A History

of

WESTERN ART
Self-introduction

• 赵亮
• 13681109235
• Email address: parachuting@126.com

• Office hour: Friday 12:30 – 13:30 pm

• Location: Room 215, SFS Building
 If you have any question, suggestion or complaint about this course or
about me, please tell me directly through either of the following ways:

• come to see me in my office (Room 215);

• write me an e-mail (parachuting@126.com);
• send me a short message or call me (13681109235);
• write your opinions on the paper anonymously and put it in my mail-box.
 Expectations

• You are expected to:

• be punctual: get seated 10 minutes before the class;

• turn off your cell phone or set it to the silent mode;
• be active and supportive in class;
• do the preview and review assignments;

Note: Plagiarism will not be tolerated.

 For today:

1. Introduction to this course

2. Some basic terms in the visual art

3. Assignment
 Introduction to the Course

• This course aims to provide Sophomore students with an overview of

Western Art History by examining artworks from prehistoric times to the
Contemporary period. It will focus on developing the students’ visual
analysis skills through reading about works of art.
• The students will learn how to perform a Visual Analysis of a work of art.
• This course aims to improve students’ English language skills through
reading and watching materials on Western Art History.
• Textbook:
 Week Date Topics Chapters Works
1 Sept. 15th Introduction & the Language of Art Chapter 2
2 Sept. 22nd Prehistoric Western Europe Chapter 3 4
3 Sept. 29th Ancient Egyptian Art Chapter 5 8
4 Oct. 6th Art of Ancient Greece I Chapter 7
10
5 Oct. 13th Art of Ancient Greece II Chapter 7
Schedule
6 Oct. 20th Art of Ancient Rome Chapter 9 8
7 Oct. 27th Early Christian and Byzantine Art Chapter 10 4
of 8 Nov. 3rd Romanesque and Gothic Art Chapters 12-13 3
9 Nov. 10th Precursors to the Renaissance and Early Renaissance Chapters 14-15 11
this 10 Nov. 17th The High Renaissance I
Chapter 16 8
11 Nov. 24 th
The High Renaissance II
term 12 Dec. 1st The Baroque Chapter 19 9
13 Dec. 8th Neoclassicism, Romanticism and Realism Chapters 21-23 13
14 Dec. 15th Impressionism and Post-Impressionism Chapters 24-25 11
15 Dec. 22nd Review
16 Jan. 3rd Final Exam
Prehistoric Western Europe

• 1. Venus of Willendorf
• 2. Venus of Laussel
• 3. the Lascaux Cave
• 4. Stonehenge
 Egyptian art
• 1. Narmer Palette
• 2. Seated scribe
• 3. Great Pyramids
• 4. King Menkaura and queen
• 5. Nefertiti
• 6. Akhenaton, Nefertiti, and three daughters
• 7. King Tutankamun
• 8. Last judgement of Hu-Nefer
Art of Ancient Greece

• 1. Achilles and Ajax Playing a

Board Game
• 2. Death of Children of Niobe
• 3. Alexander Mosaic
• 4. Statue of a Kouros
• 5. Peplos Kore
• 6. Doryphoros (Spear Bearer)
• 7. the Athenian Acropolis
• 8. Winged Nike
• 9. Boxer
• 10. Altar of Zeus from Pergamon
Art of Ancient Rome

• 1. Atrium and peristyle, House

of the Silver Wedding
• 2. Basilica Ulpia
• 3. Trajan markets
• 4. the Colosseum
• 5. the Pantheon
• 6. Trajan’s Column
• 7. Bacchus and the Four
Seasons
• 8. Augustus of Prima Porta
Early Christian and
Byzantine Art

