Understanding Western Art: Stories, Styles, and Masterworks

Begin the course by exploring the criteria we use to define art. Look at what art does and chart the Renaissance "invention" of the artist as a singular creative genius. Consider two key works: Marcel Duchamp's controversial Fountain (a urinal displayed as an artwork), and the Venus figurines (Neolithic sculptures), as they highlight fundamental questions about the nature of art.

Starting in the ancient world, trace how the human form was perfected over the centuries. In examples of Cycladic, Sardinian, and Greek sculpture, follow the increasing sophistication of the portrayal of both the body itself and states of emotion. Study the famous Laocoön Group, an icon of emotionally expressive sculpture, and Michelangelo's David, one of Western art's towering masterworks.

Examine the visual aesthetics of the Greeks and Romans, as they applied mathematical principles to art and architecture to create balance and symmetry. See these principles in action in the Parthenon temple of ancient Athens, and the neoclassical Oath of the Horatii by 18th-century painter Jacques-Louis David. Observe how classical aesthetics have influenced Western art for millennia.

Discover how the use of symbols in Christian painting and architecture began a new chapter in the language of Western art that has shaped it ever since. Look at key Christian symbols, such as the halo, and animal imagery, as they communicate ideas through recognizable motifs. See symbols displayed in the stunning mosaics of the churches of Ravenna and in the stained glass of Chartres cathedral.

Learn how the search for color has shaped Western art. Beginning with prehistoric art, witness the challenges artists faced in recreating the colors seen in nature, and trace the history of mineral and plant pigments, leading finally to synthetic colors. See the dazzling use of color in the Très Riches Heures, a sublime 15th-century book of hours, and in Kandinsky's masterwork, Yellow-Red-Blue.

Textile production played a significant role in the early history of Western art. Travel into the fascinating story and politics of embroidery and tapestry making in the Middle Ages, arts that were largely the domain of women. See this legacy embodied in the medieval Bayeux Tapestry, illustrating the Battle of Hastings, and The Dinner Party, a contemporary textile masterpiece by Judy Chicago.

Here, survey the major shifts in artistic techniques, freedoms, and humanist thinking that came with the Renaissance. Visit the glorious Scrovegni Chapel, designed by Giotto, whose innovative frescoes changed hundreds of years of artistic tradition. Explore the revolutionary development of oil painting, and its breathtaking use by Rogier Van der Weyden, in his Descent from the Cross.

Delve into the use of perspective and illusionistic techniques in art, and how we perceive the three-dimensional world in two dimensions. Encounter landmark deceptions in art, that give the illusion of depth and distance or fool our eyes into seeing things which are impossible. See the brilliant use of these methods in Holbein's The Ambassadors and the groundbreaking still lifes of Cézanne.

Investigate storytelling and narrative as a major feature of Western art through the centuries. Unpack the means artists use to convey information, concepts, and events without the use of words, in the long tradition of art drawing on history, myth, and Biblical narratives. View powerful storytelling in Polish painter Matejko's iconic Retjan, and in two stunning versions of the Annunciation.

Take a long look at competition in art, as it fueled innovation and change. Uncover fascinating stories of artistic rivalry, such as the dramatic enmity between Caravaggio and Baglione. See how Sofonisba Anguissola ingeniously comments on competition in her masterful Game of Chess (1555), and how Titian led Venice in its artistic duel with Florence in his magnificent Bacchus and Ariadne.

Enter the rich and diverse world of portraiture and trace its evolution from ancient times. Study the effects and meanings of profile, three-quarters, and frontal portraits, and the vital roles of clothing, setting, framing, and accuracy of depiction. View Jan van Eyck's Arnolfini Portrait, laden with symbolism, and Andrew Wyeth's uniquely expressive portrait from the back, Christina's World.

The use of light is one of the core themes of Western art. Explore the portrayal of light in painting, from the pre-Renaissance artists who bathed their scenes in light to the spectrum of later approaches using light in realistic ways, contrasting light and shadow. Compare the dramatic difference in the effects of light in Monet's Woman with a Parasol and Goya's Man Mocked by Two Women.

