Minor
Art History
Art History Program Chair: Prof. Claire McDonald, Mcdonald@stthom.edu
Art represents and questions the deepest cultural and spiritual aspirations of society while recording humanity’s unique ability to create new technologies. Knowledge of the masterpieces and monuments enhance the life of mind and spirit, inspiring new ideas. The purpose of the University’s Art History Program is to enrich the intellectual, aesthetic and spiritual dimensions of the student’s experience in discovering the power of art. Our courses also introduce UST students to the fields of anthropology and archaeology.
Students at UST have an exceptional opportunity to experience and study original art, since the campus lies in the heart of Houston’s Museum District. Excellent examples of works from ancient to postmodern times are readily available in numerous nearby museums such as the Museum of Fine Arts and the Menil Collection.
Art History courses acquaint students to past and contemporary cultures through objects and monuments, thereby allowing them to gain an understanding of technology and creativity. Our program guides students to think and communicate critically about history and its influence on the present, understanding the relationship between abstract concepts and their tangible expressions. Because art history is interdisciplinary our BA in Liberal Arts, with a concentration in Art History, equips students who plan to pursue: graduate degrees in art history or careers in museum, cultural heritage, and other related fields.
Courses in Art History may be taken for credit as:
One of the components in the program of the liberal arts or general studies major (30 hours required): at least 15 upper–division credit hours in a primary area of concentration, at least 9 upper–division credit hours in a secondary area of concentration. A minor field (18 credit hours with at least 9 upper– division credit hours). The Fine Arts requirement for the core curriculum (limited to ARTHS. 1350, 1370, 2351/3351, or 2352/3352).
Art history students are encouraged to complete one year of modern or classical languages and to follow the historical sequence in philosophy.
Degrees and Certificates
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Art History,
Classes
ARTHS 1350: Introduction to the Visual Arts
An understanding of the visual arts through study of their basic principles of design, aesthetics and role in society. Examples of all media are examined are drawn from diverse historical periods, places, and world cultures.
ARTHS 1370: A Cultural Study of Global Art: Politics, Patronage, and the Museum
This course considers concepts and histories of art. Students explore core issues in the discipline of art history: What is art? What is art history? What is a masterpiece? The course addresses cultural factors that shape canons of art history, including notions of originality, genius, skill, inspiration, complexity, beauty, and taste, as well as the roles of art professionals and institutions. Attention is paid to: patronage and the art market, the academy and the museum, and the development of modernism. Beyond engaging with central questions in art history, students learn to analyze the formal aspects of works of art and to interpret them within the historical contexts in which they were made.
ARTHS 2351: Survey of Art I
An introduction to the major masterpieces and monuments in the history of art from prehistoric times to the Middle Ages. (No student can receive credit for both ARTHS 2351 and 3351. ARTHS 3351 is designed for students with 60 or more credit hours.)
ARTHS 2352: Survey of Art II
An introduction to the major masterpieces and monuments from the Renaissance to the present. (No student can receive credit for both ARTHS 2352 and 3352. ARTHS 3352 is designed for students with 60 or more credit hours.)
ARTHS 3340: Early Medieval Art
A survey of the technological and thematic developments in art and architecture in the late Antique, Early Christian, Byzantine, Carolingian and Ottonian periods. Images are viewed through their religious, political, and cultural contexts.
ARTHS 3341: Late Medieval Art
A survey of Romanesque and Gothic art from the eleventh through the fourteenth century. Included are French pilgrimage churches and cathedrals, sculpture, stained glass windows, manuscripts, and decorative arts as well as medieval civic and religious art in Venice, Sicily, Pisa and Siena.
ARTHS 3351: Survey of Art I
An introduction to the major masterpieces and monuments in the history of art from prehistoric-times to the Middle Ages. (No student can receive credit for both ARTHS 2351 and 3351. ARTHS 3351 is designed for students with 60 or more credit hours.)
ARTHS 3352: Survey of Art II
An introduction to the major masterpieces and monuments from the Renaissance to the present. (No student can receive credit for both ARTHS 2352 and 3352. ARTHS 3352 is designed for students with 60 or more credit hours.)
