All upcoming World Art History Certificate: Electives programs

Lecturer Paul Glenshaw looks at great works of art in their historical context by delving into the time of the artist, exploring the present they inhabited, and what shaped their vision and creations. Together with Revolutionary War scholar Iris de Rode he examines The Surrender of Lord Cornwallis by John Trumbull, covering the story of the British surrender at Yorktown in 1781 and the fascinating process of the creation of the epic work by Trumbull. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Monet. The name alone conjures up vivid images: water lilies in Giverny, haystacks in the French countryside, trains pulling into Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris, the façade of the Rouen cathedral. A pioneer of the Impressionist movement, Claude Monet created paintings capturing nature’s fleeting moments—and rendered the scenes unforgettable. Art historian Joseph P. Cassar leads an in-depth look at one of the most influential and best-loved Impressionist painters. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

A picture is not only worth a thousand words: It can sometimes inspire a whole invented world. Art historian Heidi Applegate explores the art, artists, and factual backgrounds behind three works of historical fiction­—Rules of Civility by Amor Towles; The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt; and The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz. It’s a “novel” way to explore the arts. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

The term “Art Deco” did not exist until the 1960s. Prior to that, the geometric, bold, machine-focused style now collectively packaged within that genre was known by many names, representing a variety of regional versions of Modernism. Drawing from the recent exhibition “Art Deco: Commercializing the Avant-Garde,” Angelina Lippert, chief curator at Poster House in New York City, offers a lively chronicle of the rise and fall of what would come to be known as Art Deco. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Travel to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond with historian Justin M. Jacobs for an awe-inspiring look at Japan’s exquisitely crafted samurai armor from one of the largest collections in the world. More than 140 works from the collection of Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller offer a glimpse of samurai history with a focus on the flourishing culture of the Edo period. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

As the threat of World War I loomed over them in the opening decades of the 20th century, German artists turned to raw and uncompromising art that reflected their interpretations of a tumultuous world. David Gariff of the National Gallery of Art explores the vital role that German and Austrian Expressionism played in a period of volatile contradictions—providing a fertile ground for the emergence of the new visual language of artists including Max Beckmann, Gustav Klimt, Wassily Kandinsky, and Egon Schiele. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Monet. The name alone conjures up vivid images: water lilies in Giverny, haystacks in the French countryside, trains pulling into Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris, the façade of the Rouen cathedral. A pioneer of the Impressionist movement, Claude Monet created paintings capturing nature’s fleeting moments—and rendered the scenes unforgettable. Art historian Joseph P. Cassar leads an in-depth look at one of the most influential and best-loved Impressionist painters. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

The words Gilded Age capture it all: A golden era of opulent architecture, extravagant fashions, stunning art, and above all, the wealth that made it possible. Art historian Bonita Billman examines the art, architecture, fashion, and interior design of the upper crust during this period between 1870 and 1912 and explores the dramatic distance between their lives and those on the other end of the social and economic scales. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

Monet. The name alone conjures up vivid images: water lilies in Giverny, haystacks in the French countryside, trains pulling into Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris, the façade of the Rouen cathedral. A pioneer of the Impressionist movement, Claude Monet created paintings capturing nature’s fleeting moments—and rendered the scenes unforgettable. Art historian Joseph P. Cassar leads an in-depth look at one of the most influential and best-loved Impressionist painters. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

Monet. The name alone conjures up vivid images: water lilies in Giverny, haystacks in the French countryside, trains pulling into Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris, the façade of the Rouen cathedral. A pioneer of the Impressionist movement, Claude Monet created paintings capturing nature’s fleeting moments—and rendered the scenes unforgettable. Art historian Joseph P. Cassar leads an in-depth look at one of the most influential and best-loved Impressionist painters. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)