ARTS-299-01Methods of Art History

MWF 9:00-9:50Spring 2016

Erik Inglis (he, him, his)Art building 132X58554 Einglis@oberlin.eduOffice hours: Monday 10-11 AM, Tuesday 8:30-10:30 AM

And by appt. [To make an appt, email me with two or three times that work for you]

COURSE EPIGRAM: “To determine who and what ‘art’ and ‘artists’ mean for different peoples and periods of history is what makes art history a critical field. That a modernist notion of art might be shaken, expanded or transformed by a Luba sense of transpersonal, processual identity; that one’s own cultural assumptions might be suspended for just a moment to consider the possibility of alternative value systems and different notions of self and society, originality, and artistic identity—this is what the study of African art can offer, and these are the ways Luba artists continue to activate thought and to articulate relationships and values. Their works fulfill ongoing roles as vehicles of memory and knowledge, and as supports for the vicissitudes of changing historical circumstances.”1

COURSE OBJECTIVES:This course has two goals. First, we will investigate the historical and current practice of art history, how the discipline began, changed, and reached its present shape. My aim is to denaturalize art history, making you self-conscious about your own intellectual interests and their history. Second, we will work hard to develop skills in reading, understanding, and critiquing primary and secondary sources, to improve your ability to form and evaluate art historical arguments.

COURSE PRINCIPLE:While it is easy to discuss methods in a vacuum, it doesn't get you very far. I see little point in talking about theoretical means unless they are attached to concrete ends. Thus, the class will strive to be as rooted as possible in actual works of art.

COURSE LACUNA:A complete history of art history is impossible in the time we have. To me, the most glaring absence from this course is the absence of art history outside the modern Western tradition; China, the Islamic world, and Africa are barely present in the course. The course also pays less attention than it might to the institutional history of the discipline.

COURSE STRUCTURE:There are four units to the course. The first is introductory, offering a case study to get our discussions started, and some sessions in the art library about research tools. The second is historiographic, studying the first 400 years of what can be recognized as art historical practice in Europe. The third and fourth sections are most explicitly methodological. In the third we look methods devised between 1880 and 1930, which continue to be practiced today. In the fourth, we examine what has been called the crisis in the discipline in the 70s and 80s, and the methods which rose to prominence at that time.

COURSE PRACTICE:There are assigned readings for almost every class, posted on blackboard or available online. You are expected to: complete them before class; be able to summarize them; be prepared to give informed critiques of them, both in their 1 Mary Nooter Roberts, “The Naming Game: Ideologies of Luba Artistic Identity,” African Arts, 31, Special Issue: Authorship in African Art, (1998), pp. 56-73+90-92, at 73.

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particular details and in the general issues they raise. To get you started, in the first half of the semester, each reading has a few assigned tasks to complete with brief written passages, which you will hand in each class; these must be completed but will not be graded. Most days either I or a team of students will introduce the day's major theme and, whenever possible, a relevant work or two from the Allen. NB: If you print the reading, I encourage you to bring your copy to class, so that cooperative close reading will be possible.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:I am grateful to my colleagues Susan Kane, Bonnie Cheng, John Harwood, Sarah Hamill, Matthew Rarey, Renee Romano and Esra Akin-Kivanc for all their input on this syllabus, and to Christina Neilson, Christina Normore (OC ‘01) and Susanna Newbury (OC ‘05) for sharing the syllabi for their methods courses.

ASSIGNMENTS:Participation.This includes but is not limited to: being prepared for each class by doing the reading, speaking, listening attentively to others, encouraging others to comment, arguing respectfully, asking questions, clarifying areas of accord or disagreement, summing up the comments of others, supplying useful bibliography and coming to talk to me in office hours. Since attendance and participation are essential to learning this material, I will deduct half a grade for every absence after the thirdNB: It’s very easy not to speak. But silence frequently prevents us from testing our ideas, discovering our difficulties, and refining our thought. Participation is also required in this class, making up a large part of your grade. Therefore, I will call on people. If you are predisposed to silence in class, please see me privately outside class so we can identify strategies that will make speaking easier. There are many.2

I intend the participation grade to be meaningful; since this is an area where it is essential to understand what I expect, I will give you a preliminary participation grade two Fridays before break, so you can adjust as necessary. Here is the rubric for participation grade:D: missed multiple sessions, did not do the reading, made no contribution to the class.C: attended most sessions, did most reading, listened attentively but never spoke, B: attended most sessions, did the readings; listened attentively, was ready with informed responses to prompts. made good comments; raised good questions or issues, came to talk to me outside class.A: attended every session; did all the reading; was ready with informed responses to prompts; followed up intelligently on comments others made; helped establish intellectual momentum in the class; came to see me outside class.

1 report on a guest speakerThere will be the several guest speakers in the Art Dept this semester, and I will announce them as early as I can. You need to go to one of these talks and write a one page report on its content. Your paper should place the presentation in its art historical context as we have discussed it in class. The paper must be turned in within 7 days after the talk. Cr/ne

Prompts and ResponsesMost days are discussion days, and most discussions will begin with prompts assigned ahead of time. I will give several of these at the beginning, with the explicit goal of offering a template for how you should do yours. In the second half of the semester, assigned student teams will be responsible for generating the prompts and leading the discussion that flows from them. The teams are also responsible for prompts to the class 72 hours before the session. Your grade will be based on the utility of your prompts.

2 An apposite and skeptical quote about the pedagogic value of class discussions: “Tom thinks the best method of teaching anything is to rely on discussion in class, which means letting twenty young blockheads and two cocky neurotics discuss for fifty minutes something that neither their teacher nor they know.” Vladimir Nabokov, Pnin.