ARTHS 3361: Art of Greece and Rome
The beginnings of Western art and thought are studied as they originate in the Aegean Bronze Age civilizations of Crete and Mycenae and developed through the Greek Classical Period.
ARTHS 3362: Roman Art
Investigates the development of Mediterranean art, from the prehistoric Etruscans to the end of the Roman Empire; special attention is given to the influence of Roman art upon Late Antiquity.
ARTHS 3372: Baroque Art
Western European architecture, sculpture, painting and decorative arts of the late 16th to the 18th-century.
ARTHS 3381: Nineteenth Century Art
A study of the major currents in European and American art from late 18th-century Neoclassicism through Post–Impressionism.
ARTHS 3382: Early Twentieth-Century Art
A study of European and North American art from the late 19th century to the mid-20th century. During this period of extreme change and two world wars, many artists broke from tradition and made art that responded to modernity by depicting contemporary subjects and inventing new forms.
ARTHS 3383: Late Twentieth-Century Art
Art in the second half of the 20th-century from mid–century Modernism through individual Post–Modern forms of art in the Contemporary world.
ARTHS 3391: Early Renaissance Art
A survey of major works of architecture, painting and sculpture in Italy from the late 13th to the late 15th-century.
ARTHS 3392: High Renaissance and Mannerist Art
A survey of major works of architecture, painting and sculpture in Italy from the late 15th-century through the 16th-century, including the art of Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.
ARTHS 4191: Internship in Art History
On–the–job experience under the guidance of practicing specialists in the art history field. To be supervised individually by a department faculty member with the approval of the program chair.
ARTHS 4192: Directed Reading/Independent Study in Art History
Student research on a selected problem in art history pursued under the guidance of an assigned member of the faculty. To be presented as a formal written paper. Repeatable course. Prerequisite: permission of program chair and instructor.
ARTHS 4291: Internship in Art History
On–the–job experience under the guidance of practicing specialists in the art history field. To be supervised individually by a department faculty member with the approval of the program chair.
ARTHS 4292: Directed Reading/Independent Study in Art History
Student research on a selected problem in art history pursued under the guidance of an assigned member of the faculty. To be presented as a formal written paper. Repeatable course. Prerequisite: permission of program chair and instructor.
ARTHS 4293: Special Topics in Art History
Upper–division treatment of selected topics of mutual interest to the faculty member and students. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. When offered, see Website course schedule for topic.
ARTHS 4345: Iconography of Christian Art (I and II)
An introduction to the symbolic language and modes of expression in Christianity from the Early Christian period to the present. It explores approaches to understand the meaning within images as recorded in scriptural and literary texts as well as local oral tradition.
ARTHS 4373: Spanish Art: El Greco to Goya
Painting in Spain under the Habsburg and Bourbon monarchies from late 16th c. Mannerism through 17th c. Baroque into 18th & 19th c. Romanticism. El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya are studied in depth as well as others masters of the "Golden Age".
ARTHS 4375: Bernini and Baroque Rome
The sculpture, architecture, and painting of the 17th-century master who made Rome a great Baroque city through his exuberant statues, portraits, churches, chapels, papal tombs, fountains, and extensive architecture and decorations for St. Peter’s.
ARTHS 4391: Internship in Art History
On–the–job experience under the guidance of practicing specialists in the art
history field. To be supervised individually by a department faculty member with the approval of the program chair.
ARTHS 4393: Special Topics in Art History
Upper–division treatment of selected topics of mutual interest to the faculty member and students. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. When offered, see Website course schedule for topic.
ARTHS 4395: Michelangelo
The sculpture, painting, and architecture of the great Renaissance master centered in Florence and Rome, including in–depth study of his David, Moses, Pietas, Medici Chapel, Deposition, designs for St. Peter’s and for Rome’s Capitol, and Pauline and Sistine Chapel frescoes.
ARTHS 4492: Directed Reading/Independent Study in Art History
Student research on a selected problem in art history pursued under the guidance of an assigned member of the faculty. To be presented as a formal written paper. Repeatable course. Prerequisite: permission of program chair and instructor.
ARTHS 4493: Special Topics in Art History
Upper–division treatment of selected topics of mutual interest to the faculty member and students. May be repeated for credit when topics vary. When offered, see Website course schedule for topic.