Global Arc

In twelve weeks this course will examine major art works from the twelve centuries (300-1500 CE) that encompass the European Middle Ages. Presenting works from Europe and the Middle East, the course will introduce students to the art of Catholicism and Orthodoxy, Judaism and Islam; the great courts of the Eastern- and Holy Roman Empires, and the roving Vikings, Celts and Visigoths. Students will not only be invited to consider how art can represent and shape notions of sacred and secular power, but will also come to understand how the work of 'art' in this period is itself powerful and, sometimes, dangerous.

An introduction to African art and architecture from prehistory to the 20th century. Beginning with Paleolithic rock art of northern and southern Africa, we will cover ancient Nubia and Meroe; Neolithic cultures such as Nok, Djenne and Ife; African kingdoms, including Benin, Asante, Bamun, Kongo, Kuba, Great Zimbabwe, and the Zulu; Christian Ethiopia and the Islamic Swahili coast; and other societies, such as the Sherbro, Igbo, and the Maasai. By combining Africa's cultural history and developments in artistic forms we establish a long historical view of the stunning diversity of the continent's indigenous arts and architecture.

This course acquaints students with the art, architecture, and archaeology of ancient Mexico and Central America. The course considers a wide range of cultures spanning from the first arrival of humans at the end of the Upper Paleolithic period through the 16th century Spanish invasion. Major culture groups to be considered include Olmec, Teotihuacan, Maya, Zapotec, and Aztec. Precepts will include theoretically-focused discussions, debate regarding contested scholarly interpretations, and hands-on work with objects at the Princeton University Art Museum. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 1 distribution requirement.

In this class we will examine the history, function, theory and meaning of the icon. We will also examine the icon's influence upon the discourses of Modernism. A more practical aspect of this class is that participants in the course will work with the Princeton University Art Museum's icon collection and with its collection of icon painter's preparatory drawings. The class will provide participants with a broad grounding in questions pertaining to the icon.

This course explores the technology and function of books in historical perspective, asking how illuminated manuscripts were designed to meet (and shape) cultural and intellectual demands in the medieval period. Surveying the major genres of European book arts between the 7th-15th centuries, we study varying approaches to pictorial space, page design, and information organization; relationships between text and image; and technical aspects of book production. We work primarily from Princeton's collection of original manuscripts and manuscript facsimiles. Assignments include the option to create an original artist's book for the final project.

Water in the bathroom, gas in the kitchen, heat in the living room: what Western Europe and North America consider basic needs in obvious, purpose-based, domestic spaces are relatively new. All appeared between the late 17th and early 20th centuries. What dynamic between society and family that made the emergence of the apartment building possible? What motivated authorities and private developers to support public infrastructures, from sewage systems to street lights, gas and water networks? This course will provide students with tools to criticize the notion of domestic comfort, public efficiency, urbanism, and "progress."

Historical patterns of development in Western European architecture between 300 and 1300: Early Christian through Gothic, with emphasis on Romanesque and Gothic innovations. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 2 distribution requirement. Two lectures, one preceptorial.

Art in late antiquity has often been characterized as an art in decline, but this judgment is relative, relying on standards formulated for art of other periods. Challenging this assumption, we will examine the distinct and powerful transformations within the visual culture of the period between the third and sixth centuries AD. This period witnesses the mutation of the institutions of the Roman Empire into those of the Christian Byzantine Empire. The fundamental change in religious identity that was the basis for this development directly impacted the art from that era that will be the focus of this course.

A technical and historical introduction to manuscript illumination from the invention of the codex to the advent of the printed book. Topics include the history of script and ornament, genres of illuminated manuscripts, the varying relations between text and image, owners of books, circumstances of production. Extensive work with Princeton's manuscript collections. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 2 distribution requirement. Two 90-minute classes. Offered in alternate years.

Painting and sculpture of the formative years of the early Renaissance in Italy (ca. 1250-1400) with emphasis on the cultural, social, and religious concerns that found expression in art. Topics include the relationship between art and piety, the effect of the Black Death, and the rediscovery of the classical heritage. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 2 distribution requirement. Two lectures, one preceptorial.