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PapersPapers are designed to allow (force) you to reflect on class discussions and order your thoughts concretely.

There are three review papers and a final paper. The review papers are all designed to accompany the three main units of the class. The third review paper and final paper are designed to help (force) you to connect this class in methods to other art historical work you are doing at Oberlin. Note that there are three review papers, an indication from the syllabus that writing this kind of essay is a skill we'll be building over the semester.  Accordingly, the first one counts for 10% of the final grade; the next one is 15% and the third and final one is 20%.  I've allocated the grades this way to lower the pressure on the first try, using it as a chance to get your feet wet on this sort of project.

First review paper:Select a day’s reading that we did between February 12 and March 4 (inclusive); you must pick an author who wrote before 1850 (not a modern art historian writing about an earlier author) . Briefly introduce the reading by situating the author in time and place (this should take no more than 1 page, though such brevity costs effort). Then write a paper that replies to and expands on at least one of the prompts given for discussion. The best papers will be those that link specific details from the text to the overall significance of the author’s contribution. These papers should be about 1200 words (including footnotes). Please indicate the word count on the paper. This assignment is the fourth stage of digestion as you ruminate on the topic. The first stage was reading it; the second stage was responding to the prompts/tasks about it; the third stage was the discussion of it in class. Now you're attempting a sort of summary of what you think was important in the day's reading, based on all three of the previous exercises.  It does not have to be everything that was important in the reading--but can be just one or two themes.  

Another way of understanding this assignment would be to imagine that you have to write 1200 words to explain to an art historian why Vasari, or Winckelmann, or early cultural historians, were important to the field; what they achieved and failed to achieve.  In that sense, you could treat the essay as if it was an exam question--though for an open book exam with no time limit.

Second review paper:This paper will address a reading from between March 9 and April 4 (omitting March 28). Write a paper like the first review paper on one day’s topic, but extend it by using one of the suggested additional readings to broaden and deepen your analysis. The addition of the 2nd article will require you to move beyond the specific text we discussed to larger methodological questions. Your paper should address: what you take to be the reading’s most important arguments or ideas;what you see as the strengths and limitations of the author’s approach

framing of the study,choice and use of evidence,theoretical approaches, methodology, etc.

how the work connects to the broader context of art history.3

Final paper and Third review paper:These two are linked, so the instructions are given together. Your final paper (12-15 pages) should relate to another art history class, preferably one you are in this semester. If you don’t think this is possible, please see me. There are three sorts of topics you may engage. First, you may write a book review of a significant art historical monograph published in the last 10 years; your review should pay particular attention to questions of method. Second, you may describe the state of the question on a significant art historical topic or controversy. Third, you may research a significant moment or figure in the history of art history at Oberlin. The key term in all three of these is “significant;” in all cases you must consult with me in advance and

3 I am grateful to Renee Romano, Professor of History at Oberlin College, for the language and ideas in these prompts.

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have your topic approved. If you pick an article that is inappropriate, you will have to start over—so confirm it ahead of time.

For the third review paper, you should find an article that relates both to the topic of your final paper, and to a methodological approach that we discussed in the third unit. It can be an old essay, contemporary with the ones we read, or a more recent application of the same sort of method deployed in the text we read in class. You should talk to me, to the professor in your other class, and to Barbara Prior to identify a suitable article. NB: If you pick an article that is inappropriate, you will have to start over—so confirm it ahead of time! This paper has two parts. In the first part, 500-600 words, you should analyze the article. In the second part, 500-600 words, you should explain how it relates to an approach (or approaches) we discussed in class. The more concrete you can be the better.

Research Lab with Barbara Prior, Art LibrarianIn addition to its focus on intellectual history, the course is also designed to orient you to art historical research and careers. Thus, I have scheduled a mix of sessions in and outside normal class time to cover research tools in the field. Attendance at the out-of-class sessions is optional, but highly encouraged. They will help you in this class specifically and in the major as a whole. The topics to be covered are:Corpora vs. Catalogues raisonnés;Encyclopedias;Bibliographies vs. Jstor vs. Google;Field specific search tools;how to find and apply for an internship.

Grades:NB: All assignments must be completed to pass the course. Failure to complete any assignment will result in failing the class.

Participation............................25%1 guest speaker report..………………cr/ne1 Prompt and Discussion.........................5% 3 review papers……………..................45% (10% plus 15% plus 20%)Final Paper.............................................25%

A NOTE ON HOW TO DO ALL THIS READING:I’m assigning you a lot of reading, certainly too much to read every word with equal attention. So one skill you need to develop to a high level is intelligent skimming, along with learning to recognize when not to skim. It helps to keep a few key questions constantly before you; you may even want them literally and physically beside you on a piece of paper as you read. A few good ones are:

what kind of text is this? is it an argument, a description, an analysis? etc

what question or questions interest the author? what does this writer help you understand about the works s/he writes about?

how does s/he explain these features?why is this writer interested in these features?

what does this writer ignore?how would the author explain and/or justify this ignorance?

would you accept that explanation?why or why not?

how would you explain this ignorance?

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how is your understanding of this piece harmed by this ignorance?

If you come up with other good general questions, please send them to me; this list is a work in progress. Additionally, if you have or develop any other good techniques for quick but cogent reading, please share them with the class.

What’s the difference between challenging and stressful? what’s the difference between stressful and too stressful? Those questions are hard to answer. I hope that this class is challenging, both in the nature and the quantity of its material, and I recognize that intellectual and logistical challenges are stressful. However, I never want all the protocols and details of the class to create an unhealthy level of stress. If you are feeling like there’s too much, or if the work is unmanageable, or you have circumstances in your life that require priority, please let me know; things can always be adjusted to make it possible for you to do all the work successfully while living a balanced life. I will work with you to make this class work for you.

