Global Arc

Survey of the transformations in Greek art beginning with the decline of the Classical period (fifth century BCE) and continuing through the period of Alexander the Great's unification of the Mediterranean world, up to and including the Roman conquest of the east. Emphasis on sculpture, painting, and mosaic.

Roman urban and suburban architecture throughout the Roman provinces from the late Republic to late Empire, focusing upon the Romanization of the provinces from Britain in the northwest to Arabia in the southeast. Town planning, imperial monuments, villas and sanctuaries, domestic and public architecture, and interior decoration considered. For department majors, this course satisfies the Group 1 distribution requirement. One three-hour class.

The course will briefly treat the development of Greek wall painting from the Classical and Hellenistic periods, and then focus on Roman developments - architectural styles and figural styles.The houses of Pompeii will be the main focus. Topics will include: the representation of Greek myths; historical subjects; the origins of still life.

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.