This course will survey the arts of Egypt, the Near East, the Classical Greek and Roman worlds, and Medieval Europe, from about 3500 BC to about 1400 AD. We will consider the great variety and richness of the arts of these different cultures, and some of the general problems of how art historians understand and write about art. We will discuss problems of the social context of art: its historical circumstances, context, patronage, the influence of the individual artist, and the role of those who have been the viewers of art. We will consider what constitutes understanding and explanation in art history, and some of the different ways we can approach a work of art and grasp its various meanings.

We will spend about half the course on the ancient world, Greece and Rome, and half on late antiquity and the medieval period; and will look at works of sculpture, architecture, wall and vase painting, mosaic, manuscript illumination, and other media, and try to consider all these works in their physical, historical and social contexts.