HONOR CODE:I take the honor code very seriously, and expect the same of my students. You should all be familiar with

the honor code (http://new.oberlin.edu/students/policies/honor-system-charter) and expect your professors to describe its application on their syllabi. In particular, it is essential that you write and sign the honor code on all work you hand in for this class. If you do not, I will return the paper to you without entering a grade until you sign it and return it to me. The Honor Code reads: “I affirm that I have adhered to the Honor Code on this assignment.”

I value the Honor Code because it is fundamental to education in a liberal arts setting. Unlike some educational environments, a liberal arts college believes that education is a transforming experience, both personally and socially. To claim someone else’s work as your own makes that transformation impossible, thus negating our purpose for being here.

I do not anticipate many problems in this course, which by its nature requires collaboration to be successful. Indeed, I encourage you to share your work with your colleagues, seeking their input, comments, and corrections. In the end, however, your work must be substantively your own. Others may suggest improvements in your paper; they may not redraft it for you. In your paper, you must cite all your sources in academically formatted footnotes. For guidelines to acceptable practices, see the brief outline Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art, 6th edition, (New York, Longman, 2000), or the extensive version in the Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition (Chicago, 1993) or 15th edition (Chicago, 2003), all available in the Art Library and/or Mudd reference section. You may also consult http://www.oberlin.edu/library/citation-help.html .

If you have any confusion about how the honor code applies to any assignments in the course, please ask me for clarification.

POLICY ON INCOMPLETE WORK, LATE WORK, AND ABSENCES:Incomplete work: All work must be complete to pass the class. Failure to complete any assignment will result in a no entry for the class.Late work: Unless otherwise noted, all work is due at the beginning of class on the assigned day (except for the report on speakers and the final paper). Late work will be accepted without penalty only in cases of true emergency or by prior agreement with me. In other cases, work turned in late will be accepted, with half a grade deducted for every day between the due date and the date it's handed in.Absences: Attendance, as an essential part of learning this material, is mandatory. Students who miss class need to write a 2-page summary of the readings for that day. This option will only be available twice, after which I will deduct half a grade for every absence. More than three unexcused absence will result in a C or lower participation grade.

CLASS AND ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULEINTRODUCTION

1 Feb Introduction day; Logistics

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1 Discussion: What do art historians do?2 Feb

3Interpretive Case Study/Oberlin Moments, Part 1: Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ Shaw Memorial part 1Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Reminiscences, pages 327-47Freeman Henry Morris Murray, Emancipation and the Freed in American Sculpture (Washington, D. C. 1916 [reprinted 1972]), “The ‘Freedman,’ by J. Q. A. Ward,” “’The Freedwoman,’ by Edmonia Lewis,” “’Emancipation,’ Group, Washington and Boston, by Thomas Ball,” “The Shaw Memorial, Boston, by Augustus Saint-Gaudens,” pp. 12-19, pp. 19-23, pp. 26-32, pp. 164-74.http://books.google.com/books?id=Wo0DAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q &f=fals e for images for Murray’s book, see blackboard.Due: 100 hundred words for each of these sources, explaining whether they contribute to your understanding of the monument, and if so how?

3 Feb 5

Interpretive Case Study: Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ Shaw Memorial part 2Albert Boime, The Art of Exclusion: representing Blacks in the nineteenth century (Washington, DC, 1990), 199-219.Kirk Savage, "Uncommon Soldiers: Race, Art, and the Shaw Memorial," in M. Blatt et al., eds., Hope and Glory: essays on the legacy of the Fifty-Fourth Massachusetts Regiment (Amherst, 2001), 156-67.Due: How to read an article assignment: paragraph by paragraph outline of the Savage articleWhat is each author’s thesis? Answer in a paragraph.What general kind(s) of evidence does the author use to support his thesis? Answer with as many general categories as necessary.What specific evidence does the author use to support his thesis? Supply the specifics grouped in the categories found above.Why does the author believe this body of evidence is convincing?Do you agree? Why or why not?What assumptions does the author make? Explicit or implicit?Are these assumptions sound?Summary: what is the crux of the disagreement between Boime and Savage? In 100 words, sum up how Boime and Savage differ over which evidence is most important for interpreting the Memorial

4 Feb 8

Research Tools 1: with Barbara Prior, Art Librarian (meet in Art Library)“The Corpus and the Catalogue Raisonné”

5 Feb 10

Research Tools 2: with Barbara Prior, Art Librarian (meet in Art Library)EncyclopediasUNIT I

6 Feb 12

Renaissance Foundations of Art History: Alberti (perspective begun)NB: Note that this is the first of several discussions we'll have that address perspective; we'll also be dealing with this in Vasari and Panofsky; thus, perspective is one of the leitmotifs of the class. My hope is that with each subsequent discussion, you’ll return to your replies to the earlier prompts, thus using and increasing your understanding of Alberti as you develop your understanding of newer authors.1) “Leon Battista Alberti, ”Grove Dictionary of Art online2) Alberti, On painting, trans. Cecil Grayson (London, 1972), Books 1-3, pp. 34-96.prompts:1) According to Alberti, what does a painter do? what is his function?2) in outline form, list and briefly define three critical terms that Alberti uses3) use two or three of them to evaluate three paintings from the following list of works in the Allen

Neri di Bicci, Altar Wing with Five Saints, ca. 1445Attributed to Baldassare Peruzzi, The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine,

Giovanni Boccati, St. John the Baptist and St. SebastianApollonio di Giovanni, Battle between the Athenians and the Persians

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Anonymous, Adoration of the Child with Portrait of a Donor, 1943.420you should praise one in Albertian termsand use Albertian terms to criticize one for what Alberti would perceive as

its shortcomings4) why does Alberti start with geometry?  what are the consequences of discussing painting in geometrical terms?5) why does he borrow from rhetoric when he discusses composition?  what are the consequences of discussing painting in rhetorical terms?6) write a paragraph about either: Alberti’s understanding of art history, or the historical implications of his treatise.7) How have you been taught to define a picture's composition? How does Alberti define it? What relationship is there between these two definitions? Pick a painting from the Allen that dates before 1600, and give two rapid compositional summaries of it, once in your terms, once in Alberti's.

