Objectives

The fine arts department offers programs in studio art and art history for the undergraduate student who wishes to study the visual arts as a creative artist or as a humanist.

Art is the visual record of human history (and the expression of our finest aspirations). The history of art is a discipline that critically examines that record and achievement in the broadest cultural and intellectual context. The art history program offers a wide array of courses. Some courses provide a survey of major developments in Western and Asian art, while others examine in greater detail major themes or movements in art (such as Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, the Age of Cathedrals, and the History of Photography). Students are able to complement these offerings by taking advantage of the proximity of the Rose Art Museum and the wealth of other art museums and cultural institutions in the surrounding area. This comprehensive program exemplifies the ideals of a liberal arts education and thereby enhances any individual course of study. It also prepares students to enter graduate programs in art history, museum studies, and arts administration, or to begin careers in the arts.

Art is a language of its own making and as such a student is educated in visual thinking and creativity through the fundamental process of direct experience. The studio department offers diverse approaches in painting, sculpture, printmaking, design, and drawing. The studio program fosters a student's ability to make an informed judgment and it is supplemented through a distinguished visiting artist program, a strong pedagogical link with the Rose Art Museum, and trips to important museums and galleries in New York City, Washington, D.C., and the Boston area. Through the core of studio classes the student is able to realize, with excellence, his or her potential for expression and informed vision. Studio is an appropriate vehicle for an intellectual experience within the liberal arts context, and students are assisted in the preparation for B.F.A. and M.F.A. graduate programs.

The fine arts department offers a post-baccalaureate certificate program for students with a bachelor's degree who are interested in extending their experience in studio art. The program's structure emphasizes independent work with assistance achieved through critical interaction with faculty and visiting artists. Students can prepare portfolios for admission to graduate school, or achieve the self-sufficiency necessary for continued studio work outside an academic environment.

How to Become a Concentrator

The art history concentrator is offered a variety of courses in ancient to contemporary Western art and Asian art. The student may specialize in a given area and choose a faculty advisor who will guide his or her work. The Honors Program in art history requires the completion of a Senior Thesis written under the close supervision of an advisor and a faculty committee. In addition to the courses given at Brandeis, the art history concentrator may enroll in special seminars given by the staff of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. These courses range from Egyptian art to American landscape painting to the preservation and scientific examination of works of art and all of them involve contact with art objects in the Museum's world-famous collection. Students may also receive academic credit for internships taken in off-campus museums and art galleries.

A minor in art history is offered in addition to the major. This gives the student majoring in another department the opportunity to flexibly construct a program of six art history courses that reflect his or her own personal or academic interests.

It is recommended that students considering a studio art concentration enroll in a beginning painting or sculpture course in their sophomore year to allow time to develop their work in a sequence of courses taken over a period of three years. Studio concentrators are expected to take art history classes as an important component of their concentration requirement and to deepen their creative experience. Concentrators are encouraged to extend their intellectual and creative involvement through summer art programs and participation in full studio faculty reviews of their work during sophomore, junior, and senior years.

How to Be Admitted to the Post-Baccalaureate Program

An undergraduate concentration in studio art is not required of applicants, but students should be working beyond the beginning level in painting or sculpture. Applicants will be required to submit a group of slides of their work. GMAT or GRE scores are not required. (For more information applicants should contact the fine arts department.)

Faculty

Medieval art and architecture.

Modern and contemporary European and American art. History of photography. Film history. Women's art history.

American art and architecture.

Sculpture.

Printmaking.

Painting.

Sculpture.

Painting.

Renaissance art.

Painting and Printmaking.

Sculpture.

Late 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-century European and American art, from the French Revolution to World War II.

History of Renaissance art.

Drawing and painting.

Asian art.

Painting.

Requirements for Concentration

Concentration may be elected in either applied arts (studio) or art history. A minimum of 12 semester courses is required of all students to fulfill the departmental concentration.

Studio concentrators are required to take:

A. Any two of the following courses: FA 1a, 1b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b; FA 103a, FA 103b, FA 106a in any combination.

B. FA 110d (Senior Studio).

C. Four additional semesters of studio electives.

D. Four semesters of art history, from among the FA and cross-listed courses, consisting of one course in ancient or medieval art, one course in Asian art, and two courses in Renaissance to Modern art. Studio concentrators may take either FA 76a or FILM 100a for an elective, but not both.

Art history curriculum general requirements: 10 required courses from among the FA and cross-listed course offerings, plus two electives.

