Description
This course examines the various roles women have played in the history of art – as artists, patrons, teachers, subjects and activists. Students in this course will investigate (chronologically and thematically) prominent women in history who have had significant impact on the arts from the Middle Ages to the present. In addition to women as active participants in the art world, we will also study the ways in which women have been depicted in art (religious, mythological, and secular images of women) – beginning with the prehistoric and Egyptian periods and continuing to the present day. Lastly, we will investigate activism of contemporary women artists working today. Artists will be studied in slide and video format in class, through the reading of primary sources, and in site visit opportunities to local museums.