The College Catalogue

First-Year Seminars

For a full description of first-year seminars, see the First-Year Seminar section.

10 {1016} c. The Museum World. Spring 2013. Linda Docherty.

16 {1010} c. Art and the Environment: 1960 to Present. Fall 2012. Natasha Goldman.

Introductory, Intermediate, and Advanced Courses

100 {1100} c. Introduction to Art History. Fall 2012. Pamela Fletcher, Stephen Perkinson, and Peggy Wang.

An introduction to the study of art history. Provides a chronological overview of art primarily from Western and East Asian traditions. Considers the historical context of art and its production, the role of the arts in society, problems of stylistic tradition and innovation, and points of contact and exchange between artistic traditions. Equivalent of Art History 101 as a major or minor requirement. Not open to students who have credit for Art History 101.

130 {1300} c - IP. Introduction to the Arts of Ancient Mexico and Peru. Spring 2014. Susan Wegner.

A chronological survey of the arts created by major cultures of ancient Mexico and Peru. Mesoamerican cultures studied include the Olmec, Teotihuacan, the Maya, and the Aztec up through the arrival of the Europeans. South American cultures such as Chavín, Nasca, and Inca are examined. Painting, sculpture, and architecture considered in the context of religion and society. Readings in translation include Mayan myth and chronicles of the conquest. (Same as Latin American Studies 130 {1330}.)

209 {2090} c. Introduction to Greek Art and Archaeology. Fall 2013. James Higginbotham.

Introduces the techniques and methods of classical archaeology as revealed through an examination of Greek material culture. Emphasis upon the major monuments and artifacts of the Greek world from prehistory to the Hellenistic age. Architecture, sculpture, fresco painting, and other “minor arts” are examined at such sites as Knossos, Mycenae, Athens, Delphi, and Olympia. Considers the nature of this archaeological evidence and the relationship of classical archaeology to other disciplines such as art history, history, and classics. Assigned reading supplements illustrated presentations of the major archaeological finds of the Greek world. (Same as Archaeology 101 {1101}.)

210 {2100} c. Introduction to Roman Archaeology. Fall 2012. Ryan Ricciardi.

Surveys the material culture of Roman society, from Italy’s prehistory and the origins of the Roman state through its development into a cosmopolitan empire, and concludes with the fundamental reorganization during the late third and early fourth centuries of our era. Lectures explore ancient sites such as Rome, Pompeii, Athens, Ephesus, and others around the Mediterranean. Emphasis upon the major monuments and artifacts of the Roman era: architecture, sculpture, fresco painting, and other “minor arts.” Considers the nature of this archaeological evidence and the relationship of classical archaeology to other disciplines such as art history, history, and classics. Assigned reading supplements illustrated presentations of the major archaeological finds of the Roman world. (Same as Archaeology 102 {1102}.)

213 {2130} c - VPA. Art of Three Faiths: Christian, Jewish, and Islamic Art and Architecture, from the Third to the Twelfth Century. Spring 2013. Stephen Perkinson.

Examines ways images, objects, and buildings shaped the experiences and expressed the beliefs of members of three major religious traditions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) in Europe and the Mediterranean region. Deals with artworks spanning the third century through the twelfth century from Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and the Byzantine Empire. Includes thematic sessions, dealing with issues that cut across geographic and chronological boundaries. Topics include the embrace or rejection of a classical artistic heritage; the sponsorship of religious art by powerful figures; the use of images and architecture to define community and to reject those defined as outsiders; forms of iconoclasm and criticism of the use of images among the three religions; theological justifications for the use of images; and the role of images in efforts to convert or conquer members of another faith.

Prerequisite: Art History 100 or 101, or permission of the instructor.

[214 {2140} c - VPA. The Gothic World.]

215 {2150} c. Illuminated Manuscripts and Early Printed Books. Fall 2012. Stephen Perkinson.

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.

[222 {2220} c - VPA. The Art of Renaissance Italy.]

223 {2230} c - VPA. The Arts of Venice. Spring 2014. Susan Wegner.

Venice is distinctive among Italian cities for its political structures, its geographical location, and its artistic production. This overview of Venetian art and architecture considers Venice’s relationships to Byzantium and the Turkish east; Venetian colorism in dialogue with Tuscan-Roman disegno; and the role of women as artists, as patrons, and as subjects of art. Includes art by the Bellini family, Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, Tiepolo, Canaletto, and Rosalba Carriera, and the architecture of Palladio.

224 {2240} c - VPA. Mannerism. Fall 2013. Susan Wegner.

Mannerism in art and literature. Artists include Michelangelo, Pontormo, Rosso, Bronzino, El Greco. Themes include fantasy and imagination, ideal beauty (male and female), the erotic and grotesque, and the challenging of High Renaissance values. Readings include artists’ biographies, scientific writings on the senses, formulas for ideal beauty, and description o court life and manners. Uses the Bowdoin College Museum of Art’s collection of sixteenth-century drawings, prints and medals.

226 {2260} c - VPA. Northern European Art of the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. Spring 2013. Stephen Perkinson.

Surveys the painting of the Netherlands, Germany, and France. Topics include the spread of the influential naturalistic style of Campin, van Eyck, and van der Weyden; the confrontation with the classical art of Italy in the work of Dürer and others; the continuance of a native tradition in the work of Bosch and Bruegel the Elder; the changing role of patronage; and the rise of specialties such as landscape and portrait painting.

Prerequisite: Art History 100 or 101, or permission of the instructor.

232 {2320} c. Art in the Age of Velázquez, Rembrandt, and Caravaggio. Fall 2012. Susan Wegner.