A. FA 17a or one course each in ancient and medieval. Students who take FA 17a must take one additional elective from the FA and cross-listed courses to fulfill 10 required courses.

B. FA 18b plus two electives in Renaissance through Modern or three courses selected from the following four fields: Renaissance, Baroque, Modern, Architecture/American.

C. One course in Asian art.

D. FA 197b (Seminar in Methods and Approaches in the History of Art).

E. One research seminar or readings course.

F. Two semesters of studio work.

G. The remaining elective courses may be selected from department and cross-listed offerings, or with permission of the faculty advisor, may be taken in related areas outside of the department. Prospective graduate students in the history of art are advised to acquire skills in foreign languages, which are necessary for graduate study.

Studio

The studio faculty has developed the studio courses listed in the catalog in the belief that the artist-teacher stands at the center of the syllabus of the studio courses. Their presentation is structured through interaction with the individual student. In the best interest of the students' development it is advised that they utilize all the studio faculty, so as to enrich their educational experience through the diverse offerings of the department. In the event that a student wishes to enter a full-year course at mid-year and feels that work previously accomplished evidences a competency that is equivalent or superior to that course, the student may request that his or her work be viewed by the instructor. Enrollment prerequisite is the consent of the instructor.

Requirements for Minor in the History of Art

Six courses are required in art history:

A. One pre-Renaissance or Asian art course.

B. Five additional art history courses.

Studio fine arts courses do not count toward the history of art minor; no more than two courses taken abroad (or off campus) and no advanced placement courses may be counted toward the minor.

Requirements for the Post-Baccalaureate Program in Studio Art

A. Students enroll in two courses each semester:

1. An independent study or tutorial with a faculty advisor. The advisor and student meet each week in the student's studio for a critique of his or her work.

2. A studio class from the fine arts curriculum deemed appropriate to the student's needs and interests.

B. Students receive a full studio faculty review of their work mid-year and at the end of the academic year. The Post-Baccalaureate Program culminates in a special student exhibition in a gallery on campus.

C. There is a one-year residency requirement that may be extended to an additional year with permission of the program chair.

Courses of Instruction

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

All studio courses are semester classes with the exception of 107d, 108d, 110d, 111d, and 112d, which are full-year classes.

[ ca ]

Color: An exploration of color as subject and content in art. This is a beginning-level practical studio course. Usually offered every year.

Staff

[ ca ]

The theoretical and visual study of pictorial form in non-representational drawing. This is a beginning-level practical studio course. Usually offered every year.

Ms. Fair

[ ca ]

Introduces students to theories of visual art through the practice of drawing. Translation of perceptual experience into pictorial language is fundamental to this course. Students may draw from still-life situations, from landscape and architectural spaces, and from the human figure. Offered every year in multiple sections.

Ms. Lichtman, Ms. Nuss, Ms. Zanow, and Staff

[ ca ]

See FA 3a for course description. Offered every year in multiple sections.

Ms. Lichtman, Ms. Nuss, Ms. Zanow, and Staff

[ ca ]

Exploration of three-dimensional aspects of form, space, and composition utilizing a variety of materials and sculptural techniques. Emphasizes students’ inventing images through the use of modern materials and contemporary ideas about sculpture. Assignments are based on abstract thought and problem-solving. The intent of this course is to give students a rich studio experience and promote a fresh and meaningful approach to visual concepts. Usually offered every semester.

Messrs. Bills and Scholz and Staff

[ ca ]

See FA 4a for course description. Usually offered every semester.

Messrs. Bills and Scholz and Staff

Usually offered every year.

Staff

See FA 98a for special notes and course description. Usually offered every year.

Staff

Usually offered every year.

Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

[ ca ]

Investigation of drawing issues. Basic training in various media and methods of visual articulation. Course may be repeated for one semester. Usually offered every year.

Ms. Fair

[ ca ]

See FA 103a for course description. A continuation of FA 103a. Usually offered every year.

Ms. Fair

[ ca ]

Offers a wide range of experience in drawing. Perceptual and conceptual issues will be pursued, and students will be encouraged to concentrate on the more complex personal and creative aspects of drawing. Course may be repeated for one semester. Usually offered every year.

Mr. Campbell

[ ca ]

See 104a for course description. A continuation of FA 104a. Usually offered every year. Course may be repeated for one semester.

Mr. Campbell

[ ca ]

Exploration of various methods of intaglio printmaking. Usually offered every semester.

Ms. Nuss

[ ca ]

Introduction to the basic language of painting and a thorough investigation of painting materials and methods. Usually offered every year.

