Questions? Consult the FAQ's!Art Appreciation and Techniques
Purpose of Course showclose
Course Information showclose
Welcome to ARTH101. Below, please find general information on this course and its requirements.
Course Designer: Elisabeth Miller
Primary Resources: This course requires you to learn from a multiplicity of free online resources. However, one resource will serve as the main reference and can be considered the course textbook:
- Cornell University: Professor Charlotte Jirousek’s “Art, Design, and Visual Thinking”
The following resource will also be used repeatedly throughout the entirety of the course:
- Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s online textbook, Smarthistory.org
Requirements for Completion: In order to complete this course you will need to work through each unit of the course and pass the Final Exam with a score of 70% or higher. If you do not pass the exam, you may take it again. Included within the units are readings, lectures, videos, and assignments or exercises that we have called “guided observations.” While the “guided observations” are not graded, the Final Exam will test you on the knowledge you acquired completing them.
Time Commitment: This course should take you approximately 55 hours to complete. The time advisories listed under each unit title will help you organize your calendar. Since units are unequal in the time investment they require on your part, you may want to take a look at the time advisories for each unit before you begin the course.
Tips/Suggestions: In addition to reading the material, listening to the lectures, watching the videos, and completing the assignments, you will need to take careful notes and spend time reviewing to be able to assimilate the information you will be tested on in the Final Exam. The instructional boxes accompanying the links to the course resources will help you focus your study.
Learning Outcomes showclose
- Provide several different definitions of the term “visual arts.”
- Explain the debates that surround the act of defining art.
- List and discuss some of the roles that the visual arts have historically played.
- Define and apply terms used to describe and analyze a work of visual art.
- Describe and discuss works of visual art using appropriate vocabulary.
- Define and explain in a technical fashion the different methods, mediums, and materials that artists use to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of visual art.
- Compare and contrast different methods, mediums, and materials artists use to create two-dimensional and three-dimensional works of visual art.
- Identify the important stylistic developments in the history of art.
- Compare and contrast the artistic styles that have defined different historical eras and geographies.
- Demonstrate an awareness of the importance of acknowledging cultural and historical contexts when approaching art.
Course Requirements showclose
√ Have access to a computer.
√ Have continuous broadband internet access.
√ Have the ability/permission to install plug-ins or software (e.g. Adobe Reader of Flash).
√ Have the ability to download and save files and documents to a computer.
√ Have the ability to open Microsoft files and documents (.doc, .ppt, .xls, etc.).
√ Be competent in the English language.
√ Have read the Saylor Student Handbook.
Unit Outline show close
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Unit 1: What Is Art?
This unit asks a series of basic questions about the nature of art: What is it? Does art record truth? Does it record beauty? Does it imitate the world around us or does it express a more important truth than nature itself does? Does it create fantasy? Does one need to be skilled to create art? When French artist Marcel Duchamp repositioned, signed, and titled a urinal “Fountain” in 1917, presenting it as a work of art, it was neither the first nor the last time that the exhibition of a supposed art object would end in controversy and stir debate on what constitutes the criteria by which an object can be called “art.” While different definitions of art abound, art, either as a product, process, or skill, has been made an integral part of our living environments since the days of prehistoric cave paintings. Whether it expresses an idea of beauty, an opinion, a worldview, or emotions, or whether it strives to record the world or lift viewers out of complacency, art always functions outside of a basic fight for survival. Art can express and create meaning in our lives and, though we may need art to make our lives pleasurable or significant, we do not use it to survive on a physical level.
Unit 1 Time Advisory show close
In this unit, we will familiarize ourselves with different definitions of art and explore the themes that art commonly treats.
Unit 1 Learning Outcomes show close
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1.1 Common Roles Assumed by the Visual Arts
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Purposes of Art”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Purposes of Art” (HTML)
Instructions: When you click on the above link, scroll down in the left pane of the webpage titled “Table of Contents” until you find the heading “Purposes of Art.” Click on this link and then read the passage “Purposes of Art.” Please read the passage to get a sense for the many different roles art can fulfill.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Purposes of Art”
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1.2 Toward a Definition of Art
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Duchamp and the Ready-Mades”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s "Duchamp and the Ready-Mades" (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch this video in order to get a sense, through the specific example of Marcel Duchamp’s art, for the debates inherent in the definition of art.
About the link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. Watching this video should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “The Evolution of the Idea of Art”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "The Evolution of the Idea of Art" (HTML)
Instructions: This passage is situated just below the passage “Purposes of Art” in the table of contents of the webpage above. Please read the passage in its entirety to get a sense for how art can be defined. Note that the definition has changed throughout history and across cultures.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The University of British Columbia: Dr. Robert J. Belton’s Art History: A Preliminary Handbook: “What is Art?”
Link: The University of British Columbia: Dr. Robert J. Belton’s Art History: A Preliminary Handbook: “What is Art?” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this passage in order to get a sense for how art is most commonly defined.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy’s “The Definition of Art”
Link: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: "The Definition of Art" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this entry in order to get a sense for what makes an art object different from other objects. Pay attention to the entry’s discussion of the questions and controversies that can arise when one tries to define art.
About the link: The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy was conceived and is maintained by experts in the field. While it is a constantly evolving encyclopedia, cited articles are taken from a fixed edition in the archive of the encyclopedia. This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Activity: The Saylor Foundation’s ARTH101: Guided Observation 1
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s ARTH101: Guided Observation 1 (PDF)
Instructions: Please click on the link above for further thought on the debates that can arise when trying to define art.
This activity should take approximately 1 hour to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Activity: The Saylor Foundation’s ARTH101: Guided Observation 2
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s ARTH101: Guided Observation 2 (PDF)
Instructions: Please click on the link above to further examine, through the observation of Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, the many roles that can be fulfilled by one artwork.
This activity should take approximately 1 hour to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Duchamp and the Ready-Mades”
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Unit 2: Becoming Art-Literate
The Visual Arts can communicate stories, opinions, thoughts, and emotions through visual means. Through formal elements of design, like line, shape, space, movement, color, light, texture, and pattern, artists can give meaning to their work. The way in which these elements are organized in an artwork to form a whole pertains to the principles of design. The principles of design can be thought of as the “grammar” of the visual arts. “Styles” in art are identifiable when a group of artworks share characteristic formal attributes. A “style” can be specific to one artist or a group of artists, but it is also partly culturally determined and a result of the social and historical influences merging in the place the artist is working in.
Unit 2 Time Advisory show close
Since it is difficult to speak about artworks without mentioning an area or time of provenance, this unit will first introduce you to the common chronological delimitations used to study art and give you a glimpse into the way style can be culturally determined. We will then explore the elements and principles of design and familiarize ourselves with the vocabulary commonly used to describe and analyze artworks. Learning how to speak about art will enable you to become conscious of the way art “speaks” its own language.