• 1. Early Christian sarcophagus

• 2. Christ as the Good Shepherd

• 3. San Vitale Ravenna

• 4. Hagia Sophia
Romanesque and Gothic Arts

• 1. Sainte-Foy at Conques
• 2. the Bayeux Tapestry

• 3. Chartres Cathedral
Precursors to the Renaissance and
Early Renaissance

• 1. Cimabue, Madonna Enthroned

• 2. Giotto, Madonna Enthroned
• 3. Duccio, Rucellai Madonna
• 4. the Arena Chapel
• 5. Brunelleschi, Sacrifice of Isaac vs
Ghiberti, Sacrifice of Isaac
• 6. Gates of Paradise
• 7. Donatello, David
• 8. The Rucellai Palace
• 9. Birth of Venus
• 10. Ghent Altarpiece
• 11. Arnolfini Portrait
High Renaissance

• 1. Last Supper
• 2. Mona Lisa
• 3. Michelangelo, Pieta
• 4. Michelangelo, David
• 5. ceiling of the Sistine Chapel
• 6. School of Athens
• 7. Sleeping Venus
• 8. Venus of the Urbino
 The Baroque

• 1. St. Peter’s Basilica

• 2. St. Charles at the Four
Fountains
• 3. the Palace at Versailles
• 4. St. Paul’s Cathedra
• 5. Bernini, David
• 6. Ecstasy of Saint Teresa
• 7. The Calling of Saint Matthew
• 8. The Night Watch
• 9. Las Meninas
 Neoclassism, Romanticism,
and Realism
• 1. Oath of the Horatii
• 2. Death of Marat
• 3. Napoleon at Saint Bernard Pass
• 4. Grande Odalisque
• 5. George Washington
• 6. Raft of the Medusa
• 7. Liberty Leading the People
• 8. The Executions of the Third of May
• 9. the Oxbow
• 10. the Gleaners
• 11. the Stone Breakers
• 12. Olympia
• 13. Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe
 Impressionism and Post-
impressionism

• 1. A Bar at the Folies-Bergère

• 2. Moulin de la Galette
• 3. Dancer with a Bouquet, Bowing
• 4. Impression: Sunrise
• 5. Water Lily Pond
• 6. Quadrille at the Moulin Rouge
• 7. Mont Sainte-Victoire
• 8. Sunday Afternoon on the Island
of La Grande Jatte
• 9. The Starry Night
• 10. Nevermore
• 11. The Scream
Teaching module

Lecturing
Preview: Reading Review
Answering Questions

Before class During class After class

Grading System

• In-class activity participation 10%

• Visual analysis essays
(You will be asked to analyze three artworks in this term.) 30%
• Final test 60%

• Note: Active Involvement will help you get extra points.

Types of Questions in Exams

 Multiple choice questions

 Essay questions
Example 1 of
multiple choice
questions
Example 2 of
multiple choice Titian, Venus of the Urbino, c.1538

questions

Giorgione, Sleeping Venus, c.1509

Example 3
of essay
questions
Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-
Victoire, c. 1900.

Attribute this painting to the artist who painted it.

Example 1
of essay
questions
Example 2
of essay
questions

• Students should note down any significant details that they can find in the work
and attempt a brief visual analysis, referring to colour, composition and
symbolism.
Example 3
of essay
questions

• Students will be presented with two images which they will have to compare.
Again they should note down name, artist, period etc. But their focus in the
visual analysis is to compare and contrast the similarities and differences of the
two works.
Any Questions?
Why do we study the history of art?

• ‘We study the arts and their history because they teach us about our
own creative expressions and those of our past.’
How Do We Value Art?

• The role of ART HISTORY is, in part to discover the historical context
of a work of art.
• Art Historians ask the same questions whether their definition of art is narrow or
inclusive.
• How OLD is it?
• What is its STYLE?
• What is its SUBJECT?
• Who MADE it?
• Who PAID for it?
Homework

• Preview Chapter 3 Prehistoric Western Europe.

Prehistoric Western Europe

• 1. Venus of Willendorf
• 2. Venus of Laussel
• 3. the Lascaux Cave
• 4. Stonehenge
Vocabulary

• Paleolithic • sculpture in the round

• Mesolithic • sculpture in relief
• Neolithic • pigment
• nomadic • binder
• utilitarian • the Pyrenees Mountains
• aesthetic • henge
• monumental • post-and-lintel
• bulbous • megalith
• pelvis • menhir