Ms. Lichtman

[ ca ]

An intermediate-level painting course, emphasizing the plastic and formal means necessary to creating work that will become an increasingly personal statement. Usually offered every year.

Ms. Zanow

[ ca ]

Heuristic in nature, this is a year-long course culminating in a final studio faculty review of the work produced. Review will take the form of an exhibition. Student work can be undertaken in sculpture or painting or a combination of both. Usually offered every year.

Messrs. Bills and Campbell

[ ca ]

A continuation of various ways of thinking about building sculpture through the use of materials. Assigned readings and museum visits required. Usually offered every year.

Ms. Fair

[ ca ]

Exploration of diverse sculptural concepts utilizing various materials and techniques. Emphasis on personal motivation and development. Usually offered every year.

Mr. Scholz

[ ca ]

Intensive studio course dedicated to developing a student's visual ideas as expressed in painting, supported by printmaking, and drawing. Daily instruction with full-time faculty and visiting artists, participation in individual and group critiques, workshops, lectures, and gallery and museum visits. Usually offered every summer.

Staff

[ ca ]

Intensive studio course dedicated to developing a student's visual ideas as expressed in sculpture, supported by printmaking and drawing. Daily instruction with full-time faculty and visiting artists, participation in individual and group critiques, workshops, lectures, and gallery and museum visits. Usually offered every summer.

Staff

(1-99) Primarily for Undergraduate Students

[ nw ca ]

A selective survey of the art of the three major Asian areas: India, China, and Japan. Usually offered every year.

Ms. Wong

[ nw ca ]

The history of Buddhist art in India, China, and Japan, including Zen art. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1997.

Ms. Wong

[ nw ca ]

Examines a broad array of arts from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The first half of the course focuses on activities in and around the Chinese court. The second half concentrates on monuments related to literati and popular cultures. Usually offered every three years. Last offered in the spring of 2001.

Ms. Wong

[ ca ]

A survey of major styles in architecture, sculpture, and painting from prehistoric times to the Gothic cathedral. Usually offered every year.

Mr. McClendon

[ ca ]

A study of the major styles in architecture, painting, and sculpture of the West from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. Usually offered every year.

Staff

[ ca ]

Integrates the study of works of art with the literature of artists' lives, which serves as the foundation to understanding the genesis of human creativity. Diverse historical periods and varying levels of fame will be reflected in the choice of artists to be studied. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Scott

[ ca ]

Analyzes the visual culture in which we live, examining the tangible products of our mass culture and the media of advertising, television, and cyberspace. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the spring of 2001.

Ms. Allara

[ ca ]

A historical survey of Western architecture from prehistoric times to the present. Traces the various stages of architectural development in Europe and America in a chronological format. Usually offered every year.

Mr. Bernstein

[ ca ]

A survey of the history of Boston architecture and urban planning from the first settlement in 1630 to the contemporary city. The presentation will be chronological and divided into four sections: Colonial, Federal, Victorian, and Modern. Usually offered every second year.

Mr. Bernstein

[ nw ca ]

This course is a selective survey of the outstanding figures and movements that have made significant contributions to the history of Latin American art. Special focus will be on Mexican, Puerto Rican, Argentinean, Guatemalan, and Cuban artists. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 2001.

Staff

[ ca ]

The origins and development of the synagogue, church, and mosque and related arts in the first millennium C.E. Emphasis on the debate among these three great religions about the proper form and function of art and architecture. Usually offered every second year. Will be offered in the spring of 2002.

Mr. McClendon

[ ca ]

Architecture, sculpture, and painting in Eastern and Western Europe from the decline of the Roman Empire to the Crusades. Usually offered every second year.

Mr. McClendon

[ ca ]

Architecture, sculpture, and painting (including stained glass) in Western Europe from the 12th to the 15th century with particular attention to the great churches of medieval France. Usually offered every second year.

Mr. McClendon

[ ca ]

A survey of art and architecture from the end of the Roman Empire to the Renaissance. Particular concern for the synthesis of native and foreign cultures and their artistic styles, resulting from the barbarian invasions, the Norman conquest, and political rivalry with France. Usually offered every second year.

Mr. McClendon

[ ca ]

The history, growth, and development of Christendom's most famous shrine, with particular concern for the relationship between the design and decoration of the Renaissance/Baroque church and palace complex and their early Christian and medieval predecessors. Usually offered every year.

