-Renaissance to Mannerism is studied with emphasis on cultural context, style, types, artistic theory, formative influences, legacies, historiological concepts, and principal artists such as Giotto, Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian.

362. Northern Renaissance Art, 1300-1600. (S) (4) Chappell. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
The Renaissance, High Renaissance and Mannerism in the Netherlands, France, Germany and Spain. Emphasis on cultural context, style, themes, theory, relationships with Italian art, indigenous traditions, and artists such as Van Eyck, Bosch, Durer, Breughel, Grunewald, and El Greco.

363. Baroque Art, 1600-1750. (S) (4) Chappell. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
The Baroque, the art of heightened persuasion, is traced from its origins to the Rococo with emphasis on style, types, artistic theory, origins, legacies, cultural context, and principal artists, Caravaggio, Bernini, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Velasquez.

364. Renaissance and Baroque Architecture and Town Planning. (S) (4) Zandi-Sayek. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
A history of major developments in architecture and town planning from c. 1480 to c. 1780 in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, the Netherlands and England. The various interpretations of Classicism and Humanism are given emphasis.

365. Seventeenth-Century Dutch Painting. (S) (4) Levesque. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
A comprehensive survey of 17th-century Dutch painting. Artists such as Hals, Rembrandt, and Vermeer are considered as part of venerable tradition, but also in the context of the dramatic social and political change that took place around 1600.

370. Nineteenth-Century Art. (S) (4) Staff. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
A history of earlier modern art 1780-1880 in Great Britain, France, Germany and the United States. Emphasis is placed upon the impact of the socio-political, industrial, and cultural revolutions on the major movements of the period, Romanticism and Realism.

371. Twentieth-Century Art. (S) (4) Staff. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
A history of later modern art 1880-1980 in Europe and the United States. Emphasis is placed on the continuing influence of the socio-political, industrial, and cultural revolutions on the origins of Modernism, its crystallization 1905-1925, and its demise after 1960.

372. Modern Architecture and Town Planning. (S) (4) Zandi-Sayek. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
A history of architecture, landscape design, and town planning from 1780 to 1980 in Europe and the United States. Emphasis is placed upon the impact of the socio-political, industrial, and cultural revolutions from Romanticism to the crisis of Modernism.

375. Contemporary Art and Art Criticism. (S) (4) Wallach. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
Art since 1960 focusing on such issues as the definition of postmodernism, the commodification of art and the role of criticism within the circuits of artistic production and consumption.

381. Nineteenth-Century American Art. (S) (4) Wallach. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
A study of major movements Romanticism, Realism, Modernism and figures Allston, Cole, Church, Eakins, Homer, Sargent, Whistler, Cassatt focusing on issues of iconography, representation and historical context.

383. Twentieth-Century American Art. (S) (4) Wallach. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
A study of major movements including Regionalism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop and figures Sloan, Sheeler, O'Keefe, Benton, Pollock, and Warhol focusing on such issues as modernism, abstraction, and representation and problems of historical context.

*385. Eighteenth-Century Decorative Arts in Britain and America. (3) Staff. Prerequisites: ARTH251, ARTH252, ARTH363 or ARTH364. Permission of the chair of Art and Art History required.
A course taught by the Colonial Williamsburg curators using the collection of 17th- and 18th-century British and American antiques in the exhibition buildings and the Wallace Gallery. An additional one credit is optional through an internship.

*386. Eighteenth-Century Decorative Arts in Britain and America. (3) Staff. Prerequisites: ARTH251, ARTH252, ARTH363 or ARTH364. Permission of chair required.
A course taught by the Colonial Williamsburg curators using the collection of 17th- and 18th-century British and American antiques in the exhibition buildings and the Wallace Gallery. An additional one credit is optional through an internship.

387. Introduction to Art Museology: A Survey I. (3) Staff. Prerequisites: ARTH251, ARTH252.
The history of collecting art and the development of the art museum are presented.

388. Introduction to Art Museology: A Survey II. (3) Staff. Prerequisites: ARTH251, ARTH252.
Defining the functions and responsibilities of an art museum are the focus of this course.

*389. Museum Internships. Wallach. Prerequisite: Permission of chair required.
May be used as an opportunity for an off-campus experience. May be repeated for up to six credits.

390. Early Islamic Art. (3) Prerequisite: ARTH251.
Religion and art in Islam from the 7th to the 13th centuries CE. This course studies architecture, ceramics, painting and decorative arts from late classical and Persian antiquity to the development of mature styles as distinctive expressions of Islamic civilization. (Same as REL 365.)

