All upcoming Art & Architecture programs

Utagawa Kuniyoshi is one of the most creative print designers of the Edo period in Japan. He is known for his imaginative responses—including bizarre monstrous figures—to the censorship restrictions imposed by the military government. Kit Brooks, curator of Asian art at the Princeton University Art Museum, explores Kuniyoshi’s works and why they are so striking. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Can art history be an adrenaline sport? The answer is yes when art-history professor Noah Charney guides a rapid-fire survey of sculpture. He focuses on key technical and aesthetic developments and new ways of thinking about what three-dimensional art can be. He begins with prehistoric sculpture, speeds through the centuries, and crosses the finish line with modern and contemporary works, including digital sculpture. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

A two-day tour of the Bronx, the northernmost borough of New York City is led by arts journalist Richard Selden. Sites visited include the urban oasis of Wave Hill, 28 acres of gardens overlooking the Hudson River and the Palisades; the New York Botanical Garden, featuring the “Van Gogh: Painting with Flowers” exhibition; the 84-year-old Arthur Avenue Retail Market in the center of the Bronx’s Little Italy; and the Edgar Allan Poe Cottage, the early 19th-century farmhouse where the writer spent the last years of his life.

Attracted by the light and the beauty of the Mediterranean coast, artists including Renoir, Chagall, Matisse, Dufy, Bonnard, and Picasso settled in the French Riviera. Art historian Joseph Cassar discusses the importance of the South of France as an inspirational location for artists and surveys the major museums highlighting their works in the fabled region. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

Artists in Britain have delved into all major genres of painting, including historical subjects, landscapes, still life, and portraiture. Art historian Bonita Billman examines the major artists and movements in British painting, the social and cultural context in which their works were created, and the pivotal roles these painters have played from the Tudor period to the present. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

The island nation of Sri Lanka historically was vital for connecting the eastern and western networks of Indian Ocean trade. As a result, foreign ideas mixed with indigenous cultures to create vibrant traditions of art and architecture. Art historian Robert DeCaroli explores some of Sri Lanka’s most remarkable works of art, placing royal palaces, expansive Buddhist monasteries, and grand temples in their historical context and examining the paintings and sculptures that adorned these spaces. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Across the centuries, there are major themes in the history of art that continue to appear and reappear. Portrayals of love, the still-life form, and the use of perspective and light and shade are a few notable examples that artists have interpreted in styles ranging from the naturalistic to surreal. Art historian Joseph Cassar examines important masterworks within selected genres and offers a new way to understand and appreciate the similarities—and the uniqueness—among artists and the cultural norms that influenced their choices. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

For millennia, astonishingly diverse forms of body art have been produced by cultures throughout the world. Some employed tattoos for therapeutic or cosmetic purposes, to mark special life achievements, or to assert social identity. Others marked the body with symbols intended to promote fertility, protect themselves from malevolent spirits, or carry them safely into the afterlife. Lars Krutak, an anthropologist and host of the Discovery Channel’s “Tattoo Hunter,” shares his life’s journey to understand how tattoos “make” the people who wear them.

From her early painted works on paper to more recent, large-scale installations and wildly popular Infinity Rooms, the career of Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama has been defined by bold experimentation and artistic vision. Art historian Jennie Hirsh explores the evolution of Kusama’s work, examining her signature motifs—flowers, polka dots, and mirrors—through the lenses of Pop Art, feminism, conceptualism, and personal introspection. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Scottish architect, designer, and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a major figure in the Glasgow Style, Scotland’s version of Art Nouveau and Symbolism. Mackintosh believed architects were responsible for every detail of the design of their buildings, and his interiors reflect this approach. Cultural historian Robyne Calvert introduces Mackintosh’s work, with a focus on the influential collaborative interiors he created alongside his wife, Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)