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, Santiago, Lee, Schneider, Demo.
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) Lanka, McLemore, 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, Santiago. Prerequisite: ART 211. Or permission of the instructor.
Exploration of various drawing concepts using the human figure.
310. Life Drawing II. (S) (3) Kreydatus, Santiago. Prerequisite: ART 309. Or permission of the instructor.
Continuation of ART 309.
311. Drawing. (S) (3) Schneider, Santiago. 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.
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, Schneider. 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, Lee. Prerequisite: ART 211. Or permission of the instructor
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) Mead. 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) Mead. Prerequisites: ART 212, ART 319.
A continuation of ART 319.
323. Printmaking: Intaglio and Monotype. (S) (3) Kreydatus. Prerequisite: ART 211. Or permission of the instructor.
An introduction to the earliest forms of printing from a metal plate.
Each student will make on a large print and participate in a final
portfolio project with the class.
324. Lithography and Relief Printmaking (S) (3) Kreydatus. Prerequisite: ART 211 or permission of the instructor. Exploration of the unique possibilities of printmaking through lithography and single /multi block woodcuts. We will explore both tradition al and contemporary approaches through a variety of subject matter.
325. Sculpture: Mass (S) (3) Mead. Prerequisites: ART 211, ART 212. Or permission of the instructor.
An approach to three-dimensions that utilizes those materials that lend
themselves to creating forms with actual mass and volume. Come life
observation and mold making will be included. Traditional and
contemporary sculptural solutions will be applied.
326. Sculpture: Plane. (S) (3) Mead. Prerequisite: ART 212.
An approach to three-dimensions that utilizes those materials that
focuses on constructive techniques. Mass and volume will be achieved
through planar construction. Traditional and contemporary sculptural
solutions will be applied
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: Throwing. (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) Schneider, Santiago. 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, Schneider, Lee.
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 Intalio Printmaking. (3) Kreydatus. Prerequisite: ART 323.
Students will work independently on printmaking projects, which advance
their technical and conceptual understanding of the print medium. May
be repeated for credit
413 Advanced Lithography Printmaking. (3) Kreydatus. Prerequisite: ART 323.
Independent printmaking projects in lithography. 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. Sculpture: Topics. (3) Mead, Lanka. Prerequisites: ART 325, ART 326.
This course will investigate sculptural issues through a conceptual
framework. Materials and processes will be examined as they relate to
a selected topic for example: Space, Body, Authorship, Originality, and
Authenticity, collaboration, Site, Drawing for Sculptors
*440. Topics in Art. (3) Barnes, Jack, Kreydatus, Pease, Mead, Santiago. Prerequisites: ART 211, ART 212 and a 300 level course
Topics in art will explore a specific medium or aproach
*443. Advanced Studio - Independent Study. (3) Barnes, Jack, Kreydatus, Mead, Santiago, Schneider, Lanka, McLemore, Demo, Lee. Prerequisites: ART 211, ART 212 and appropriate 300 level courses and consent of the instructor
*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.
*460. Senior Exhibition. (1) Jack, Santiago.
Students register the two semesters prior to graduation. Grade is
issued the end of the second term. Emphasis on preparation and
installation of Senior Exhibition occurring the term of graduation.
Course also includes semester reviews and assembling the required
portfolio archive.
*495-496. 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.
Course Descriptions: Art History
150W. Introduction to Art History. (3) 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. (3) 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) (3) 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) (3) 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) (3) 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) (3) Levesque. 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) (3) Levesque. 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) (3) Levesque. 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) (3) 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) (3) 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.
366. The Golden Age of Spain. (3) Webster. Prerequisite: ARTH252.
An examination of the historical context and development of Spanish
art, architecture, and cultural performance, 1500 – 1700, that explores
issues of patronage, iconography, function and reception.
370. Nineteenth-Century Art. (S) (3) 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) (3) 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) (3) 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) (3) 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) (3) 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) (3) 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) (3) 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) (3) Dye. Prerequisite: ARTH251.
A study of the art and architecture of China.
394. The Art of Japan. (GER 4B) (S) (3) Dye. Prerequisite: ARTH251.
A study of the art and architecture of Japan.
460. Seminar Topics in Art History. (3) 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. (3) 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. (3) 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 Prints. (3) Levesque. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor
A seminar on the origins and development of printmaking from 15th to
the 20th century. Prints are viewed as part of a wider cultural and
artistic context and as a means of communication.
*470. Colonial American Architecture and Town Planning. (3) 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. (1-3) Staff.
- *490-02. Independent Study - Modern. (1-3) Staff.
- *490-03. Independent Study - Renaissance, Mannerism & Baroque. (1-3) Levesque.
- *490-04. Independent Study - Asian. (1-3) Dye.
- *490-05. Independent Study - Colonial American Architecture. (1-3) Webster.
- *490-06. Independent Study - Islamic. (1-3).
- *490-07. Independent Study - American Art. (1-3) Wallach.
- 490-08. Independent Study. (1-3) Levesque.
- 490-09. Independent Study. (1-3) Staff.
- *495. Senior Honors in Art History Research. (1-3)Zandi-Sayek
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.