7 Feb 15

Renaissance Foundations of Art History: Giorgio Vasari (perspective continued)1) “Giorgio Vasari,” in Grove online2) Giorgio Vasari, The Lives of the Artists, 2nd edition 1568, translated by George Bull (London, ), volume 1,“Preface to the Lives,” pp. 25-47, "Preface to Part II," pp. 83-93“Preface to Part III,” pp. 249-54passages from the Lives of Cimabue, pp. 49-56Giotto, pp. 57-8, 60-62, 68-69, 78-81Brunelleschi, pp. 136-7Leon Battista Alberti, pp. 208-13 Life of Michelangelo, pp. 325-34, 337-40, 349-61, 374-83, 417-42.Tasks: 1) Write a sentence or three in response to each of these questions:how does Vasari understands the art historian's task?how does Vasari understand artistic change in time?how does he explain artistic change in time?what relationship does Vasari establish between historical description (this is what happened), explanation (this is why it happened) and evaluation (whether it's good or bad, and if good, how good).2) Write a paragraph on how Vasari's biographies relate to Alberti's criteria of artistic excellence.3) Send me an email with one work in the Allen that Vasari would praise, and another he would criticize. Write two sentences of Vasarian criticism for each.4) Pick a key paragraph from one of Vasari's three Prefaces and be prepared to press it for its significance. You can identify it by page # and paragraph #, and its first words.5) What can you tell about Vasari's audience? Who is he writing for? Take into account both what he says explicitly about that audience, and what you can read between the lines.

8 Feb 17

Vasari, continuedreview assigned passages from the Lives of Cimabue, Giotto, Brunelleschi, Leon Battista Alberti,Michelangelo.

Alexander Nagel, “Authorship and Image-Making in the Monument to Giotto in Florence Cathedral,” RES: Anthropology and Aesthetics, No. 53/54 (Spring - Autumn, 2008), pp. 143-151.How did Vasari’s presentation of Giotto differ from Benedetto da Maiano’s portrait of Giotto from 1490? How did the dominance of Vasari’s presentation of Giotto keep post-Vasarian observers from attending to Benedetto’s portrait?How to read an article assignment: hand in a paragraph summary of Nagel’s article (it will be easier to do this if you start with a longer summary—or even a complete outline).

9 Feb 19

A glance outside the West I: An Islamic art historical textWe will be discussing an art historian who wrote about Persian calligraphy. This material is probably

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unfamiliar to most of us, presenting a significant challenge.Review the online exhibition: “Nasta‘liq: The Genius of Persian Calligraphy”http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/nastaliq/default.aspread the introduction: http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/nastaliq/intro.aspand the entries (with images) on two scribes, Mir Ali Tabrizi:http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/nastaliq/mir-ali-tabrizi.aspand Sultan Ali Mashadihttp://www.asia.si.edu/explore/nastaliq/sultan-ali-mashhadi.aspEsra Akin-Kivanc, ed., Mustafa ʿÂli’ Epic Deeds of Artists (1587), (Leiden, 2011), pp. 17-27, 206-10, 214-37.Mustafa ʿÂli’ compares Allah to a calligrapher; can we compare/contrast this with Vasari’s discussion of God as a sculptor?How does an art history built on calligraphy differ from an art history built on representations?How does Mustafa ‘Ali organize his chapter on the writers of the nasta’liq script?How does the author describe stylistic changes or continuities in the history of the nasta’liq script?According to Mustafa ‘Ali, what are the a) professional, and b) personal merits of a perfect calligrapher?How does Mustafa ‘Ali’s describe “perfect calligraphy” in visual terms?After reading Mustafa ‘Ali’s comparison between masters Sultan ‘Ali of Mashhad and Mir ‘Ali of Herat (pp. 232-235), discuss the strengths and limitations of the author’s art-historical writing.What is Mustafa ‘Ali’s critique of the art market of his time? How does the development of art history relate to the development of a market?

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Feb 22

A glance outside the West II: A Chinese art historical text1) In Grove Art online, read the entries on:Xie HeGu KaizhiZhang Yanyuan2) Study Gu Kaizhi’s Admonitions of the Instructress scroll here:http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/asia/t/admonitions_scroll.aspxhere http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/xwomen/texts/admonitions.htmland here: http://www2.iath.virginia.edu/xwomen/texts/admonitions_zoom.html2) Hsieh Ho (now transliterated as Xie He), Old record of the classifications of painters, in W. R. B. Acker, ed. and trans., Some Tʻang and pre-Tʻang texts on Chinese painting (Leiden, 1954-1974), vol. 1, pp. 3-32; you do not need to read the footnotes.Chang Yen-Yuan (now transliterated as Zhang Yanyuan),  Record of the Famous Painters ch. 1, sections 1-4, ch. 2, sections 2-5, in W. R. B. Acker, ed. and trans., Some Tʻang and pre-Tʻang texts on Chinese painting (Leiden, 1954-1974), vol. 1, pp. 59-80, 110-45, 148-53, 177-215. You do not need to read the footnotes.List the stylistic criteria and/or terms used by Xie He and Zhang Yanyuan.Be prepared to use these criteria to evaluate Gu Kaizhi’s Admonitions scroll.Compare these stylistic criteria to those of Alberti, Vasari and Mustafa ‘Ali; how are they similar? how do they differ?How do these authors conceive their project? What are they trying to do with their texts?