The art of seventeenth-century Europe. Topics include the revolution in painting carried out by Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci, and their followers in Rome; the development of these trends in the works of Rubens, Bernini, Georges de la Tour, Poussin, and others; and the rise of an independent school of painting in Holland. Connections between art, religious ideas, and political conditions are stressed.

Prerequisite: Art History 100 or 101, or permission of the instructor.

242 {2420} c. Nineteenth-Century European Art. Spring 2013. Linda Docherty.

A survey of painting and sculpture in Western Europe from 1750 to 1900, with emphasis on France, England, and Germany. Individual artists will be placed in the context of artistic movements (neoclassicism, romanticism, realism, impressionism, post-impressionism, and symbolism) and historical events. Issues to be discussed include revolutionary challenges to academic authority, the growing influence of art criticism, the relationship between art and society, and the origins of modernism.

243 {2430} c - VPA. Modern Architecture: 1750 to 2000. Spring 2013. Jill Pearlman.

Examines major buildings, architects, architectural theories, and debates during the modern period, with a strong emphasis on Europe through 1900, and both the United States and Europe in the twentieth century. Central issues of concern include architecture as an important carrier of historical, social, and political meaning; changing ideas of history and progress in built form; and the varied architectural responses to industrialization. Attempts to develop students’ visual acuity and ability to interpret architectural form while exploring these and other issues. (Same as Environmental Studies 243 {2403}.)

251 {2510} c. Victorian Art. Fall 2012. Pamela Fletcher.

The art of Victorian Britain. Topics include the relationship of art and literature in the work of the Pre-Raphaelites, the moralizing function of Victorian narrative painting, classicism in the work of Leighton and Alma-Tadema, and Aestheticism. Special attention paid to the exhibition culture and art criticism of the period.

[252 {2520} c. Modern Art.]

254 {2540} c. Contemporary Art. Spring 2013. Pamela Fletcher.

Art of Europe and the Americas since World War II, with emphasis on the New York school. Introductory overview of modernism. Detailed examination of abstract expressionism and minimalist developments; pop, conceptual, and environmental art; and European abstraction. Concludes with an examination of the international consequences of modernist and contemporary developments, the impact of new electronic and technological media, and the critical debate surrounding the subject of postmodernism.

Prerequisite: Art History 100, 101, or 252, or permission of the instructor.

262 {2620} c. American Art I: Colonial Period to the Civil War. Fall 2013. Linda Docherty.

A survey of American architecture, sculpture, painting, and decorative arts from their colonial origins to the eve of Civil War. Emphasis on understanding art in its historical and cultural context. Issues to be addressed include encounters between diverse cultures, the transition from colony to nation, the rise and ideological significance of landscape painting, and the creation of art for a democracy. This class will work with original objects in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.

264 {2640} c. American Art from the Civil War to 1945. Fall 2012. Linda Docherty.

A survey of American architecture, sculpture, painting, and photography from the Civil War and World War II. Emphasis on understanding art in its historical and cultural context. Issues to be addressed include the expatriation of American painters, the conflicted response to European modernism, the pioneering achievements of American architects and photographers, the increasing participation of women and minorities in the art world, and the ongoing tension between native and cosmopolitan forms of cultural expression. This class will work with original objects in the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.

272 {2720} c - IP, VPA. The Arts of Japan. Fall 2012. Peggy Wang.

Surveys ritual objects, sculpture, architecture, painting, and decorative arts in Japan from the Neolithic to the modern period. Topics include ceramic forms and grave goods, the adaptation of Chinese models, arts associated with Shinto and Buddhist religions, narrative painting, warrior culture, the tea ceremony, woodblock prints and popular arts, modernization and the avant-garde. (Same as Asian Studies 209 {2209}.)

291–294 {2970–2973} c. Intermediate Independent Study in Art History. Art History Faculty.

299 {2999} c. Intermediate Collaborative Study in Art History. Art History Faculty.

Seminars in Art History

The seminars are intended to utilize the scholarly interests of members of the department and provide an opportunity for advanced work for selected students who have successfully completed enough of the regular courses to possess a sufficient background. The department does not expect to give all, or in some cases any, seminars in each semester. As the seminars are varied, a given topic may be offered only once, or its form changed considerably from time to time.

[315 {3150} c. Art at the Late Medieval Courts.]

[319 {3190} c. Making Art in the Pre-Modern Era.]

324 {3240} c. Art and Life of Michelangelo. Fall 2012. Susan Wegner.

Examines painting, sculpture, drawings, and poetry of Michelangelo in light of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Italian society. Topics include color, meaning, and recent restoration of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling and Last Judgment; the heroic male figure in sculpture and drawings; religion and politics in relation to patrons; artistic rivalries with Leonard, Raphael, and Titian. Readings include English translations of sixteenth-century biographies, art theory, and poetry.

Prerequisite: Art History 100 or 101, or permission of the instructor.

[332 {3320} c. Painting and Society in Spain: El Greco to Goya.]

[333 {3330} c. Studies in Seventeenth-Century Art: Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi.]

[352 {3520} c. The Pre-Raphaelites.]

361 {3610} c. The World of Isabella Stewart Gardner. Fall 2012. Linda Docherty.

A contextual study of Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840–1924) and the museum she bequeathed to Boston. Focuses on the cosmopolitan world that Gardner inhabited and the influence she exerted on American art and culture. Issues to be considered include the formation of her art collection, her creativity as an institution builder, her abiding interests in Dante, Venice, gardening, and religion, and her global travels and deepening relationship with Asia, and how she fashioned a public identity through her portraits, her collection, and her museum. Field trip to Boston.

Prerequisite: Art History 100 or 101, or permission of the instructor.

401–404 {4000–4003} c. Advanced Independent Study and Honors in Art History. Art History Faculty.

405 {4029} c. Advanced Collaborative Study in Art History. Art History Faculty.