Academic Overview and Policies

Attendance at all lectures and site visits is mandatory.

Grades No AIFS participant is permitted to take a course without receiving a grade. Pass/Fail grade options are not available.

Transcripts One official copy will be sent to the student’s home institution on completion of the program.

Course Description

AVC 4400 (3)
European Art and Architecture

The course, through lectures and site visits, concentrates on the major contributions of Western Europe to world art and architecture. In terms of architecture, visits to sites of Roman antiquity frame a discussion of classical beginnings, which then moves onto the important and unique contributions of England, France and Italy (Florence and Rome in particular). In terms of painting, although there is some discussion of Classical and Medieval precedents, the focus is on the Italian Early Renaissance in Florence, Venice and Rome, especially the High Renaissance and Baroque periods. The course also considers Dutch and English Art with emphasis on the master works of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. The course analyzes major European movements, including Romanticism, Post-Impressionism, Surrealism, Modernism and Post-Modernism, placing these artistic developments in the wider cultural, social and intellectual context of the periods and places in which they took place. The course includes numerous museum and site visits and all fees are included.

The course introduces Europe’s contribution to world culture and civilization and demonstrates the meaning and significance of art and architecture as a prime source of influence on western civilization. Students are responsible for reading and analyzing assigned material after the related topics have been explained. To meet requirements for 3 semester credits, students must submit a blog/journal together with in-course quizzes and a gallery review. The program instructor is a European specialist in art and architectural history approved by Richmond University.