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Feb 24

Art Institutions in the 17th and 18th CenturiesI will lecture on this topicFrancis Haskell, History and its Images, chs. 7, “The Birth of Cultural History,” and 8, “The Arts as an Index of Society,” pp. 201-229.Tasks: Write a paragraph for one of these questions:how do early cultural historians understand art's relationship to the society that produced it?How do early cultural historians understand the relationship of individual artists to the society and culture in which they live?

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How is cultural history different from history history? from art history?How to read a book assignment: use JSTOR to find and read 2 reviews of Haskell’s book.

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Feb 26

Johann Joachim Winckelmann1) bio in Grove Dictionary of Art online2) Johann Joachim Winckelmann, History of Art of Antiquity, intro by Alex Potts, translated by Harry Francis Malgrave (Los Angeles, 2006),Preface, pp. 70-80;Part I, chapter 1, section 1, pp. 111-4; section 3, pp. 117-23;Part I, chapter 4, section 1, pp. 186-91, section 2, pp. 191-207, section 3, pp. 227-44, section 4, pp. 244-5Part II, pp. 299-351.Tasks: 1) Write one to three sentences in response to each of these questions:how does Winckelmann understand artistic change in time?how does he explain artistic change in time?how does Winckelmann's approach to artistic change in time relate to Vasari's?

in what ways are they similar?in what ways are they different?

2) Winckelmann’s approach to Greek art involves him in periodization, the divvying up of all ancient Greek art into different periods. What are these periods, and how are they distinct from each other? How does his concrete historical periodization relate to his overarching theme, announced at the beginning, that art moves from the necessary, to the beautiful, to the superfluous?2) list three critical terms that Winckelmann uses3) Attend carefully to how he discusses these four works:the Apollo Belvedere on pp. 333-4;the (so-called) Belvedere Antinous on p. 341.the Laocoön on pp. 313-4the Belvedere Torso (which he calls the mutilated Hercules) pp. 323-4Write one to three sentences on the role of these passages, and how they relate to the rest of the text.4) Both Vasari and Winckelmann write about the Laocoön, the Belvedere Torso, and the Arch of Constantine. What is similar about their comments? What is different? You should also think here not just about what they say specifically, but the larger framework for their comments. The same words may have different meanings in different contexts.5) Both Vasari and Winckelmann are attempting to address several centuries of art. How are their projects similar? How are they different? How do their strategies relate to each other? How are they different?

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Feb 29

Birth of the Modern Museum—I will lecture on this topicAndrew McClellan, “Musée du Louvre, Paris: Palace of the People, Art for All,” in Carole Paul, ed, The First Modern Museums of Art The Birth of an Institution in 18th- and Early-19th-century Europe (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2012), 212-33.

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Mar 2

Kant, Hegel and Art’s role in the birth of Cultural History1) Bios of Kant and Hegel in Grove2) Donald Preziosi, “Aesthetics, Introduction,” in Preziosi, Art of Art History, pp. 63-693) Elizabeth Prettejohn, Beauty & Art: 1750-2000 (Oxford, 2005), pp. 40- 63.4) Immanuel Kant, “The Critique of Judgment,” in Preziosi, Art of Art History, pp. 76-96As you read Kant pay particular attention to his four moments and four conclusions (pp. 84, 89, 93, and 96)—these will be the focus of our discussion.You should also consider these questions:how does Kant define beauty?why is it worthwhile to define beauty?what separates beauty from the agreeable?why can’t beauty involve interests?

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how does Kant’s notion of the beautiful affect art history?How would Kant react to Winckelmann’s statement that “Beauty is experienced by the senses, but it is recognized and understood by reason, which is most cases renders, or should render, the senses less susceptible but more correct.” p. 194

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Mar 4

1) G. W. F. Hegel, “Philosophy of Fine Art,” in Preziosi, Art of Art History, pp. 97-106.2) Ernst H. Gombrich, “The Father of Art History: A reading of the Lectures on Aesthetics of F. W. F. Hegel (1770-1831),” in Gombrich, Tributes: Interpreters of our cultural tradition (Ithaca: 1984), pp. 51-69.Hegel breaks down the development of art into a symbolic, classical, and romantic moments.  What is the basis of this periodization?  What is its allure?How does this compare to earlier periodizations we have seen (in Vasari and Winckelmann?).  What is the chronological span of the overall period he covers?Additional Reading: E. H. Gombrich, “In Search of Cultural History,” in Gombrich, Ideals and Idols: Essays on values in history and in art (Oxford, 1979), 24-59.

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Mar 7

1ST REVIEW PAPER DUEArt History in America, the first 100 years (Oberlin Moments, part 2)Laurine Mack Bongiorno, “The Fine Arts in Oberlin, 1836-1918,”AMAM Bulletin, Volume XV, No. 3 (Spring 1958).I. T. Frary, “The Dudley Peter Allen Memorial Art Building, Oberlin, Ohio,” Architectural Record44/2 (August 1918), pp. 98-111.Edward W. Forbes, “The Art Museum and the Teaching of the Fine Arts,” Bulletin of the College Art Association of America, I/4 (Sept 1918), pp. 120-29.Ralph Adams Cram, “The Place of the Fine Arts in Higher Education,” The Bulletin of the College Art Association of America, Vol. 1, No. 4 (Sep., 1918), pp.129-135.David M. Robinson, “On Reproductions for the College Museum and Art Gallery,” Bulletin of the College Art Association of America, I/3 (Nov 1917), pp. 15-21.read about Clarence Ward here:http://www.oberlin.edu/archive/holdings/finding/RG30/SG158/biography.htmlhttp://www.oberlin.edu/archive/holdings/finding/RG30/SG158/scope.htmlhttp://www.oberlin.edu/archive/holdings/finding/RG9/SG3/adminhist.htmlhow is a museum different from a library? How are they similar?how does the Allen’s facade relate to the readings? consider both its inscriptions and its overall designhow does the Allen’s current installation in the 1917 building relate to the readings?how does the Allen’s current installation of European art testify to the influence of the early cultural historians?how does it undermine or ignore their influence?UNIT II