Mr. McClendon

[ ca ]

Major painters, sculptors, and architects in Rome, Florence, and Venice from Masaccio to Leonardo da Vinci. Usually offered every second year.

Staff

[ ca ]

A survey of the art of the Netherlands, Germany, and France in the 15th and 16th centuries. Cultural developments such as the invention of printing, the Protestant Reformation, and the practice of alchemy and witchcraft will be considered through the work of major artists. Usually offered every fourth year. Last offered in the spring of 1999.

Staff

[ ca ]

A study of 16th-century painting, sculpture, and architecture from Leonardo da Vinci to Tintoretto. Usually offered every year.

Staff

[ ca ]

A study of the art of Italy and Spain in the 17th century. Major masters (Bernini, Caravaggio, Velasquez) will be studied in depth, and Rome will be viewed as the great artistic center of the 17th century. Usually offered every second year.

Staff

[ ca ]

The role of women in the history of art, as creators of art, and as the subject of it. Issues of gender and representation will be discussed, using the lives and art of women from the Renaissance to contemporary art. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Allara

[ ca ]

A chronological survey of painting and sculpture from the French Revolution to World War II. Emphasis on the rise of modernism with Manet and the Impressionists, Picasso and the language of Cubism, and the Abstract Expressionist generation in America. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Scott

[ ca ]

A thematic study of the modernism in 20th-century painting and sculpture, emphasizing three trends: primitivism, spiritualism, and the redefinition of reality. Individual artists and art movements will be examined in the context of literature, politics, and aesthetic theory. Artists include Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky, and Duchamp. Usually offered every second year.

Staff

[ ca ]

Examines the relationship between high, or elite, culture and popular culture in the 20th century. How have major modernist movements such as Impressionism, Cubism, and Pop Art been influenced by mass culture? What happens to traditional definitions of art in the age of mass communication? Topics include caricature, comics, advertising, and "the image world" of film and television. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Allara

[ ca ]

The history of photography from its invention in 1839 to the present, with an emphasis on developments in America. Photography is studied as a documentary and as an artistic medium. Topics include Alfred Stieglitz and the photo-secession, Depression-era documentary, Robert Frank and street photography, and post-modern photography. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Allara

The following seminars are offered by the curators of the Museum of Fine Arts to a few selected graduate and undergraduate students of Boston University, Brandeis University, Boston College, Tufts University, and Wellesley College.

[ ca ]

The technical examination and preservation of works of art will be explored through lectures, demonstrations, and readings that are primarily organized by material or class of artifact (such as stone, metal, ceramics and glass, textiles, works of art on paper, paintings, wood, furniture, modern materials including plastics). Focuses on the work of art as the source of information about the materials and techniques of artists and craftsmen, how these materials interact with their environment, and what measures may be taken to preserve them. Examination techniques and analytical equipment currently used for research are discussed throughout the course. Will be offered in the spring of 2002.

Mr. Newman and Staff

[ ca ]

The Museum of Fine Arts has the country's leading collection of Boston furniture ranging in date from the 17th century to the present. The course examines the history of these objects and their makers and users, beginning with the products of the Mason-Messinger shops of about 1650, and continuing chronologically through the early baroque, late baroque, rococo, neoclassical, empire, Victorian, and arts and crafts styles. Emphasis will be placed on examining objects in the Museum's collection to determine regional characteristics and preferences, with a focus on masterpieces by such makers as Ebenezer, Hartshorne, George Bright, John Cosgwell, John and Thomas Seymour, Emmons and Archibald, George Croome, Augustus Eliaers, and John Kirchmayer. Research in primary sources such as wills and inventories, account books, city directories, and newspapers will be required. Will be offered in the fall of 2001.

Mr. Ward and Ms. Weems

See FA 98a listing under studio section for special notes and course description. Usually offered every year.

Staff

See FA 98a listing under studio section for special notes and course description. Usually offered every year.

Staff

See FA 99d listing under studio section for special notes and course description. Usually offered every year.

Staff

(100-199) For Both Undergraduate and Graduate Students

[ ca ]

The tradition of independent film and video art in the United States from 1920 to the present. Artists include Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Bill Viola, and Yvonne Rainer. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Allara

[ ca ]

Survey of 19th- and 20th-century architecture. Usually offered every second year.

Mr. Bernstein

[ ca ]

A study of stylistic and technological developments in post-World War II architecture. Usually offered every second year.

Mr. Bernstein

[ ca ]

A survey of American painting from the colonial period to the present. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1999.