Unit 2 Learning Outcomes show close
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2.1 Useful Preliminaries: Art and Chronology
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “For the Very Beginner”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “For the Very Beginner” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please read this article (PDF) and watch this video for some useful preliminaries about art as it relates to history. You will also get a glimpse of how style can evolve over time.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. Watching this video and reading the text should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article and video above are released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML and Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “For the Very Beginner”
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2.2 Form and Content
- Reading: The University of British Columbia: Dr. Robert J. Belton’s Art History: A Preliminary Handbook: “The Elements of Art”
Link: The University of British Columbia: Dr. Robert J. Belton’s Art History: A Preliminary Handbook: “The Elements of Art” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this passage in order to get a sense for the terms “form” and “content” as they relate to the visual arts.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The University of British Columbia: Dr. Robert J. Belton’s Art History: A Preliminary Handbook: “The Elements of Art”
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2.3 The Language of Design: The Elements of Design
Note: Depending on the resource you are interacting with, the “elements of design” will also be referred to as the “visual elements of art,” the “visual elements of design,” the “plastic elements of design,” the “plastic elements of art,” the “formal elements of design,” or the “formal elements of art.” Together with the principles of design that we will address in the following sub-unit, the visual elements constitute what is called the “language of design” or the “language of art.”
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “The Skill of Describing”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “The Skill of Describing” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video to get a sense for the way speaking about the formal attributes of a work of art can uncover meaning. The video will also address how the form and the content of a piece are intrinsically merged.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. Watching this video should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Language of Design”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Language of Design" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Language of Design.” You can find it by going to the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: Cerritos College: “The Language of Art”
Link: Cerritos College: "The Language of Art" (mp3)?
Instructions: This recording is part of a series of podcasts for an ART100 course taught at Cerritos College, a community college in California. Please click on “Podcasts” and download and listen to the recording in its entirety (1 hour, 19 minutes). This lecture covers the formal elements of an artwork, the principles of design (called the “principles of composition” in the podcast), and materials and techniques commonly used by artists. Many of the images discussed in this lecture are available under “Images” on the same page; please open these in a separate window while you are listening to the podcast. Note that this lecture covers the material you need to know for subunits 2.3–2.4 and units 3–4.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “The Skill of Describing”
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2.3.1 Point and Line
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: Elements of Design,” “Point,” and “Line”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: Elements of Design,” “Point,” and “Line” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passages Elements of Design: "Point,” and “Line.” You can find them by going to the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: Elements of Design,” “Point,” and “Line”
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2.3.2 Form, Shape, Space, and Movement
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Form,” “Two-Dimensional Form,” “Two-Dimensional Illusion,” “Three-Dimensional Form,” and “Movement”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Form,” “Two-Dimensional Form,” “Two-Dimensional Illusion,” “Three-Dimensional Form,” and “Movement” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passages “Form,” “Two-Dimensional Form,” “Three-Dimensional Form,” and “Movement.” You can find them by going to the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Form,” “Two-Dimensional Form,” “Two-Dimensional Illusion,” “Three-Dimensional Form,” and “Movement”
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2.3.3 Light and Color
- Reading: Webexhibits.org’s Causes of Color: “Vision: Eye and Mind,” and “Vision: Color Theory”
Links: Webexhibits.org’s Causes of Color: “Vision: Eye and Mind” (HTML), and “Vision: Color Theory” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read these passages that describe the ways in which we perceive light and color. Note that each passage is several pages long. Please click on “Next” every time you reach the bottom of a page if that option is available.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Work license: you may share the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and that you do not alter, transform, or build upon it.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Lecture: Kent State University: Instructor Jack McWhorter’s “Color Theory”
Link: Kent State University: Instructor Jack McWhorter’s "Color Theory" (iTunes U)
Instructions: These recordings are available through iTunes. Please listen to the following tracks on color theory, which are part of the series of recordings entitled “Color Theory”: “Components of Color,” “Hue,” “Value,” “Temperature,” “Color Harmony,” “Color Keys,” “Color Symbolism,” “Complementary Color,” “Descriptive and Subjective Color,” “Local Color,” “Interaction,” and “Mixing Pigments.”
Listening to these recordings should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Webexhibits.org’s Causes of Color: “Vision: Eye and Mind,” and “Vision: Color Theory”
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2.3.4 Pattern and Texture
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Pattern” and “Texture”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Pattern" and "Texture" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passages “Pattern” and “Texture.” You can find them by going to the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Activity: The Saylor Foundation’s ARTH101: Guided Observation 3
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s ARTH101: Guided Observation 3 (PDF)
Instructions: Please click on the link above to further examine, through the observation of Eugène Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People, how the elements of design can “speak” within an artwork.
This activity should take approximately 1 hour to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Pattern” and “Texture”
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2.4 The Language of Design: The Principles of Design
Note: This subunit is covered by the lecture assigned beneath subunit 2.3. Please focus on the lecture from about 39:50 to 56:50 (17 mins.). Together with the elements of design, the principles of design constitute the language of design. The “principles of design” can also be referred to as the “principles of composition.”
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2.4.1 Balance
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Balance”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Balance" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Balance” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left page of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Balance”
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2.4.2 Proportion
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Proportion”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Proportion” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Proportion” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Proportion”
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2.4.3 Rhythm
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Rhythm”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Rhythm" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Rhythm” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Rhythm”
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2.4.4 Emphasis
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Emphasis”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: ”Emphasis" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Emphasis” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Emphasis”
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2.4.5 Unity
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Unity”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Unity" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Unity” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Activity: The Saylor Foundation’s ARTH101: Guided Observation 4
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s ARTH101: Guided Observation 4 (PDF)
Instructions: Please click on the link above to further explore, through the observation of Pablo Picasso’s The Old Guitarist, how an artist can create meaning with the language of art: the elements and principles of design.
This activity should take approximately 2 hours to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Unity”
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Unit 3: Two-Dimensional Media
The tools, materials, and techniques an artist uses have a direct impact on an artwork’s formal aspect. An artist usually chooses his/her media based on the formal result he/she is trying to attain. When artists of the Renaissance in Northern Europe started using oil paint, for example, they realized that they could render texture in a realistic or “tactile” way. As a consequence, their paintings started displaying astonishing detail in the rendering of surfaces.
Unit 3 Time Advisory show close
In this unit, we will study the media (or materials) from which artists can choose. We will learn about media used to create two-dimensional works of art, such as paintings, drawings, prints, photographs, and films.
Note: This unit is covered by the lecture assigned beneath subunit 2.3. Please focus on the lecture from 1:01:55- 1:11:50 and 1:16:50-1:18:20 (11mins).