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Mar 9

Style I1) Meyer Schapiro, "Style," from Anthropology Today: An Encyclopedic Inventory, ed. A. L. Krober, (Chicago, 1953), rpt in Theory and Philosophy of Art, pp. 51-80.As you do the reading, prepare to discuss three key topics: style as a language; cyclical development (which relates to our ongoing discussions of periodization); the relationship between style and national or ethnic identity.2) Heinrich Wölfflin, Principles of Art History The Problem of the Development of Style in Later Art, 1915, translated by M. D. Hottinger,Introduction,Ch. 1, Linear and Painterly, General, Drawing, Painting, pp. 1-32.ch. 2, Plane and Recession, Painting, pp. 73-106Wölfflin traces two major periods, the Renaissance and the Baroque. Consider how his discussion offers an alternative to the periodizations we have seen in Vasari, Winckelmann, and Hegel.

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Email me a work from each period in the Allen that confirm his understanding of their formal differences, and also one work from each period as contradicting his understanding.Additional Reading: Joan Hart, “Reinterpreting Wölfflin: Neo-Kantianism and Hermeneutics,” Art Journal (1982), pp. 292-300.orSvetlana Alpers, "Style Is What You Make It," in Berel Lang, ed., The Concept of Style, (Ithaca, 1987), pp. 137-62

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Mar 11

Style II: Connoisseurship1) Bio of Morelli and Berenson in Grove2) Bernard Berenson, “Rudiments of Connoisseurship,” ,” in Berenson, The Study and Criticism of Italian Art, Second Series, (London, 1902), pp 111-48.3) Bernard Berenson, “Amico di Sandro,” in Berenson, The Study and Criticism of Italian Art, First Series, (London, 1930), pp. 46-69.Why does Berenson trust his eye more than documents or tradition?Why does Berenson believe the way ears are painted indicates the painter’s individuality more than the way eyes or mouths are painted?What role does quality play in Berenson’s attributions?At the end of the “Rudiments” essay, Berenson distinguishes between a ‘science of connoisseurship’ and an ‘art of connoisseurship.’ What does this distinction entail?Additional Reading: Jeremy Melius, “Connoisseurship, Painting, and Personhood,” Art History, 34/2 (2011), pp. 288-309.

TBD Research Tools 3: with Barbara Prior, Art Librarian (12:30-1:15; location TBD)Bibliographies plus/versus JSTOR plus/versus Googleyou can also receive credit for this by scheduling an individual meeting with Erik or Ms. Prior

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Mar 14

Style II: Connoisseurship: Exercise: Detailed assignment posted on blackboard.

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Mar 16

Style III (perspective continued)Erwin Panofsky, Perspective as Symbolic Form, translated by Christopher S. Wood, (NY: 1997), 27-72, originally published as “Die Perspektive als "symbolische Form,” Vorträge der Bibliothek Warburg 1924/1925 (Leipzig & Berlin, 1927), 258-330.The essay is divided into four parts; sum up each one in a sentence.What echoes of Hegel do you hear in this study? (to answer, it may be helpful to think about how Panofsky’s periodization of perspective relates to Hegel’s symbolic-classical-romantic periodization).What does Panofsky mean by mathematical space and psychophysiological space? How does he say they differ? Why is this distinction important to understanding perspective?Is linear perspective accurate? or just a convincing convention?What is the significance of the use of perspective? is it significant that it was developed in the fifteenth century, in Florence?How does Panofsky’s approach to perspective, Brunelleschi and Alberti compare to Vasari’s approach to the same ?Additional Reading: Christopher S. Wood, “Introduction,” to Panofsky, Perspective as Symbolic Form, pp. 7-24.

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Mar 18

Perspective continuedTimon Screech, “The Meaning of Western Perspective in Edo Popular Culture,” Archives of Asian Art, 47 (1994), pp. 58-69.

3/19-27

BREAK

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Mar 28

WWII and Art History in America(Oberlin Moments, part 3): I will lecture on this topic1) Colin Eisler, “Kunstgeschichte American Style: A Study of Migration” in D. Fleming and B. Bailyn, eds., The Intellectual Migration (Cambridge, 1969), pp. 544-629; especially 544-75, 582-3 (on Panofsky), 586 (on Stechow), 589-629.