391. Late Islamic Art. (3) Prerequisite: ARTH251.
Religion and art in Islam following the Mongol invasions and contact with the Far East. The course includes architecture, painting, ceramics, and decorative art of the Muslim renaissance, the sumptuous arts of the 16th and 17th centuries, and their decline. (Same as REL 366.)

392. Art of India. (GER 4B) (S) (4) Dye. Prerequisite: ARTH251.
A study of the artistic, cultural and religious background of India with a special emphasis on the 12th through 18th centuries when the subcontinent was under Muslim rule.

393. The Art of China. (GER 4B) (S) (4) Dye. Prerequisite: ARTH251.
A study of the art and architecture of China.

394. The Art of Japan. (GER 4B) (S) (4) Dye. Prerequisite: ARTH251.
A study of the art and architecture of Japan.

460. Seminar Topics in Art History. (4) Staff. Prerequisite: Permission of instructor.
Seminar topics of special subjects that involve the student in research in primary materials and involve intense writing. May be repeated for credit when the topics vary.

465. Development of the Medieval Town. (4) Staff. Prerequisite: ARTH351 or ARTH353.
A seminar that focuses on Rome, Paris and Tours, France from their origins through the Middle Ages. The archaeological record as well as extant architectural monuments will be emphasized. Students will select a town to research and track its evolution.

*467. Topics in High Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque Art. (4) Staff.
Intensive study of a selected topic in European art involving style, genres, iconography, and artistic theory. Study of original paintings, sculpture, drawings, and prints, as available, will be emphasized.

*468. History of the Graphic Arts: Drawing and Printmaking, 14th-20th Centuries. (4) Chappell.
A seminar on the history of drawing and printmaking from the Renaissance to Modernism. Emphasis is on purpose and methods; materials, techniques, and expressive possibilities; and research on original works.

*469. British Painting and Colonial American Painting, 16th-Early 19th Centuries. (4) Chappell.
British painting from Tudor to Neo-Classical periods; American painting from Colonial to Federal periods. Emphasis is on British style, an emerging American tradition, genres, theory, cultural context, and artists such as Holbein and Hogarth, Copley and Stuart.

*470. Colonial American Architecture and Town Planning. (4) Staff.
A history of major developments in architecture and town planning from 1562 to 1792 in the United States and Canada. All major colonial cultures are studied: English, French, Spanish, German, Swedish and Russian.

*471. Renaissance and Baroque Architecture and Urban Studies. (4) Staff.
A seminar with lectures that examines the major developments in architecture and town planning 1420-1780 in Europe and its North American colonies with emphasis on particular themes such as humanism and classicism. A major paper and class presentation are required; likely field trip.

*474. Topics in American Art. Staff.
Intensive study of a selected topic in American art involving a genre (e.g., landscape painting), a period (the 1930s), a movement (tonalism), or an issue (e.g., the representation of women in 19th-century American art).

*480. Methods of Art History. (4) Levesque, Wallach.
A survey of the methodological approaches to the study of the history of art. Written critiques, oral presentations and original research on a work from the Muscarelle Museum are required.

*481. Historic Preservation. (4) Staff.
A study of approaches to historic preservation, including theoretical, historiographic and practical applications. Class project prepares an architectural survey and preservation ordinance for a Virginia town. Students must be able to commit to several hours of field work.

489. Topics in Art History. (3) Staff.
Seminar devoted to an in-depth study of a selected topic:

  • *490-01. Independent Study - Medieval. (4) Staff.
  • *490-02. Independent Study - Modern. (4) Staff.
  • *490-03. Independent Study - Renaissance, Mannerism & Baroque. (4) Chappell.
  • *490-04. Independent Study - Asian. (4) Dye.
  • *490-05. Independent Study - Colonial American Architecture. (4) Staff.
  • *490-06. Independent Study - Islamic. (4).
  • *490-07. Independent Study - American Art. (4) Wallach.
  • 490-08. Independent Study. (4) Levesque.
  • 490-09. Independent Study. (4) Staff.
  • *495. Senior Honors in Art History Research. (3)

Application information available from the chair. For College provisions governing the Admission to Honors, see the College's Undergraduate Course Catalog.

*496. Senior Honors in Art History Research. (3)
Application information available from the chair. For College provisions governing the Admission to Honors, see the College Catalog.

The above information is subject to change. Please consult the current version of the Undergraduate Course Catalog.

back to the top