History of Art I

Catalog description

This course is the first half of a yearlong survey of the history of art, with specific emphasis on the examination of the representation of ideas in terms of the science of interpretation (hermeneutics) and the language of signs (semiotics). This examination is specifically geared to those for whom the study of the history of art is a prelude to a life of design. The course also covers the history of the development of style, from early cave paintings to the beginnings of the Renaissance. Students develop a visual vocabulary and an acute awareness of style as a function of historical conditions; they also learn to decode images in a way that enables them to be more sophisticated designers of visual communication material.