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2) Erwin Panofsky, “Three Decades of Art History in the United States: Impressions of a Transplanted European,” College Art Journal 14/1 (Autumn 1954), also reprinted in Panofsky, Meaning in the Visual Arts (Garden City, NY, 1955).read about Wolfgang Stechow here:http://www.dictionaryofarthistorians.org/stechoww.htmhttp://www.oberlin.edu/archive/holdings/finding/RG30/SG238/biography.htmlhttp://www.oberlin.edu/archive/holdings/finding/RG30/SG238/scope.html

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Mar 30

Iconography1) Erwin Panofsky, Studies in Iconology Humanistic Themes in the Art of the Renaissance, (Oxford, 1939), "Introductory," pp. 3-17.2) Erwin Panofsky, "Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait", The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, vol. 64, #372 (March 1934), pp.117–127.3) Meyer Schapiro, "'Muscipula Diaboli', The Symbolism of the Mérode Altarpiece," Art Bulletin 27 (1945), and "A Note on the Mérode Altarpiece," Art Bulletin 41 (1959), both reprinted in Schapiro, Late Antique, Early Christian and Mediaeval Art, pp. 1-19.4) read abstract at the beginning of Susan Koslow, “The Curtain-Sack: A Newly Discovered Incarnation Motif in Rogier van der Weyden’s Columba Annunciation,” Artibus et historiae, nr. 13 (1986), pp. 9-34.Prompts:A) how does the Panofsky's Introductory relate to the same author's essay on perspective?B) Think about the overlap between these three quotes:1: “Perspective, in transforming the ousia (reality) into the phainomenon (appearance), seems to reduce the divine to a mere subject matter for human consciousness; but for that very reason, conversely, it expands human consciousness into a vessel for the divine.” Panofsky, Perspective as symbolic form, p. 72.2: “In [the Arnolfini portrait], as in the other works by Jan van Eyck, medieval symbolism and modern realism are so perfectly reconciled that the former has become inherent in the latter. The symbolical significance is neither abolished nor does it contradict the naturalistic tendencies; it is so completely absorbed by reality, that reality itself gives rise to a flow of preternatural associations, the direction of which is secretly determined by the vital forces of medieval iconography.” Panofsky, “Arnolfini p. 127.3: “In accepting the realistic vision of nature, religious art runs the risk of receding to a marginal position, of becoming in turn the border element that secular reality had been.” Schapiro, “Merode,” p. 11C) In the first part of his "Introductory," Panofsky divides iconological analysis into 3 levels. How do these three levels help you categorize Panofsky's interpretation of the Arnolfini portrait, and Schapiro's interpretation of the Merode Triptych?Additional Reading: James Marrow, "Symbol and meaning in northern European art of the late Middle Ages and the early Renaissance," Simiolus 16 (1986), pp. 150-69.

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Apr 1

Psychoanalytic art historyMeyer Schapiro, "Freud and Leonardo: An Art Historical Study," Renaissance Essays from the Journal of the History of Ideas, ed. P. O. Kristeller and P. P. Weiner," (NY, 1968), rpt in Theory and Philosophy of Art, pp. 153-92.Meyer Schapiro, "The Apples of Cézanne: An Essay on the Meaning of Still-life," Art News Annual, 34 (1968), rpt in Modern Art, pp. 1-38.How do these studies relate to the iconographic ones we looked at?Why does Schapiro criticize Freud’s article on Leonardo but still pursue a psychoanalytic approach to Cézanne?Think about how the following quote resonates with Panofsky “Perspective as symbolic form”: “The great difference between ancient Roman still-life painting, with its bare and indeterminate space, and that of later times which has a broader range of personal objects located in an intimate

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domestic or other private space shaped by the viewpoint of a real observer, reflects the changed character of society.” Schapiro, “Apples of Cézanne,” p. 21Additional Reading: Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory An Introduction, (Minneapolis, 1983), "Psychoanalysis," pp. 151-93UNIT III

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Apr 4

Due: 2nd Review PaperThe Venturi Wing of the Allen (Oberlin Moments, part 4)1) Robert Venturi, “Plain and Fancy by Cass Gilbert at Oberlin and the Addition to the Museum by Venturi and Rauch,” Allen Memorial Art Museum Bulletin , 39 (1976-77), pp. 83-104.2) Alan Colquhoun, “Sign and Substance: Reflections on Complexity, Las Vegas, and Oberlin,” in K. M. Hays, ed., Oppositions Reader: Selected Readings from a Journal for Ideas and Criticism in Architecture 1974-1984, pp. 176-87.How does Venturi’s design differ from Gilbert’s?How do the objects displayed in the Venturi wing differ from the type of objects for which Gilbert designed his museum?Do their design differences suggest different attitudes towards their contents?How are the approaches we’ve studied so far adequate to this wing and its contents?

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Apr 6

The Crisis in the Discipline/Oberlin Moments Part 51) Kurt Forster, "Critical History of Art, or Transfiguration of Values?" New Literary History, vol. 3, no. 3 (1972), pp. 459-70.2) Henri Zerner, “The Crisis in the Discipline,” Art Journal 1982, p 279.3) Grace Glueck, “Clashing Views Reshape Art History,” New York Times, December 20, 1987and the letters which followed from it.4) Patricia Mathews, "What Matters in Art History," Art Journal, 54 no. 3 (Fall 1995), pp. 51-54. How does Mathews’ article, published in 1995, and reflecting curricular discussions of the early 90s, relate to the other essays assigned for today?

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Apr 8

Political Critiques: FeminismLinda Nochlin, "Why have there been no great women artists?" 1971, rpt in her Women, Art and Power and Other Essays, (NY, 1988), pp. 145-78.Mary D. Garrard. "Artemisia Gentileschi's Self-Portrait as the Allegory of Painting," Art Bulletin 62.1 (March 1980): 97-112.