Unit 3 Learning Outcomes show close
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3.1 Painting
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Painting”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Painting" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Painting” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Painting”
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3.1.1 Encaustic
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Encaustic”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Encaustic" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Encaustic” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Encaustic”
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3.1.2 Fresco Secco and Fresco
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Fresco Secco” and “Fresco”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Fresco Secco" and "Fresco" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passages “Fresco Secco” and “Buon Fresco” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Fresco Secco” and “Fresco”
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3.1.3 Egg Tempera Versus Oil Paint
- Reading: Webexhibits.org’s Color Vision and Art: “Light, Color and Vision: Paints”
Link: Webexhibits.org’s Color Vision and Art: “Light, Color and Vision: Paints” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the four pages within the section “Paints” by clicking on “Next” each time you reach the bottom of a page. The pages you will have read are titled: “From Egg Tempera to Oil,” “How the Paints Differ,” “Applying the Paint and the Technique of Color Modeling,” and “Optical Qualities of the Paint Surface.”
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Work license: you may share the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and that you do not alter, transform or build upon it.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Tempera Paint”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s "Tempera Paint" (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch this video to gain an understanding of the medium of egg tempera paint, which was very commonly used at the beginning of the Renaissance period, as well as the techniques (such as hatching) and effects associated with it.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. Watching this video should take approximately 15 minutes.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Oil Painting: Materials and Techniques”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Oil Painting: Materials and Techniques” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the short article to reinforce your knowledge of the properties of oil paint as well as to get a feel for the wide range of effects it can produce when applied with varying types of brushes.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Oil Paint”
Link: SmartHistory.org's "Oil Paint" (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch this video to get a feel for the way the medium of oil paint was used during the Renaissance, its impact on the history of Western art, and the effects that can be achieved through its use. Be particularly attentive to the video’s mention of the medium’s luminosity, versatility, and expressivity. Note that this medium enables the artist to blend colors directly on the canvas.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Webexhibits.org’s Color Vision and Art: “Light, Color and Vision: Paints”
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3.1.4 Mosaic
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Mosaic”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Mosaic" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Mosaic” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Mosaic”
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3.1.5 Watercolor
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “What is a Watercolour?”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “What is a Watercolour?” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the short article for an introduction to watercolor as a painting medium.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Watercolour Painting: Materials and Techniques”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Watercolour Painting: Materials and Techniques” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the short article and view the accompanying images to get a sense for the materials and techniques associated with the medium of watercolor paint.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Getty Museum’s “Paul Cézanne’s Approach to Watercolor”
Link: The Getty Museums’s “Paul Cézanne’s Approach to Watercolor” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video in order to get a sense for the specificities of the medium of watercolor, as well as for the way in which the French artist Paul Cézanne made it his own.
Watching this video will take approximately 3 minutes.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “What is a Watercolour?”
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3.1.6 Acrylic
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Acrylic”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Acrylic" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Acrylic” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Acrylic”
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3.1.7 Collage
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Collage”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Collage" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Collage” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Collage”
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3.2 Drawing
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “What is Drawing?”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “What is Drawing?” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article. It defines drawing and discusses some of its most common purposes. Please also click on the images embedded within the text to view drawings and read about them.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Talking About Drawing”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Talking About Drawing” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article that quotes artists as they speak about the significance of drawing.
This reading should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “What is Drawing?”
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3.2.1 The Materials and Techniques
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Drawing Materials and Media”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Drawing Materials and Media” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the above. Take careful notes on the important materials and mediums that have been used throughout history to draw. Please also click on the thumbnail images embedded within the article to view drawings and read about them.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Drawing Materials and Media”
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3.2.2 Drawing in Traditional Artistic Education
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Drawing in the Workshop and Academy”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Drawing in the Workshop and Academy” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article. It will introduce you to the traditional significance of drawing within an artist’s training. Please also click on the thumbnail images embedded within the article to view drawings and read about them.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Drawing in the Workshop and Academy”
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3.3 Printmaking
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Printmaking”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Printmaking” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Printmaking” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Printmaking”
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3.3.1 Relief Prints
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Relief Prints”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Relief Prints" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Relief Prints” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Printing 1450–1520”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Printing 1450–1520” (HTML, Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please read the article and view the short video linked above. The article discusses the emergence of printing in Europe during the Renaissance and the video shows how a woodcut would be made.
This reading and video should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Relief Prints”
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3.3.2 Intaglio
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Intaglio”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Intaglio” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Intaglio” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Printmaking: Woodcuts and Engraving”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Printmaking: Woodcuts and Engraving” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video, paying attention to the fact that, in the relief process of printmaking (as with the technique of woodcut), the ink is applied to the raised areas of the block or matrix, whereas in the intaglio technique of engraving, the engraved lines will be filled with ink. Note the different results that can be achieved through these two techniques.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. This video will take approximately 10 mintues.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Intaglio”
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3.3.3 Lithography
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Lithograph”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Lithograph" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Lithograph” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Lithograph”
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3.3.4 Silkscreen
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Silkscreen”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Silkscreen" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Silkscreen” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Silkscreen”
- 3.4 Photography and the Motion Picture
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3.4.1 The Process of Photography
- Reading: University of Oxford: Museum of the History of Science’s “A Small Exhibition of Early Photographs from the Museum's Collection”
Link: University of Oxford: Museum of the History of Science’s “A Small Exhibition of Early Photographs from the Museum's Collection” (HTML)
Instructions: First read the introduction to the exhibition. Then click on “Daguerreotypes,” “Photogenic Drawings,” and “Calotypes” to learn more about and see examples of photographic imagesmade using these three early processes.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Getty Museum’s “Early Photography: Making Daguerreotypes”
Link: The Getty Museums’s “Early Photography: Making Daguerreotypes” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video, paying particular attention to the fact that the daguerreotype was made with a copper plate. Note that its exposure time is relatively long.
This video will take approximately 5 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Getty Museums’s “Photography: The Wet Collodion Process”
Link: The Getty Museums’s “Photography: The Wet Collodion Process” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video, paying particular attention to the ways in which the process of the wet collodion represented an improvement upon the process of the daguerreotype.
This video will take approximately 6 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: University of Oxford: Museum of the History of Science’s “A Small Exhibition of Early Photographs from the Museum's Collection”
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3.4.2 Photography as Art
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Early Modern Photography”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s "Early Modern Photography" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this article in order to get a sense for the way photography made its way into the category of “art” in the early twentieth century.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Cartier-Bresson’s Behind the Gare St.Lazare”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Cartier-Bresson’s Behind the Gare St.Lazare” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video, in which Henri Cartier-Bresson’s photograph entitled “Behind the Gare Saint Lazare,” is discussed. Pay particular attention to the topics of photography as snapshot and photography as art. Listen carefully to the discussion of the visual elements and principles of design present within this photograph.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. This video will take approximately 5 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Early Modern Photography”
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3.4.3 From Still Images to Motion Pictures
- Reading: Paul Burns’ The History of the Discovery of Cinematography: chapters 13, 14 and 15.
