Course Description
Considering the art and architecture of Russia from the eleventh through the twentieth century; four major themes will be: Christianization of Kievan Rus'; Moscow as the Third Rome; the westernization of the Russian Empire; the reinvention of the Russian past during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century.
Athena Title
Russian Art
Prerequisite
ARHI 2000 or ARHI 2000E or ARHI 2000H or ARHI 2300 or ARHI 2300E or ARHI 2311H or ARHI 2400 or ARHI 2400E or ARHI 2411H
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will be expected to learn to analyze works of art and architecture of Russia and to interpret their meaning by taking into account the original cultural context in which these monuments were created.
Topical Outline
Week 1. Introduction: Russia and the Russians. Basic Concepts and Terms in History of Art and Architecture Week 2. Slavic Language Culture Between Byzantium, Asia and the West. Week 3. Kiev, Novgorod, Suzdal', Vladimir, and Pskov: Architecture, Monumental Painting, and objet d'art. Week 4. Icon Painting. The Mother of God of Vladimir. Week 5. The Rise of Muscovy. Week 6. Holy Moscow: The Orthodox Empire of the Third Rome. Week 7. Holy Moscow: The Orthodox Empire of the Third Rome. Week 8. The Petrine Revolution in Russian Imagery. The Foundation of the City of St. Petersburg. Week 9. The Age of Opulence: Art and Architecture in the Reign of Empress Elizabeth I. Week 10. The Enlightened Empire of the "Northern Minerva": The Patronage of Empress Catherine the Great. Week 11. The Enlightened Empire of the "Northern Minerva": The Patronage of Empress Catherine the Great. Week 12. Russia's Romantic Age. Week 13. The Rize of Realism. Week 14. The Birth of the Avant-Garde. Week 15. The World of Art (Mir Iskusstva). Diagilev and the Art of Ballets Russes. Week 16. The Total Art of Stalin.
Syllabus