Form and meaning, theory and practice of painting and architecture in Venice, ca. 1450-ca. 1600. Social, political and cultural contexts of making and viewing art, including works by Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto and Palladio.
Form and meaning, theory and practice of painting and architecture in Venice, ca. 1450-ca. 1600. Social, political and cultural contexts of making and viewing art, including works by Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto and Palladio.
This course explores the painting, sculpture, and graphic arts of the Romantic era in France, from about 1820 to 1850. Major emphasis on Gericault, Delacroix, and Ingres in their artistic, cultural, and political context. Key topics in Romanticism, including Orientalism and gender, are also explored.
The origin and development of Impressionism in France and Europe, 1860-1886, in its social, political and intellectual context. Painting, graphics and sculpture by Monet, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, Sisley, Cassatt and Morisot.
The origins and development of the Dada and Surrealist movements in early 20th-century Western art, and their lasting impact on art after World War II. Painting, sculpture, graphic arts, and the theoretical preoccupation which accompanied artistic production.
The origins, development, and critical issues pertaining to abstract or non-figurative modes of art as manifested in painting, sculpture and other selected media up to the present time. Movements include European abstract art before World War II as well as post-war developments.
An investigation of the different definitions and issues of minimal art including seriality, materials, process, objecthood, chance, installation, reception, relations to music and film, and the influence of structuralism.
An introduction to the major artists, movements, and debates in photography in Europe and North America, from its prehistory to the turn of the century. Issues considered include the relationship of social class to aesthetics, the role of illusion, the rise of mass reproduction.
Examination of the historical development of the cultures of exhibition in Nineteenth-Century Europe, and the diversity of venues displaying works of art and nature. Historical and theoretical overview is complemented by case studies which include investigations of private cabinets of curiosity, encyclopedic museums, commercial galleries, side-shows, and world's fairs.
An examination of the visual arts in Canada from the 1960’s to the present. A large and diverse range of media, practices, artists, and theoretical contexts will be examined. Emphasis is placed on work that can be seen in the original.
Ecological art is a focus in contemporary global art. We examine ecoart’s antecedents in the landscape genre and Earth Art and the diverse theoretical and disciplinary perspectives that inform our understanding of these movements. Artists include Burtynsky, Eliasson, Long, Mendieta, Netco, Smithson, Turrell. Readings include Deleuze, Heidegger, Latour.
This course surveys late imperial Chinese decorative arts from the Song (960-1127) through Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. It focuses on ceramics/porcelain, textiles, and furniture, attending especially to works in Toronto collections. Students will read primary and secondary sources to learn how decorative arts shaped daily life in imperial China.
East Asian images differ from Western ones in material support, format, and technologies of image-making. This course probes how East Asian images -- painting on objects, handscrolls, prints, optical media, film, and new media – work.
An overview of the visual culture (monuments to films) of South Asia form the Indus Valley Civilization (3500 BCE) to the contemporary. Focus on visual literacy, stylistic evolution, major concepts and the first-hand study of objects.
Architecture studied through its various building types and in its urban context. Themes include architecture and power under Absolutism, and the rise of the modern city.
In-depth examination of the modern movement in architecture, with particular focus on European avant-gardes of the early twentieth century. Emphasis on close reading of buildings, architectural research methods, and writing skills.
The study of various aesthetic, cultural, social, political, and theoretical aspects of art and photography across the centuries.
This course investigates the changing definition of Jewish art and the status of Jewish artists. Other issues explored include Jewish-Christian visual polemics, the construction of individual and communal Jewish identity through art, architecture, and texts, and the conceptual transformation of Jewish craft and ritual objects into art.
Study and practice in the variety of writing genres and styles associated with art history and contemporary criticism. Students will develop skills in writing for museum exhibitions and publications, reviews and criticism, academic analysis, and writing for popular print and media. Regular and frequent writing assignments. Recommended for FAH majors and specialists.
Investigates the development of art and architectural history as an academic discipline and method of analysis including discussion of varied approaches such as formalism, connoisseurship, post-colonialism, feminism, queer studies, psychoanalysis, and material studies. The course explores the relationship of art history to other disciplines including archaeology, literary criticism, film studies, and anthropology. Suggested for all Specialists and students considering graduate study in art history.
Through site visits and local resources, this course looks at the history of Spanish art and architecture, including the various work created by the diverse religious and political groups of the Iberian peninsula. The specific focus of the course may vary from year to year.
An instructor-supervised group project in an off-campus setting. Details at https://www.artsci.utoronto.ca/current/academics/research-opportunities…. Not eligible for CR/NCR option.