Link: Paul Burns’ The History of the Discovery of Cinematography: chapters 13, 14 and 15. (HTML)
Instructions: Read chapters 13, 14, and 15 from the textbook above. You will find them by going to the table of contents situated on the left pane of the webpage above. Focus on the following entries: “1887, Eadweard James Muybridge,” “1888, Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince,” “1888, Marie Georges Jean Melies,” “1889, Thomas Edison,” “1893, Eadweard James Muybridge,” the two entries titled “1895, Auguste-Louis Lumière,” and the entry titled “The Lumière Experimental Films.”
About the Link: The History of the Discovery of Cinematographywas written by Paul Burns, a film historian and author. This reading should take approximately 3 hours to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Paul Burns’ The History of the Discovery of Cinematography: chapters 13, 14 and 15.
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Unit 4: Three-Dimensional Media
In this fourth unit, we will explore the tools, materials, and techniques used to create three-dimensional works of art like sculptures, architectural works, certain craft objects, and decorative arts. Note that viewers approach sculptures or buildings in motion, and can either circle the artwork or enter into it—quite different from the way in which viewers approach two-dimensional artworks. Sculptures and architecture thus offer a variety of viewpoints to the observer. The materials a sculptor or architect chooses need to obey some physical properties that do not apply to two-dimensional art works. For example, while we have seen that two-dimensional artworks often achieve visual balance, or the illusion of mass, a three-dimensional artwork will also have to take into account the actual properties of balance or weight.
Unit 4 Time Advisory show close
Note: This unit is covered by the lecture assigned beneath subunit 2.3. Please focus on the lecture from 1:11:50-1:16:50 (5mins).
Unit 4 Learning Outcomes show close
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4.1 Sculpture: Additive versus Subtractive Techniques
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4.1.1 Casting, an Additive Technique
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Bronze Casting”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Bronze Casting” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video to gain an understanding of the Lost-Wax technique, which was for many centuries the most common technique of casting bronze.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. This video will take approximately 10 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Bronze Casting”
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4.1.2 Carving, a Subtractive Technique
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Quarrying and Carving Marble”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Quarrying and Carving Marble” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video to gain an understanding of the technique of carving marble through the example of Michelangelo, a master of the medium. Please note the difference between “additive” processes of sculpture and “subtractive” processes of sculpture.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. This video will take approximately 10 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Quarrying and Carving Marble”
- 4.2 Some Common Materials of Sculpture and Other Three-Dimensional Craft Objects
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4.2.1 Techniques of Working Metal
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Metalwork Decoration Techniques”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Metalwork Decoration Techniques” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article. It will introduce you to different techniques used to make and decorate metal objects.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Producing an Enammelled Box from Copper”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Producing an Enammelled Box from Copper” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the transcript that discusses a copper box being enammelled.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Metalwork Decoration Techniques”
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4.2.2 Wood
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Wood
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Wood" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Wood” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Sculpture Techniques: Wood Carving”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Sculpture Techniques: Wood Carving” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article. It will give you a sense for the characteristics of wood as a carving material. It also discusses the differences in properties in between different types of wood.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Wood
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4.2.3 Glass
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Glass”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Glass" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Glass” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Making a Stained Glass Panel”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Making a Stained Glass Panel” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch this short video that will show you how stained glass panels are made.
This video will take approximately 4 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Glass”
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4.2.4 Ceramics
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Ceramics”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Ceramics" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Ceramics” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Ceramics”
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4.2.5 Textiles
- Web Media: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Jacquard Weaving”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Jacquard Weaving” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch this short video for an introduction to the process of weaving. The video will first show you the basic technique for weaving. Make sure you understand what a “loom” and a “plain weave” are. The video will then introduce you to the “Jacquard weaving” technique. Note that to make designs with the process of weaving, the decorative designs are woven within the fabric of the textile. The designs, therefore, have to be completely planned for before the textile is woven with the loom.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Oriental Carpet Videos by Jennifer Wearden”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Oriental Carpet Videos by Jennifer Wearden” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please go to the webpage above and watch all the associated videos. Curator Jennifer Wearden introduces us to oriental carpets and the techniques attached to their production. Take notes on the important vocabulary and techniques she introduces throughout these videos. The videos you should have viewed when you complete this subunit are as follows: “Oriental Carpets: Curator’s Introduction,” “Oriental Carpets: Basic Carpet Structure,” “Oriental Carpets: Carpet Construction,” “Oriental Carpets: Warp, Weft, and Knots,” “Oriental Carpets: Top and Bottom,” “Oriental Carpets: Edges,” “Oriental Carpets: Symmetrical Knots,” “Oriental Carpets: Counting Symmetrical Knots,” “Oriental Carpets: Assymetrical Knots,” “Oriental Carpets: Counting Assymetrical Knots,” “Oriental Carpets: Colour Variation,” “Oriental Carpets: Colour Abrash,” and “Oriental Carpets: Colour Corrosion.”
These videos will take approximately 15 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Samplers, Stitches, and Techniques”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Samplers, Stitches and Techniques” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article. It will introduce you to techniques of embroidery.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Introduction to Quilting”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Introduction to Quilting” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article. It will introduce you to techniques of quilting as well as to the historical significance of this medium.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Jacquard Weaving”
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4.3 Architecture
- Reading: The Eastman House Museum’s “Shapes and Shelters: Image Notes”
Link: The Eastman House Museum’s “Shapes and Shelters: Image Notes” (HTML)
Also available in:
Microsoft Word (without photos; select link from box at top of page)
PDF (without photos; select link from box at top of page)
Instructions: Please read this page to get an idea of the most common building techniques and architectural forms as well as their place within the history of architecture.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Eastman House Museum’s “Shapes and Shelters: Image Notes”
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4.4 Decorative Arts
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4.4.1 The Victorian Era
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Victorian Furniture Styles”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Victorian Furniture Styles” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article to get a sense for the diversity of taste that characterized the Victorian era in the decorative arts.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Victorian Furniture Styles”
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4.4.2 Arts and Crafts
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “The Arts and Crafts Movement”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “The Arts and Crafts Movement”
Instructions: Please read the article while taking careful notes on the reasons behind and the facts surrounding the emergence of the Arts and Crafts Movement.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Learn About Style: Arts and Crafts”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Learn About Style: Arts and Crafts”
Instructions: Please go to the webpage above. Work through the five categories that you can access at the bottom of the page: “Learn About Style,” “People,” “Building and Interiors,” “Related Style,” and “Take the Quiz.” Note that within each category, different subcategories can be accessed by clicking on thumbnail images.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “International Arts and Crafts Microsite”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “International Arts and Crafts Microsite” (HTML)
Instructions: Please go to the webpage above. It was made in the context of a temporary exhibition held at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2005. It will introduce you to the international reach of the Arts and Crafts Movement. First, click on “The Exhibition.” Read the passages “Britain,” “Europe,” “America,” and “Japan” by clicking on their titles, and by clicking "Next Page" above the text. Then, go back to “Home,” and click on “Explore.” From there, view the “Exhibition Highlights.” You can also go on an online tour by clicking on “Virtual Tour.”