Mr. Bernstein

[ ca ]

A chronological survey of American art from 1900 to 1990. Movements studied include social realism, abstract expressionism, and pop art. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Allara

[ ca ]

Examines the contribution of women artists to avant-garde art from 1960 to the present. The reciprocal influences between artists in the so-called First and Third Worlds will be examined. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Allara

[ ca ]

A survey of movements in painting and sculpture from the French Revolution through the periods of Romanticism, Realism, and Impressionism. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Scott

[ ca ]

Focuses on the major artists from the period 1863-86, from the time of Manet and the Salon des Refusés, through the eight group exhibitions of Monet, Renoir, Degas, Cézanne, Pissarro, Morisot, and Cassatt and company. The antithesis of Impressionism, its academic rivals, the backdrop of the sociopolitical context, the Second Empire, and the Third Republic, will be provided, as well as the roots of the movement's dissolution. Offered every third year.

Ms. Scott

[ ca ]

Developments in painting and sculpture since World War II, with emphasis on American art. Consideration of major trends of the period, including Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Color Field Painting, and Realism. Usually offered every second year.

Staff

[ ca ]

Nineteenth- and 20th-century sculpture, its processes, methods, materials, and problems, from Rodin to recent trends. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1996.

Ms. Scott

[ ca ]

The focus of this lecture course will be the art of Georgia O'Keeffe, her stylistic evolution, sources, and collaboration with contemporaries, especially Stieglitz, Strand, Dove, Demuth, Marin, and Hartley. Their collective aesthetic aspirations will be set against early 20th-century Modernism and important recent trends from Europe. Usually offered every second year. Last offered in the spring of 1998.

Ms. Scott

[ ca ]

The major contributions of all periods of Picasso's career, from Blue and Rose to the innovative language of Cubism and Surrealism, are studied in conjunction with the work of contemporaries Juan Gris, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, and the poets Apollinaire and Breton who inspired, challenged, and competed with this most prolific artist of our century. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Scott

[ ca ]

The course curriculum will cover Post-Impressionist artists, Seurat, Cézanne, Van Gogh, and Gauguin and more broadly, Symbolist trends, Expressionism and art nouveau at the end of the 19th century. These trends will be followed through chronologically to the early 20th century in the art of Matisse and the Fauves, and in German Expressionism. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Scott

[ ca ]

The Modernist roots of Postmodernism in the visual arts and art criticism. The art and writings of Dada and Surrealist artists such as Duchamp and Magritte, the criticism of Barthes, Foucault, and Derrida, and postmodern American artists such as Warhol, Sherman, and Koons are linked. Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the fall of 1999.

Ms. Allara

[ nw ca]

A survey of Japanese traditional arts, including Buddhist art, screen and scroll paintings, and Japanese prints. One aim of this course is to define Japanese taste in the arts. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Wong

[ nw ca ]

A survey of Chinese art from antiquity to the Ch'ing dynasty. Usually offered every second year.

Ms. Wong

[ nw ca ]

Usually offered every third year.

Ms. Wong

[ ca ]

Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1995.

Staff

[ ca ]

An undergraduate seminar, open to concentrators and minors, that will analyze artists, stylistic movements, and the cultural and social background of various artistic periods from the 19th and 20th centuries. Topics may vary from year to year and the course may be repeated for credit. Topic for 2001-02: Saturday Disaster: The Crisis in modern Art during the 1960s. The "crisis" In modern art signaled by Saturday Disaster, Andy Warhol's painting in the Rose Art Museum, is the break-up within mid-century modernism and the transition from a post-war society to a post-modern culture. Explores the manifestations and fault lines of this crisis in the art of the 1960s, using the collection at the Rose as a primary source. Students study works of art firsthand and read from selected texts written during this time. Students will pursue independent research for seminar reports and be encouraged to work not only with paintings and sculptures but in such interdisciplinary areas as architecture, film, literature, and performance and theater. Qualified nonconcentrators admitted with the permission of the instructor. Usually offered every year.

Mr. Printz

[ ca ]

Usually offered every second year.

Mr. Bernstein

[ ca ]

Usually offered every year.

Mr. McClendon (fall)

[ ca ]

Usually offered every third year. Last offered in the spring of 1996.

Staff

(200 and above) Primarily for Graduate Students

Messrs. Bills and Campbell and Ms. Lichtman

Cross-Listed Courses

The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Greece

The Art and Archaeology of Ancient Rome

Topics in Greek and Roman Art and Archaeology

Introduction to the Moving Image