A Glimpse of at Art History is being taught at Cody Banks Arena from 1300 hrs -1600 hrs. every Monday for 8 weeks.
Term I
Lesson No. 1. In the Eyes of God
Topic: The Role of Religion in the History of Art
Throughout the middle Ages the Church remained the most powerful patron of the arts. This remained true through to the reformation but other religions earlier and more diverse relied on the visual arts to express their beliefs.
Lesson No. 2. “Please Ring Bell”
Topic: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
The Victorian age brought about the Industrial Revolution and with it a group of artists, intellectuals and poets who wanted to toss a wrench into the works and return to more civilized times. When painters such as Hunt, Brown, Rossetti, Millais and Burne-Jones signed P.R.B. after their names, critics joked that they were giving instructions not to knock. Though famous in their day they were for a long time forgotten. They proved the Victorian artists could be far from “stuffy”.
Lesson No. 3. “The Undressed Art”
Topic: The Story of the Nude in Painting and Sculpture
For centuries the human form has been foremost in Western art. From the earth goddess to the “Nude Descending the Staircase” the figure has been an important part of art history. We will be looking at painters such as Ingres , Goya, Titian and Delacroix and the sculpture of Michelangelo and Roden.
Lesson No. 4. “Da Vinci’s Code and the Time of Rebirth”
Topic: The Art of the Renaissance
When the Medici were in power and Columbus sailed the ocean blue art, science, geography and civilization took a giant step forward. We’ll look at the masterpieces of that time with Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo long before they were Ninja turtles. What did the Mona Lisa have to smile about?
Lesson No. 5. “Pictures of Nothing”
Topic: A Very Short History of Landscape Painting
Before the time of Claude, European artists had little interest in landscape painting. England was perhaps the birthplace of the idea of painting scenes of nature with such painters as Constable and Turner. Later the invention of oil paint in tubes brought French artists like Monet, and post- impressionists like Van Gogh
Out of their studios and out into nature.
Lesson No. 6. “The Watchdogs”
Topic: Social Change and the Influence of Art
Honore Daumier and his painting “Third Class Carriage” and many other masterpieces of painting and printmaking have perhaps not changed the world but have had some influence on social change. We will examine those changes and the artists who have been “the watchdogs of society”. We’ll explore the work of Turner, Goya, Manet, Courbet and many artists that have helped bring about ideas of social change.
Lesson No. 7. “Painters of Everyday Life”
Topic: Genre Painting and what it tells us about our Social History
When the Church released its grip on artists a new subject came about for painters who wanted to show what the real world around them was like. We will look at the work of Millais, Rembrandt and others.
Lesson No. 8 “Warts and All”
Topic: Portraiture through the Ages
When Oliver Cromwell hired Van Dyke to paint his portrait he wanted an honest rendering and asked him to “Paint him, warts and all”. Portraiture has been the bread & butter for painters such as Goya and other court painters. Reynolds and Gainsborough (1727-1788) painted a rising middle class. Artists like Van Gogh, Durer and Rembrandt painted many self-portraits that tell us a lot about themselves and the time they lived in.
Bibliography: Recommended Films and Books
Films: Frida
Vincent & Theo
Picasso
Lust for Life
Videos: Sister Wendy Series
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Los Anglos Museum of Art
Kemmbell Collection, Fort Worth
The Cleveland Museum
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Impressionists: The Other French Revolution
Books: The Story of Painting
By H.W. Janson
The Pre-Raphaelites
By Timothy Hilton
Painting: 2000 BC to AD 2000
Roy Bolton
Rembrandt
Ludwig Munz
The Story of Painting
Patricia Wright
History in Art
Ariane Ruskin
The Art of the Renaissance
Peter and Linda Murray
European Painting and Sculpture
Eric Newton
Turner
Giuseppe Gatt
Dictionary of Art
Eleanor S. Greenhill
The Intimate Journals of Paul Gauguin
Translated by Van Wyck Brooks
The Picture History of Painting
H.W. Jansen
Seven Women: Great Painters
Winthrop & Frances Neilson
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