Reading, and viewing the exhibit should take approximately 45 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “The Arts and Crafts Movement”
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4.4.3 Art Nouveau
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Study Room Resource: Art Nouveau”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Study Room Resource: Art Nouveau” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article. Though it was developed as a guide to the two-dimensional Art Nouveau resources in the Victoria and Albert Prints and Drawings Study Room, it is a good introduction to Art Nouveau as a whole. Please also click on the thumbnail images at the bottom of the article to view and learn more about specific Art Nouveau artworks.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Art Nouveau Glass”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Art Nouveau Glass” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch the video, which takes a close look at Art Nouveau Glass vessels while at the same time discussing the Art Nouveau movement more broadly.
This video will take approximately 10 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Study Room Resource: Art Nouveau”
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4.4.4 Art Deco
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Art Deco”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Art Deco” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article for a definition of the Art Deco style as well as some contextual information about its development.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s website.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Art Deco: Design Influences”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Art Deco: Design Influences” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article to get a sense for the European and Avant-Garde influences that helped shape the Art Deco style.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s websiteSee a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Art Deco: Global Inspiration”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Art Deco: Global Inspiration” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article to get a sense for the global range of visual traditions that helped inspire Art Deco artists and designers.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the museum’s websiteSee a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Art Deco”
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4.4.5 Frank Lloyd Wright
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Frank Lloyd Wright”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Frank Lloyd Wright" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Frank Lloyd Wright” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Frank Lloyd Wright”
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4.4.6 De Stijl
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “De Stijl”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "De Stijl" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “De Stijl” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “De Stijl”
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4.4.7 Bauhaus/Modern
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Bauhaus/Modern”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Bauhaus/Modern" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Bauhaus/Modern” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Bauhaus/Modern”
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4.4.8 Post-Modern
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Post-Modern”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Post-Modern" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Post-Modern” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Post-Modern”
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Unit 5: Art in Time and Place: The Western World
The formal and stylistic aspects of artworks are often largely determined by the era and location in which they were created. In this unit, we will study art through its evolution in time and place in the Western world. You will develop the tools you need to identify the major formal and stylistic trends punctuating the timeline of Western Art History. This approach will enable us to see the relationship between works of art and their specific social-historical contexts. This unit will also reveal a certain continuum that runs through Western Art, from Ancient Greece to modern times.
Unit 5 Time Advisory show close
Unit 5 Learning Outcomes show close
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5.1 Earliest Art: Cave Paintings
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Origins”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s "Origins" (PDF)
Also available in:
YouTube
Instructions: Please read this article and watch this video in order to get a sense for the way art and representation have been an inherent part of human activity since the Paleolithic period. Note the way in which paintings that have been recovered from that time period tend to revolve around the themes of game, hunting, and fertility.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. This reading and video should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML and Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Origins”
- 5.2 Art of the Ancient Near East and Egypt
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5.2.1 Art of the Ancient Near East
- Reading: Smarthistory.org’s Ancient Near East: Dr. Senta German’s “Cuneiform and the Invention of Writing,” “Uruk 3500–3000 B.C.E,” and “Early Dynastic Period 2800–2350 B.C.E”
Links: Smarthistory.org’s Ancient Near East: Dr. Senta German’s “Cuneiform and the Invention of Writing” (HTML), “Uruk 3500–3000 B.C.E” (HTML) and “Early Dynastic Period 2800–2350 B.C.E” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the articles linked above. They will introduce you to the significance of the Near East in the development of the written word, as well as to the emergence of figural representation in the Ancient Near East.
These readings should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.The Saylor Foundation does not yet have materials for this portion of the course. If you are interested in contributing your content to fill this gap or aware of a resource that could be used here, please submit it here.
- Reading: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: “The Akkadian Period (ca. 2350–2150 B.C.)
Link: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: “The Akkadian Period (ca. 2350–2150 B.C.) (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article for an introduction to the arts of the Akkadian Period of the Near East.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: Smarthistory.org: Dr Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Victory Stele of Naram-Sin
Link: Smarthistory.org: Dr Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Victory Stele of Naram-Sin” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch this video that discusses an important example of Akkadian art.
This video will take approximately 5 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The British Museum’s “Babylonians”
Link: The British Museum’s “Babylonians” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article, which introduces you to a civilization that rose to domination in Mesopotamia after the Akkadian period.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: Smarthistory.org: Dr Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi”
Link: Smarthistory.org: Dr Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch this video, which discusses an important example of Babylonian art.
This video will take approximately 3 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The British Museum’s “Assyrians”
Link: The British Museum’s “Assyrians” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article, which introduces you to the Assyrian civilization that dominated Mesopotamia in the period following Babylonia’s hegemony. Please also click on the thumbnail image on the side of the text to view it and read about it.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: “The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 B.C.)”
Link: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: “The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 B.C.)” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article. It will introduce you to the arts and culture of Persia.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Smarthistory.org’s Ancient Near East: Dr. Senta German’s “Cuneiform and the Invention of Writing,” “Uruk 3500–3000 B.C.E,” and “Early Dynastic Period 2800–2350 B.C.E”
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5.2.2 The Art of Ancient Egypt
- Reading: The Ancient Egypt Site’s “The History of Ancient Egypt”
Link: The Ancient Egypt Site’s “The History of Ancient Egypt” (HTML)
Instructions: Please go to the webpage above. Click on “History.” After you have read this first page, click on “Early Dynastic Period” at the bottom of the page. Read “Early Dynastic Period.” From there, click on “Step Pyramid” within the text to read about the kinds of pyramids that were being built in the early Dynastic period. Once you have read about the stepped pyramid, go back to “Early Dynastic Period” and click on “Narmer Palette,” at the bottom of the page. You will learn about the Narmer Palette, an important representative of early Egyptian art.
Then, go to the following period of Ancient Egyptian history, “Old Kingdom,” accessible from the table of contents located on the left pane of the screen. When you get to the end of the page, click on “Giza” to learn about the Great Pyramids.
Next, go to the table of contents to access and read “1st Intermediate Period.” From the table of contents, also access and read the pages “Middle Kingdom,” “2nd Intermediate Period,” and “New Kingdom.” When you have reached the bottom of the page titled “New Kingdom,” click on “Valley of the Kings” and proceed to read that page.
Then, from the table of contents, access and read the pages titled “Late Dynastic Period” and “Greek-Roman.” While working through this material, pay close attention to the discussion of temples and sculptures. Do not click on the links describing the specifics of each Dynasty.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the Non-Commercial terms of use displayed on the website above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Ancient Egypt Site’s “The History of Ancient Egypt”
- 5.3 Art in Ancient Greece and Rome
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5.3.1 Greece
- Web Media: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: “Ancient Greece”
Link: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: “Ancient Greece” (HTML)
Instructions: This is an interactive resource. Please look through the timeline of ancient Greece. Click on the following links found within the timeline and read the corresponding essays: “Geometric Period,” “Archaic Period,” “Classical Period,” and “Hellenestic Period.” Make sure to view the images that accompany these overviews by clicking on the “View Slide Show” option.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: “Ancient Greece”
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5.3.2 Rome
- Web Media: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: “Italian Peninsula”
Link: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: “Italian Peninsula” (HTML)
Instructions: This is an interactive resource. Please look through the timeline of the Italian Peninsula. Click on the following links found within the timeline and read the corresponding essays: “Etruscan Culture,” “Roman Republic,” and “Roman Empire.” Make sure to view the images that accompany these overviews by clicking on the “View Slide Show” option.
