California State University, Sacramento

ART 1A: Art in the Western World (Ancient through Medieval): Section 1

Spring Semester 2006

(Mondays/Wednesday;1 2-1.15 p.m.)

Professor: Pat Chirapravati

Office: Kadema room 186, Phone: 916-278-3880

Office hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 9.30-10.45 a.m. And by appointment

E-mail: [email-masked]; Web site: www.csus.edu/indiv/c/chirapravati

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course is a broad survey of art history from antiquity through the end of the middle ages. Although we will mainly study the painting, sculpture, and architecture of Western Europe, the art of ancient Egypt and the Near East will also be included.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

ART1A is a General Education course in Area C-2 (Introduction to the Arts). It serves as a prerequisite for ART1B and three upper-division Art History classes, ART103 (Greco-Roman Art), ART 105 (Medieval Art), and ART106 (Renaissance Art).

Students who have completed ART1A should be able to:

1.      Recognize representative monuments of architecture, sculpture, and painting from Antiquity through the end of the Middle Ages.

2.      Both identify and explain the principal features of these monuments, using the appropriate art history vocabulary.

3.      Discuss relevant aspects of the historic and religious context for most of these monuments.

4.      Discuss the significance many of these monuments (or historic styles they represent) had for later eras.

REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING:

This course counts for 3 units and is letter graded. Regular participation in class is of the utmost importance and attendance will be taken periodically. There will be four exams, each of which will be worth 25% of the final grade (Feb. 13, March 22, April 12, and May 19). Each test will consist of slide identifications, short essays, and terms. The basic slide identification should include the title or name of the object, the name of the artist (if known), the specific date (by century), and period or culture represented. The essay will involve a discussion of the significant art historical features of the work. Attendance will be the deciding factor for students whose grades fall on the borderline.

TEXTBOOKS:

Reading assignments are in volume 1 of Marilyn Stokstad’s Art History.

EXAMS:

Exams will be based on information from both lectures and readings. A slide review, scheduled before each exam, will cover the 20-30 (approximately) works of art that a student is expected to know for the test.  All of the digital images shown in class will be posted on the instructor’s website for individual review on a regular basis.

MAKE-UP EXAM POLICY:

Make-up exams will be given only under special circumstances. If you know in advance that you have a serious conflict with a scheduled exam, it is your responsibility to discuss your situation with me as soon as possible. If an illness or unexpected emergency prevents you from coming to the exam, you should contact me immediately— ideally on the same day that the exam is scheduled. A grade penalty may be charged if you are absent and do not contact me within 24 hours of the day on which the exam was held.

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES

Week 1 (Jan. 23 and 25)

Introduction to the course and to art history (Stokstad, Introduction)

Ancient Near Eastern Art, 1: Sumer and Akkad (ch. 2)

Ancient Near Eastern Art, Assyria and Babylon (ch. 2)

Week 2 (Jan. 30 and Feb. 1 )

Egyptian Art, 1: Early Dynastic to Old Kingdom (ch. 3)

Egyptian Art, 2 and 3: Old Kingdom Sculpture (ch. 3)

Week 3 (Feb. 6 and 8)

Egyptian Art, 4: New Kingdom Sculpture and Painting (ch. 3

Feb. 8:             Review for Exam I

Week 4 (Feb.13 and 15)

Feb. 13:           Exam on Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian art

Please bring a bluebook or lined paper to the exam

Feb. 15:           Greek Art, 1: Geometric to Archaic Periods (ch. 5)

Greek Art, 2: Transitional or Early Classical Sculpture (ch. 5)

Week 5 (Feb. 20 and 22)

Greek Art, 3: High Classical Art (Acropolis, Athens) (ch. 5)

Greek Art, 4: Late Classical Art (ch. 5)

Greek Art, 5: Hellenistic Architecture and Sculpture (ch. 5)

Week 6 (Feb. 27 and March 1)

Roman Art, 1: Republic (ch. 6)

Roman Art,  2: Sculpture of the Early Empire (ch. 6)

Week 7 (March 6 and 8)

Roman Art, 3: Empire (ch. 6) and Roman Art, 4

Roman Art, 5: Empire (ch. 6)

Week 8 (13-15)  NO CLASS-SPRING RECESS

Week 9 (March 20 and 22)

March 20:       Review for Exam II

March 22:       Exam on Greek and Roman Art

Please bring a bluebook or lined paper to the exam.

Week 10 (March 27 and 29)

Early Christian Art (ch. 7)

Byzantine Art 1 (ch. 7)

Early Medieval Art in Great Britain (ch 14)

Week 11 (April 3 and 5)

Islamic Art, 1 (ch. 8)

Islamic Art, 2 (ch. 8)

Week 12 (April 10 and 12)

April 10:          Review for Exam III

April 12:          Exam on Early Christian Art through Islamic Art

Please bring a bluebook or lined paper to the exam.

Week 13 (April 17 and 19)

Carolingian and French Romanesque Art, 1 and 2 (ch. 15)

Week 14 (April 24 and 26)

Italian Romanesque art (ch. 15)

French Gothic Art, 1 and 2 (ch. 16)

Week 15 (May 1  and 3)

Italian Gothic Architecture and Sculpture (ch. 16)

Week 16 (May 8 and 10)

Italian Gothic Painting: Duccio and Giotto (ch. 16)

May 10           Review for Exam  IV

FINAL WEEK

The final exam is on Friday May 19 between 10.15 a.m.-12.15 p.m. It will cover only Medieval art (from Carolingian through Italian Gothic painting).  Please bring a bluebook or lined paper to the exam.