Take note of paintings which contain intriguing puzzles or mysteries for viewers, sometimes quite intentionally. Examine the enigmatic imagery of Christus's Our Lady of the Dry Tree and decode the identity of the figure in Carpaccio's Young Knight in a Landscape. In Caravaggio's remarkable Saint Matthew Cycle, observe how the artist ingeniously confounds the viewer's expectations.

Grasp the ways in which techniques of mass production revolutionized Western art, from prints and engraving to etching and lithography. Note how some of history's most celebrated artists, such as Rembrandt and Toulouse-Lautrec, found valuable outlets in mass producing their work. Experience the rich imagery of Dürer's print Melancolia I and unpack Andy Warhol's iconic Campbell's Soup Cans.

"Genre" painting depicts real people involved in daily activities. Witness its flowering in the late Renaissance, and study the sprawling, dazzlingly detailed scene in Pieter Brueghel the Elder's Children's Games from 1560. Encounter the Realist movement brought by the Industrial Revolution, in the example of Ilya Repin's Religious Procession, capturing the social reality of 19th century Russia.

The tension between romantic love and sexual desire runs through the history of Western art. Explore two distinct traditions: the Medieval-inspired portrayal of idealized, "courtly love," and the depiction of the sensual and erotic aspects of human nature. Contemplate Bernini's renowned sculptures depicting religious ecstasy, and the ambiguous romantic/erotic imagery of Gustave Klimt's The Kiss.

Explore the portrayal of death, loss, and grief in art, from ancient death masks, and the depiction of death in Christian art, to its many expressions in the modern era. View the powerful imagery of Hieronymus Bosch's The Seven Sins and the Four Last Rites, as it serves as a warning to Christians. See the universality of grief and sorrow in Kathe Kollwitz's affecting Woman with Dead Child (1903).

Reckon with the transactional side of art, in the world of art markets, patrons, and collectors. Trace the history of art patronage, from the church and royalty to later private patrons, auctions, museums, and art as commerce, as reflected in David Teniers' imposing The Archduke and His Collection (1651). Consider Van Gogh's Irises vis-a-vis the artist's posthumous rise to global superstardom.

Assess the challenges to the artist in portraying water and track the tradition of the waterscape over the centuries. Focus on J.M.W. Turner's poignant The Slave Ship, as he masterfully evokes the sea swelling and surging. Then, turn to the medium of watercolor, including its techniques and its history in art. See the dramatic use of watercolor in William Blake's Great Red Dragons series.

In a second look at portraiture, investigate the ways in which artists have used self-portraits to accomplish many things, from showing their skill and promoting themselves to deep self-reflection. In Las Meninas (1656), see Velázquez's ingenious melding of a self-portrait with a royal portrait. In the 20th century, experience the raw intimacy and vulnerability of Frida Kahlo's The Two Fridas.

In tracing the birth of photography, grasp how the new medium changed how people saw the world, and opened new pathways for visual artists. Learn how artists used cameras to envision their works, and how photography came of age as an art form. Study the celebrated work of Margaret Cameron, one of the earliest fine-art photographers, and the visionary contemporary photography of Andreas Gursky.

Two forces radically changed Western art in the early 20th century. Assess the complex factors that gave rise to the birth of modernism, and the artists and artistic movements that trailblazed modern art. Grasp why Picasso's Les Desmoiselles d'Avignon was a cornerstone of modernism, and track the artistic currents that produced abstract art, seen in Janet Sobel's groundbreaking Milky Way.

Examine Western art's diverse portrayal of animals, beginning with their use in religious symbolism and in Medieval bestiaries depicting both real and fictitious creatures. Then see their use in early scientific illustration, highlighting Audubon's superlative Birds of America, and trace the horse in art, culminating with the pivotal The Horse in Motion by pioneer photographer Eadweard Muybridge.

How do we preserve masterworks? Look into the ways in which artworks inevitably degrade, and the techniques conservators use to restore them, and follow the centuries-long efforts to restore Leonardo's The Last Supper. Then investigate the intriguing subject of authenticating art, and the roles of provenance, connoisseurship, forensics, and AI, noting the case of Rembrandt's The Polish Rider.