This reading should take approximately 1 hour to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History: “Italian Peninsula”
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5.4 Art during the Middle Ages
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “400-1300 Medieval Era”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “400-1300 Medieval Era” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article, which situates the medieval era within the broader history of western civilizations.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “400-1300 Medieval Era”
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5.4.1 Early Christian and Byzantine Art
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Early Christian Art: An Introduction”
Links: SmartHistory.org’s “Early Christian Art: An Introduction” (PDF) and “Early Christian Art: An Introduction (Part 2)” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read these two articles to gain an understanding of the emergence of Christianity within the Roman world.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. These readings should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Art Before Constantine”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s "Art Before Constantine" (PDF and Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please read this article on the different forms that Christian art were required to take prior to the legalization of Christianity, and use the link at the bottom of the page to view a short video of Rome's catacombs in 3D. Note that the paintings discussed were created in catacombs, or hidden locations. How were the representations of Jesus Christ and the other saints (the article mentions Saint Paul in particular) based on Roman prototypes?
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. This reading and video should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Early Christian Art and Architecture after Constantine”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Early Christian Art and Architecture after Constantine” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article to grasp the importance of the legalization of Christianity by Constantine for the development of Christian art.
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Byzantine Art: Justinian and his Attendants”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Byzantine Art: Justinian and his Attendants” (YouTube)
Instructions: Watch this video for a discussion of a mosaic in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna. Make sure you understand that “Byzantine art” refers to art that bears the influence of the Byzantine Empire’s Christian art style. Mosaic was one of the preferred mediums of Byzantine art. Reflect upon the formal qualities of this art form, asking yourself why it might have been a medium of choice for Christianity in its early stages.
This video will take approximately 10 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Early Christian Art: An Introduction”
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5.4.2 Barbarian Art
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Barbarian Art”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Barbarian Art” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article to get a sense for the different populations of Europe during the Middle Ages and to gain an understanding of the meaning of the word “Barbarian.”
About the Link: SmartHistory.org is an open textbook on art and art history. This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Fibulae”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Fibulae” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article in order to get a better sense for the formal qualities associated with Barbarian art through examples of one of its common artistic objects: the brooch.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Barbarian Art”
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5.4.3 Ottonian Art
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Ottonian Art, St Michael’s Church, Hildesheim”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Ottonian Art, St Michael’s Church, Hildesheim” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article in order to get a sense for the cultural and artistic developments in the Saxon Empire. What forms remind you of Barbarian art and what forms remind you of Roman art? What historical background can help explain the varied elements of style present in Ottonian art and architecture?
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Ottonian Art, St Michael’s Church, Hildesheim”
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5.4.4 Romanesque Art
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Romanesque”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Romanesque” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article in order to get a sense for the influences that shaped the development of the Romanesque style in art.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Romanesque”
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5.4.5 Gothic Art
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Gothic Art: Jamb Figures, Chartres”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Gothic Art: Jamb Figures, Chartres” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article in order to get a sense for the Gothic style of sculpture.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “English Gothic Architecture”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “English Gothic Architecture” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article in order to get a sense for the architectural innovations associated with the Gothic style of architecture. Note that many of the advances in building techniques that took place during the Gothic period were achieved with the goals of building higher structures and creating lighter interiors.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Gothic Art: Jamb Figures, Chartres”
- 5.5 Art from the Renaissance to the Nineteenth Century
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5.5.1 The Renaissance
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “1300-1400 Proto-Renaissance”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “1300-1400 Proto-Renaissance” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video in order to get a sense for the new formal qualities that made their way into art during the transitional phase between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.
This video will take approximately 11 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Florence in the Early Renaissance”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Florence in the Early Renaissance” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article to gain a better understanding of the intellectual climate associated with the Renaissance.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Masaccio’s Holy Trinity”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Masaccio’s Holy Trinity” (PDF and Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please read this article and watch the embedded video; they discuss an artwork that exemplifies the ideals of the Early Renaissance in Florence.
This reading and video should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Flanders”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Flanders” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article for an introduction to the Renaissance and its influence in Northern Europe.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Campin’s Merode Altarpiece”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Campin’s Merode Altarpiece” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video in order to get a sense for how the ideas and ideals of the Renaissance started taking shape in Northern art.
This video will take approximately 6 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “High Renaissance”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “High Renaissance” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article for an introduction to the High Renaissance in art.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Leonardo’s Last Supper”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s "Leonardo's Last Supper" (PDF)
Instructions: Please read the above text and watch a 13 minute video here (Adobe Flash), which discusses Leonardo Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, an artwork often considered exemplary in terms of its expression of High Renaissance values.
This reading and video should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Michelangelo’s David”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Michelangelo’s David” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read the text for a description of a sculpture by Michelangelo, one of the masters of the High Renaissance.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Raphael’s School of Athens”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Raphael’s School of Athens” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video, which discusses a painting by Raphael, one of the masters of the High Renaissance.
This video will take approximately 13 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “1300-1400 Proto-Renaissance”
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5.5.2 Mannerism
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “The End of the Renaissance and the Reformation”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “The End of the Renaissance and the Reformation” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article to get a sense for how various historical events impacted sixteenth century European art.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Mannerism in Italy and Spain”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Mannerism in Italy and Spain” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article to get a sense for mannerism, a style that countered many of the ideals of the High Renaissance during the sixteenth century.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Parmigianino’s Madonna of the Long Neck”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Parmigianino’s Madonna of the Long Neck” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video, which presents a prime example of Mannerist art: The Madonna of the Long Neck by Parmigianino. Take notes on the stylistic elements that distinguish it from High Renaissance art.
This video will take approximately 7 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Pontormo’s Entombment”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Pontormo’s Entombment” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video, which discusses another famous example of Mannerist art: Pontormo’s painting entitled “Entombment.” Take notes on the stylistic elements that distinguish it from High Renaissance Art.
This video will take approximately 10 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “The End of the Renaissance and the Reformation”
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5.5.3 Baroque and Rococo Art
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “1600-1700: The Baroque”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “1600-1700: The Baroque” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video, which discusses and compares artworks from Protestant Holland and Catholic Flanders. Please reflect and take notes upon how the differing religious contexts of these two regions affected the form and content of their art.
