Introduction to Western Art History: Proto-Renaissance to Contemporary Art (saylor.org)

You will become acquainted with certain regional and personal styles of art through this period, as well as a number of renowned works of art and architecture.

Art forms and imagery are influenced by the surrounding world, the biography of the artist who produced the artwork, and other circumstances of artistic production. This course provides a framework for considering how and why certain artistic movements emerged in certain places at certain times. Some of the names and works we will look at might already be familiar to you, while others will be new. The ultimate goal of this course is not to provide data on individual works of art, although that is part of art history, but to act as a sort of springboard. You will gain tools for looking at and analyzing not only art by the visual world around you. Please note we will make a number of sweeping generalizations regarding styles to provide a broad foundational arc. Divisions between styles, periods, and cultures are always fluid and selected examples could be substituted with many others.

The course design mirrors the scope and content of similar courses available through traditional undergraduate programs. We will move more or less chronologically, with some thematic sections. In some cases, in-depth resources on specific works and artists are assigned to suggest a broader range; in others, we will run through a number of examples briefly.

Course Requirements: It is strongly recommended that you complete Introduction to Western Art History: Pre-historic to High Gothic prior to taking this course.