Courses

Courses

Spring 2008 Courses

  • Visit Bearings to search for courses by title, instructor, department, and more.
  • Login to Blackboard. Instructional materials are available on a course-by-course basis.
011. Science. Magic and the Occult in Renaissance Art
Jennifer Bird M 1:00 - 2:25, W 1:00 - 2:25
A survey of the intersections between art and science in Italy during the Renaissance (c.1400-1560). An examination of how various fields of inquiry were defined in the Renaissance and how artists themselves (such as Fillipo Brunelleschi, Leonardo da Vinci, and Benvenuto Cellini) played an active role in the development of new knowledge, in areas such as optics, metallurgy, the study of natural systems, and anatomy.

012. Picasso and Matisse
Pamela Fletcher T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25
Examines the painting of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, in the context of modern painting, philosophy, and history. Particular attention is paid to the creative exchanges and rivalries between the two artists, as well as their role in the popular understanding of modern art and the role of the artist in society.

103. Introduction to Asian Art and Architecture
De-nin Lee T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55
A selected survey of art and architecture, primarily in South and East Asia from the Neolithic period to the modern era. Material ranges from ceramics and bronze vessels to temples and icons to narrative painting and public buildings. Considers individual works and sites in stylistic terms and within religious, political, and social contexts. Not open to students who have credit for Art History 140 or Asian Studies 140.

215. Illuminated Manuscripts and Early Printed Books
Stephen Perkinson T 1:00 - 2:25, TH 1:00 - 2:25
Surveys the history of the decorated book from late antiquity through the Renaissance, beginning with an exploration of the earliest surviving illuminated manuscripts in light of the late antique culture that produced them. Examines uses of books in the early Middle Ages to convert viewers to Christianity or to establish political power. Traces the rise of book professionals (scribes, illuminators, binders, etc.), as manuscript production moved from monastic to urban centers, and concludes with an investigation of the impact of the invention of printing on art and society in the fifteenth century, and on the “afterlife” of manuscript culture into the sixteenth century. Themes include the effect of the gender of a book’s anticipated audience on its decoration; the respective roles of author, scribes, and illuminators in designing a manuscript’s decorative program; and the ways that images can shape a reader’s understanding of a text. Makes use of the Bowdoin Library’s collection of manuscripts and early printed books.

216. The Early Modern Printed Image
Stephen Perkinson T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25
A 200-level seminar offering students a chance to work directly with fifteenth- to seventeenth-century European prints drawn from the collection of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art. Familiarizes students with the technical aspects of printmaking (e.g., the differences between etching and engraving); narrative strategies (e.g., sequential publications such as Albrecht Dürer’s Apocalypse illustrations); and the development of new modes of naturalism in print media (e.g., Rembrandt’s use of light for both natural and dramatic effects). Addresses the social forces that inspired the invention of print media at the end of the Middle Ages, and that drove demand for printed images in the Early Modern era. A handful of sessions led by a member of the Visual Arts faculty provides hands-on experience with printmaking techniques. Assignments include written work, oral presentations, and contributions to the organization of an exhibition for the Museum’s Becker Gallery (in the fall of 2008).

222. Art of the Italian Renaissance
Susan Wegner M 9:30 - 10:25, W 9:30 - 10:25, F 9:30 - 10:25
A survey of the painting, sculpture, and architecture of Italy in the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries, with emphasis on major masters: Giotto, Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Alberti, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, and Michelangelo.

242. Nineteenth-Century European Art
Linda Docherty T 8:30 - 9:55, TH 8:30 - 9:55
Painting and sculpture in Western Europe from 1750 to 1900 with emphasis on France, England, and Germany. Individual artists are studied in the context of movements that dominated the century: neoclassicism, romanticism, realism, impressionism, post-impressionism, and symbolism. The influence of art criticism, the relationship between art and society, and the emergence of the avant-garde in this period are also discussed.

252. Modern Art
Pamela Fletcher T 10:00 - 11:25, TH 10:00 - 11:25
A study of the modernist movement in visual art in Europe and the Americas, beginning with post-impressionism and examining, in succession: expressionism, fauvism, cubism, futurism, constructivism, Dada, surrealism, the American affinities of these movements, and the Mexican muralists. Modernism is analyzed in terms of the problems presented by its social situation; its relation to other elements of culture; its place in the historical tradition of Western art; and its invocation of archaic, primitive, and Asian cultures.

323. Topics in Chinese Painting
De-nin Lee M 2:30 - 3:55, W 2:30 - 3:55
A collaborative seminar with students at Colby College that culminates in an exhibition of traditional Chinese painting at the museums of the respective colleges. Examines the great traditions of Chinese ink painting, with a focus on the late imperial period (fourteenth to nineteenth centuries), and drawing heavily upon the collection of Bowdoin College. Includes several joint sessions in the museums of Bowdoin and Colby colleges, and requires both individual and team projects.

327. The Art of Renaissance Rome
Jennifer Bird TH 2:30 - 3:55, T 2:30 - 3:55
Concerned with artistic developments in Rome in the Renaissance,beginning with the renovation of the city c.1450 and ending wit Caravaggio's early commissions c.1600. The Sistine Chapel, th Vatican apartments, and St. Peter's will be among the monuments studied.Explores the role of art and architecture as propaganda in the service of religious reform, the taste for antiquity, and competition amoung artists such as Raphael, Michelangelo, Bramante,Perino del Vaga, and Francesco Salviati.

365. Picturing Nature
Linda Docherty T 11:30 - 12:55, TH 11:30 - 12:55
Examines images of American nature from the age of discovery to the present day. Views of nature as wilderness, landscape, and environment are studied in historical context. Students work with original paintings, prints, and photographs in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art and special collections.