This video will take approximately 13 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Baroque Art in Italy”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Baroque Art in Italy” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article to get a general sense for the historical forces at play in the creation of the exuberant Baroque style in Italy during the seventeenth century.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Poussin’s Landscape with Saint John and Rape of the Sabines”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Poussin’s Landscape with Saint John and Rape of the Sabines” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video to get a sense for the distinctive classicizing style of French art in the seventeenth century.
This video will take approximately 10 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (Adobe Flash).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “1600-1700: The Baroque”
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5.5.4 Eighteenth-Century Art
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Rococo”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Rococo” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article to get a sense for the cultural and stylistic forces at play in the creation of the light, erotic, and exuberant style of the Rococo in eighteenth century France.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Neoclassicism”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Neoclassicism” (PDF)
Instructions: Please read this article to get a sense for the cultural and stylistic forces at play in the creation of the stark, classicizing, and idealistic art known as “neoclassical art.”
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 license (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “Rococo”
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5.5.5 Romanticism
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Romanticism”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “Romanticism” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video for a discussion of the Romantic style as it emerged in nineteenth-century Europe. Take notes on the distinctions between the Romantic style and the neoclassical style.
This video will take approximately 13 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “Romanticism”
- 5.6 Modern Art
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5.6.1 Change in the Nineteenth Century
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “1848-1907: Industrial Revolution II”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “1848-1907: Industrial Revolution II” (YouTube)
Instructions: Please watch this video, which discusses various art styles associated with rapidly changing European societies of the second half of the nineteenth century. Take notes on the innovations associated with Realist, Impressionist, and Post-Impressionist art.
This video will take approximately 12 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: The article above is released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (HTML). It is attributed to SmartHistory.org and the original version can be found here (HTML).See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org’s “1848-1907: Industrial Revolution II”
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5.6.2 What is Modernism in Art?
- Reading: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Parme Giuntini’s “Becoming Modern”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Parme Giuntini’s “Becoming Modern” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this article for an understanding of the forces that helped shape what we call “Modernism” as well as to get a sense for its characteristics.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Parme Giuntini’s “Becoming Modern”
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5.6.3 Realism Versus Academic Art
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr Steven Zucker’s “Academic Art: Gérôme's Pygmalion and Galatea”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Academic Art: Gérôme's Pygmalion and Galatea” (QuickTime and HTML)
Instructions: Please listen to the audio and read the accompanying article. Understanding the artistic background of academic art will subsequently help you comprehend the break that modern artistic movements, such as realism, achieved.
The listening and reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic’s “Realism”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic’s “Realism” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article linked above to get a sense for why, how, and when Realism, as an artistic movement, emerged.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Courbet’s Burial at Ornans”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Courbet’s Burial at Ornans” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch this video, which discusses an important Realist work by Courbet: “Courbet’s Burial at Ornans.”
This video will take approximately 7 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org’s “The Stonebreakers”
Link: SmartHistory.org’s “The Stonebreakers” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this article, which discusses Courbet’s “Stonebreakers” as well as the artist’s realism.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Manet’s Le Déjeuner Sur l’Herbe”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Manet’s Le Déjeuner Sur l’Herbe” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch this video, which discusses an artwork by the historically most significant Realist painter painting after Courbet: Manet.
This video will take approximately 7 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker, and Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic’s “Édouard Manet's Olympia”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris, Dr. Steven Zucker, and Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic’s “Édouard Manet's Olympia” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please watch the video linked above and read the associated article. They discuss an important artwork by the Realist painter Manet. Take notes on its “modern” characteristics as well as on the way it was received by its contemporary audience.
This video will take approximately 14 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr Steven Zucker’s “Academic Art: Gérôme's Pygmalion and Galatea”
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5.6.4 Impressionism
- Reading: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic’s “Impressionism”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic’s “Impressionism” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article linked above. It will introduce you to a movement that emerged after Realism: Impressionism.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Monet’s Rouen Cathedral Series”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Monet’s Rouen Cathedral Series” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please view the video linked above. It discusses a series of paintings (made by artist Claude Monet) that are good representatives of the Impressionist movement as a whole.
This video will take approximately 4 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Renoir’s Moulin de la Galette”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Renoir’s Moulin de la Galette” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please view the video linked above. It discusses an Impressionist painting by artist Auguste Renoir.
This video will take approximately 5 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic’s “Impressionism”
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5.6.5 Post-Impressionism
- Reading: The ArtStory.org’s “Post-Impressionism”
Link: The ArtStory.org’s “Post-Impressionism” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this article to get a sense for what Post-Impressionism is. Though “Post-Impressionism” is composed of many artistic styles, it is often defined by the way it reacted to, and often against, Impressionism.
This reading should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Post-Impressionsim, Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte–1884”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Post-Impressionism, Seurat's a Sunday on La Grande Jatte–1884” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please view the video linked above. It discusses an artwork by Georges Seurat. Take notes on the characteristics of the painting that can be considered reactions to Impressionism.
This video will take approximately 11 minutes to watch
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Van Gogh’s Portrait of the Joseph Roulin”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Van Gogh’s Portrait of the Joseph Roulin” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please view the video linked above. It discusses an artwork by Post-Impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh. Take careful notes, especially on the subjects of structure and color.
This video will take approximately 5 minutes to watch
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Cézanne's Still Life with Apples”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Cézanne's Still Life with Apples” (HTML, Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please view the video linked above and read the accompanying article. They discuss an artwork by the Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne. Take notes on Cézanne’s relationship to older artistic traditions, how he at once reflected on visual traditions (including Impressionsim) and innovated through form.
This reading and video should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Gauguin’s Vision After the Sermon: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Gauguin’s Vision After the Sermon: Jacob Wrestling with the Angel” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please view the video linked above, which discusses artwork by Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin. According to speakers Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, how is Gauguin’s use of color innovative?
This video will take approximately 7 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The ArtStory.org’s “Post-Impressionism”
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5.6.6 The Early Twentieth Century
- Reading: TheArtStory.org’s “Modern Art Movements: 1870 to Present”
Link: TheArtStory.org’s “Modern Art Movements: 1870 to Present” (HTML)
Instructions: Please go to the link above. There are two timelines on the linked page. Please look at the top timeline. In this subunit, you will be learning about early twentieth century artistic movements. Therefore, please click on the following movements within the timeline: “Fauvism,” “Expressionism,” “Futurism,” “Cubism,” “Suprematism,” “Dada,” “The Bauhaus,” “Constructivism,” and “Surrealism.” Each time you click on the name of a movement, an “Overview” option will appear. Read each overview. In the top right corner of each page with an overview, there are examples of artworks under “Works of Art.” View the artworks and read about them. Below “Works of Art,” you will also find a section titled “Key Artists.” Click on “Detail View” for each artist mentioned in the “Overview.” Click on the thumbnail images in “Major Works” to get an idea for the style of the artworks and to view them on a bigger scale.
This reading should take approximately 2 hours to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon” (HTML, Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please go the webpage above and view the video. It discusses an impactful artwork made by Pablo Picasso in the early twentieth century: Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. Please also read the associated article.
