MLA-Art History

A survey of the stylistic 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.

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 and manuscripts.

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.

Roman art from its origins to the late imperial age of Constantine. Accord is given to the influence of Roman art upon the emerging Early Christian style.

Western European architecture, sculpture, painting and decorative arts of the late 16th to the 18th century.

A study of the major currents in European and American art from late 18th century Neoclassicism through Post-Impressionism.

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.

Art in the second half of the 20th century from midcentury Modernism through Individual Post-Modern forms of art in the Contemporary world.

A survey of major works of architecture, painting and sculpture in Italy from the late 13th to the late 15th century.

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.

An introduction to the visual representation of Christian themes from the Early Christian period to the Renaissance. Symbolic and conceptual developments of Christian subject matter in images are studied as informed by the Scriptures, Christian doctrines, and traditions.

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. The are of Ribalta, Ribera, Zurbaran, Murillo and other masters of the "Golden Age" is examined as representative of the country's artistic centers.

All the sculpture, architecture, and painting of the seventeenth-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.

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.

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: Department Consent.

Selected topics of mutual interest to the professor and students. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.

All 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.

This interdisciplinary course examines Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, innovative artistic movements that emerged in the late 19th century. Through a unique fusion of visual art and music, students will gain a deep understanding of the Impressionist era's cultural, social, and historical contexts, exploring how artists and composers reshaped the way their viewers and listeners perceived and interpreted reality.

An introduction to art and architecture, 1400-1750, against the context of historical, cultural, religious, technological, and social change. Topics include the emergence of humanism and its engagement with the ancient past; the development of transformative new techniques and technologies for making art; the function of art in religious, public, and domestic settings; the role of the patron; the impact of the Protestant and Catholic Reformations on art and society; and the proliferation of new genres. The course includes a close study of Renaissance and Baroque artworks in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Art in the Western world from the late 18th century to the present. Content includes neoclassicism and romanticism, realism, the impressionists, parallel developments in architecture, the new sculptural tradition of Rodin, postimpressionism to fauvism, expressionism, futurism, cubism, geometric abstraction in sculpture and painting, modernism in architecture in the 20th century, and Dadaism and surrealism. Also covers developments since 1945, such as action painting, pop art, minimal art, and postmodernism. The course includes a close study of the Modern Art collections in Museum of Fine Arts Houston, The Menil Collection, and the Contemporary Arts Museum.

This course provides a comprehensive survey of American art and architecture from the Colonial period to the present. Students will explore the development of distinctly American artistic and architectural styles as they emerged from European influences and evolved to reflect the nation's changing cultural, social, and political landscape. The course will cover major movements and periods including: Colonial art and architecture (17th-18th centuries); Federal and Greek Revival styles (late 18th-early 19th centuries); Hudson River School and American landscape painting, Victorian era and Gilded Age aesthetics, American Impressionism and Realism, Early Modernism and the Ashcan School, Art Deco and Depression-era art, Abstract Expressionism and Post-War Modernism, Pop Art and Minimalism, and Postmodernism and Contemporary movements. The course utilizes the American Art collections at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, The Menil Collection, the Houston Museum of African American Culture, and the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston.

Selected topics of mutual interest to the professor and students. May be repeated for credit when topics vary.