• Using both primary and secondary sources, the seminar will examine Baroque art in relation to contemporary art theory in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Prerequisite: ARTH116

  Art & Theory in Baroque Europe (ARTH 344) is a LEVEL 3 (300-level) seminar. It focuses primarily on issues of meaning and purpose.

  LEVEL THREE courses and seminars build upon knowledge and skills acquired in LEVEL TWO introductory survey courses and assume a certain level of competence in matters concerning basic identification information, visual analysis, and style.
  LEVEL THREE courses and seminars address questions of iconography (the study of subject matter and its conventional meaning), iconology (the study of subject matter and its contextual meaning), and symbolism. The aim is to develop an understanding of an artwork’s meaning and purpose in its original cultural context.

Required Reading

• John Rupert Martin, Baroque (New York: Harper & Row, 1977). This book is no longer in print and not available in the Sweet Briar Book Shop. Purchase your own copy, new or used, through Amazon

  

• Online Readings linked in the SCHEDULE

• THREE Seminar Reports on topics indicated in the SCHEDULE. Each report will take the form of a 8- to 10-page paper, with footnotes and bibliography, to be presented in class with web-based images and handed in.

• Each Seminar Report = 30%
• Participation = 10%

Office and Hours

• Pannell 04: Thursdays 2:15-3:00. Others times by appointment
• phone: 6194
• email: witcombe@sbc.edu