The survey of Renaissance to Modern Art has no prerequisites, and for many students it will be the first (and for some, perhaps only) course in Art History that they will have time to take. Since separate surveys of architecture, as well as of the arts of Asia and Africa are covered in other courses in this department, 202 deals almost exclusively with the history of painting, sculpture and the graphic arts in Europe and North America.

We will stress the characteristics that distinguish the arts of one geographic area or political unit from another, and sample the work of those artists who have made the most important advances or changes in artistic standards over time. We will also study the ways in which climate, economy and the discovery of new art materials have affected the development of regional and personal styles of the artists.