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Apr 11

Feminism 21) Patricia Mathews, Thalia Gouma-Peterson, "The Feminist Critique of Art History," Art Bulletin 49 (1987), pp. 326-57.2) The ensuing discussion in Art Bulletin:“On the ‘State of Research’ Series,” The Art Bulletin, Vol. 70, No. 1 (Mar., 1988), p. 138.“An Exchange on the Feminist Critique of Art History,” Norma Broude, Mary D. Garrard, Thalia Gouma-Peterson, Patricia Mathews, Art Bulletin, Vol. 71, No. 1 (Mar., 1989), pp. 124-127Lead by Group 1

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Apr 13

Political Critiques: Marxism and Social Art History1) O. K. Werckmeister, “Radical Art History” Art Journal 1982, pp. 284-91.2) Kurt Forster, "Critical History of Art, or Transfiguration of Values?" New Literary History, vol. 3, no. 3 (1972), pp. 459-70.3) T.J. Clark, “On the Social History of Art,” in Image of the People: Gustave Courbet and the 1848 Revolution, London, 1973, republished 1999, 9-20, 26-27 and pl. VI.I will lead discussion on this topic.Due: Abstract Proposal and Bibliography for Final Paper

TBD Research Tools 4: with Barbara Prior, Art Librarian (12:30-1:15; location TBD)Field/Period Specific research toolsyou can also receive credit for this by scheduling an individual meeting with Ms. PriorOR if Ms. Prior presents this topic to another class you are currently enrolled in.

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Apr 15

Walter Benjamin, “The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility,” (1936), republished in W. Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Technological Reproducibility and other writings on media, ed. by M. Jennings, B. Doherty and T. Levin (Cambridge, MA: 2008), 19-55.

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Apr 18

T. J. Clark, The Painter of Modern Life, (Princeton, 1984), pp. 3-78.Lead by Group 2

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Apr 20

Semiotics 1:1) Jonathan Culler, Ferdinand de Saussure, (Harmondsworth, 1976), ch. 2, "Saussure's Theory of Language,” pp. 1-50.2) Charles Sanders Peirce, “Logic as Semiotic: The Theory of Signs,” in R. E. Innis, ed., Semiotics An Introductory Anthology (Bloomington, IN, 1985), pp. 1-24.3) Margaret Iversen, “Saussure versus Peirce: Models for a Semiotics of Visual Art," in AL Rees and Frances Borzello, eds., The New Art History, (London, 1986), pp. 82-94.I will lead discussion on this topic.1) How does Saussure define the sign?2) What different kinds of signs does Peirce identify?3) How does semiotics relate to iconography? What are the areas of overlap? What aspects are distinct?4) Semiotics developed in the early twentieth century (it's contemporary with Wolfflin and Berenson), but was generally not engaged with by art historians.  It first entered mainstream art historical discussion in the 70s and 80s, as some art historians worked to reform, renew or revolutionize the discipline.  What made it appealing to them as a method? 5) Why does Iversen feel that Peirce is more useful to art historians than Saussure?

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Apr 22

Semiotics 2:Yve-Alain Bois, "The Semiology of Cubism," in L. Zelevansky, ed., Picasso and Braque A Symposium (New York, 1992), pp. 169-195.Lead by Group 3

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Apr 25

Robert W. Bagley, "Meaning and Explanation," in Roderick Whitfield, ed., The Problem of Meaning in Early Chinese Ritual Bronzes, (London: SOAS. Colloquies on Art & Archeology in Asia No. 15, 1992), pp. 34-55.Sarah Allan, “Art and Meaning,” in Whitfield, Problem of Meaning in Early Chinese Ritual Bronzes, 9-33.Lead by Group 4Due: Final Paper Topic

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Apr 27

Language and Art HistoryM. Baxandall, “The Language of Art History,” New Literary History 10 (1979), pp. 453-65.Michael Baxandall, The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany, ch. 6, “The Period Eye,” pp. 143-63.Robert Farris Thompson, “Yoruba Artistic Criticism,” in Warren L. d'Azevedo, ed., The Traditional Artist in African Societies (Bloomington, 1973), pp. 19-61.Baxandall writes about German Renaissance sculpture, and Thompson writes about Yoruba sculpture in the twentieth century. This might appear to be very different topics, but methodologically the articles are similar in that they address a similar question. Both are dealing with cultures which, unlike Renaissance Italy, did not produce a written art historical or critical vocabulary. Both believe that the vocabulary we have inherited from Renaissance Italy is inappropriate to the material they are studying, so they attempt to discover a better vocabulary that is closer to the material.

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Apr 29

Michael Brenson, Review of MoMA’s Primitivism exhibition, NYTimes, 10/28/1984: http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/28/arts/gallery-view-discovering-the-heart-of-modernism.htmlThomas McEvilley, “Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief,” review of Review of MoMA’s Primitivism exhibition, originally published in Artforum 23 (October 1984), pp. 54-60, reprinted in in J. Flam, ed., Primitivism and twentieth-century art: a documentary history (Berkeley, 2003), pp. 335-51.Kirk Varnedoe, “On the Claims and Critics of the ‘Primitivism in Twentieth Century Art’ Show,” Art

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in America (May 1985), pp. 11-21, reprinted in J. Flam, ed., Primitivism and twentieth-century art: a documentary history (Berkeley, 2003), pp. 369-83.Lead by Group 5

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May 2

Mary Nooter Roberts, “The Naming Game: Ideologies of Luba Artistic Identity,” African Arts, 31, Special Issue: Authorship in African Art, (1998), pp. 56-73+90-92Lead by Group 6

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May 4

Museum CritiqueFred Wilson, Howard Halle, “Mining the Museum,” Grand Street 44 (1993), pp. 151-72.Lisa Corrin, “Mining the Museum,” in Fred Wilson, Mining the Museum: an installation (Baltimore, 1994), reprinted in Doro Globus, Fred Wilson: a critical reader (London, 2011), pp. 45-74.Walter Mignolo, “Museums in the Colonial Horizon of Modernity: Fred Wilson’s Mining the Museum (1992),” in Globus, Fred Wilson: a critical reader, 374-91.Lead by Group 7

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May 6

Conclusions?

May 1211 AM

FINAL PAPER DUE in the box outside my office

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