This reading and video should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: TheArtStory.org’s “Modern Art Movements: 1870 to Present”
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5.6.7 World War II and Beyond
- Reading: TheArtStory.org’s “Modern Art Movements: 1870 to Present”
Link: TheArtStory.org’s “Modern Art Movements: 1870 to Present” (HTML)
Instructions: Please go to the link above. There are two timelines on the linked page. This time, look at the second timeline: “Movements: 1940 to 1980.” In this subunit, you will be learning about artistic movements that developed after World War II. Please click on all the movements within the timeline to proceed and read each “Overview” (each time you click on the name of a movement, an “Overview” option will appear). In the top right corner of each page with an overview, there are examples of artworks under “Works of Art.” View the artworks and read about them. Below “Works of Art,” you will also find a section titled “Key Artists.” Click on “Detail View” for each artist mentioned in the “Overview.” Click on the thumbnail images in “Major Works” to get an idea for the style of the artworks and to view them on a bigger scale.
This reading should take approximately 2 hours to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Abstract Expressionism, Pollock’s One: Number 31, 1950”
Link: SmartHistory.org: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker’s “Abstract Expressionism, Pollock’s One: Number 31, 1950” (Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please go the webpage above and view the video, which discusses an artwork by the Abstract Expressionist artist Jackson Pollock.
This video will take approximately 3 minutes to watch.
Terms of Use: This open educational resource is licensed under a Creative Common Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike: you may share and adapt the work under the conditions that you correctly attribute it, that you do not use it for commercial purposes, and, that in the case you adapt and distribute it, you do so under a similar license.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Activity: The Saylor Foundation’s ARTH101: Guided Art Observations 5
Link: The Saylor Foundation’s ARTH101: Guided Art Observations 5 (PDF)
Instructions: Please click on the link above to try your hand at identifying context when encountering a work of art.
This activity should take approximately 1 hour to complete.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: TheArtStory.org’s “Modern Art Movements: 1870 to Present”
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Unit 6: Art in Time and Place: A Few Non-Western Examples
While Western Art has traditionally been the object of study for Art Historians in the West, it is becoming more and more evident that a more global approach to the History of Art is of benefit to the discipline. Accordingly, this unit will introduce you to the non-Western arts of Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
Unit 6 Time Advisory show close
Unit 6 Learning Outcomes show close
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6.1 Asian Arts
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6.1.1 The Art of India
- Reading: The British Museum’s “Ancient South Asia”
Link: The British Museum’s “Ancient South Asia” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this short passage to get a sense for the multiplicity of traditions that helped shape the art of Ancient India. Also, view the “Related Objects,” accessible by clicking on the thumbnail images in the upper right corner of the page.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “The Indian Subcontinent: Land and Culture”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “The Indian Subcontinent: Land and Culture” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this short passage to get a broader sense for India as a geographical location and evolving cultural unit.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Buddhist Pilgrimage Sites: India”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Buddhist Pilgrimage Sites: India” (HTML)
Instructions: The emergence and rise of Buddhism in Ancient India bore important artistic works. Please read the article, which will introduce you to some of the significant sites.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Festivals of Light: Hinduism”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Festivals of Light: Hinduism” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article. It will introduce you to some of the Hindu symbolism shaping and giving meaning to many Indian artworks.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The British Museum’s “Ancient South Asia”
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6.1.2 The Art of China
- Reading: The British Museum’s “Ancient China”
Link: The British Museum’s “Ancient China” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this short passage to get a sense for some of the broad cultural influences that helped shape ancient Chinese art. Also, view the “Related Objects,” accessible by clicking on the thumbnail images in the upper right corner of the page.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The British Museum’s “Imperial China”
Link: The British Museum’s “Imperial China” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this short passage to get a sense for some of the cultural and artistic developments that took place in the era of Imperial China. Also, view the “Related Objects,” accessible by clicking on the thumbnail images in the upper right corner of the page.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The British Museum’s Online Tours: “Mountains and Water: Chinese Landscape Painting”
Link: The British Museum’s The British Museum’s Online Tours: “Mountains and Water: Chinese Landscape Painting” (HTML)
Instructions: Please work your way through the “Online Tour.” Note that it contains 14 pages. It will introduce you to an important genre of Chinese painting, landscape painting, as it developed through the centuries.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The British Museum’s “Ancient China”
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6.1.3 The Art of Japan
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Japan”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Japan” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Japan” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Japan”
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6.2 The Islamic Middle East and Africa
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6.2.1 The Islamic Middle East
- Reading: The British Museum’s “Islamic Middle East”
Link: The British Museum’s “Islamic Middle East” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read this short introductive paragraph to the art and culture of the Islamic Middle East. Also, view the “Related Objects,” accessible by clicking on the thumbnail images in the upper right corner of the page.
This reading should take approximately 5 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Web Media: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Islamic Architecture of the Middle East”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Islamic Architecture of the Middle East” (HTML, Adobe Flash)
Instructions: Please read the article and view the seven videos linked above. They will introduce you to some of the important Islamic edifices of the Middle East.
The reading and videos should take approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Calligraphy in Islamic Art”
Link: The Victoria and Albert Museum’s “Calligraphy in Islamic Art” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the article. It discusses a very important art form for Islamic cultures, that of calligraphy.
This reading should take approximately 40 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage aboveSee a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: The British Museum’s “Islamic Middle East”
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6.2.2 Africa
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Africa”
Link: Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Africa" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “Africa” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 15 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Africa”
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6.3 The Americas
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6.3.1 North America
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Native Americans,” “Woodlands,” “Plains,” “Mississippians,” “Southwest,” and “Northwest Coast”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “Native Americans,” “Woodlands,” “Plains,” “Mississippians,” “Southwest,” and “Northwest Coast” (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passages “Native Americans,” “Woodlands,” “Plains,” “Mississippians,” “Southwest,” and “Northwest Coast” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 30 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "Native Americans,” “Woodlands,” “Plains,” “Mississippians,” “Southwest,” and “Northwest Coast”
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6.3.2 South and Central America
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “South and Central Americans”
Link: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: "South and Central Americans" (HTML)
Instructions: Please read the passage “South and Central Americans” that you will find in the table of contents of the textbook situated on the left pane of the webpage above.
This reading should take approximately 10 minutes to complete.
Terms of Use: Please respect the copyright and terms of use displayed on the webpage above.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Reading: Cornell University: Charlotte Jirousek’s Art, Design, and Visual Thinking: “South and Central Americans”
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Final Exam
- Final Exam: The Saylor Foundation's "ARTH101a Final Exam"
Link: The Saylor Foundation's "ARTH101a Final Exam"
Instructions: You must be logged into your Saylor Foundation School account in order to access this exam. If you do not yet have an account, you will be able to create one, free of charge, after clicking the link.See a broken link? Please let us know!
- Final Exam: The Saylor Foundation's "ARTH101a Final Exam"
