Abstract
This paper is a critique of the introduction to Marilyn Stokstad's book "Art History," praising it and detailing what she accomplishes in it. The review notes how Stokstad included making the connection between art and reality, art and the idea of beauty and patrons of the arts, and keepers of museums.

From the Paper
"In her introduction to 'Art History' Marilyn Stokstad provides a panoramic but also fairly in-depth look at art as a genre and what it represents to the viewer. She makes the connection between art and reality, art and the idea of beauty and talks about artists and art history, society, patrons of the arts and the keepers of museums. She ends her introduction with a foray into the subject of how the viewer participates in the work of art, making it individual to that..."

Tags:Marilyn Stokstad, art history, patrons, museums

Abstract
This paper examines the intervention of the remarkable woman artist, Artemisia Gentileschi. The paper shows that it is impossible to separate her unique contribution to art, from her material conditions, including her gender. The paper argues at the same time that her intervention to art history must not be reduced to her gender, or overly sexualized, but appreciated for itself.

From the Paper
"It is suggested that this statement should stand as the conclusion to the above attempt to separate art as art in itself from the gendered, biographical and social reality of Artemisia's life. There can be no doubt that Artemisia made a substantial intervention in art history, not least of all by portraying women as active agents, not merely as objects to be watched. There can also be no doubt that it was remarkable that she managed to do this, given the fact that she was female in a society that did not provide to women the material conditions necessary for art to be produces. Moreover, judging from her oeuvre, there can be no doubt that the rape by Tassi had a profound influence on her work, and may in fact account for her status as a proto-feminist. Nevertheless, in assessing her intervention, we must always resist the temptation to reduce our assessment to nothing but a gender-based analysis. To do so would trivialize her by sexualizing her, and would not do justice to her achievements, and to her intervention in art history."

Tags:material, rape, stereotype

Abstract
This paper compares and contrasts two of the most famous periods in the history of Western art, namely, the Baroque and the Impressionist era. Separated literally by about two hundred years, it explains that the stylistic differences and thematic choices of these two periods speak to a fundamental ideological divide between the artists who worked in the Baroque style and those who considered themselves Impressionists. The author also discusses the overall of the two periods.

From the Paper
"The history of Western art is replete with various styles, techniques, and periods. The examination and study of any one of those periods in art history could take a lifetime. And yet, we can also learn much from a more cursory comparison of multiple periods. For that reason, I have decided to compare and contrast two of the most famous periods in the history of Western art: the Baroque and the Impressionist era. Separated literally by some odd two hundred years, the stylistic differences and thematic choices of these two periods speak to a fundamental ideological divide between the artists who worked in the Baroque style and those who considered themselves Impressionists. To begin with, it would help to have a basic sense of what the overall trends of the Baroque were compared to the Impressionist era. The Baroque period was much earlier and spread outward from Italy from the ..."

Tags:art, baroque, impressionism

Abstract
This is a twelve page paper that goes over numerous topics in art history, from surrealist artists and dreams to abstract expressionism to Clement Greenberg and abstract art in brazil. This paper shows how art is influenced by history and how history is influenced by art.

From the Paper
"Art is a reflection on history and world orders. As a civilization, humans have always used art to reflect the associations and communications of the time and, in turn, art affects the conceptions of the time period to form am important cyclical process that makes art an important part of human consciousness. Through a number of topics, we will seek historical information and perceptions through art, and find out how these reflections contribute to the art world we know today. The notion of "the primitive" in art generally affected cubism as a..."

Tags:art, history, politics

Abstract
This art history study compares and contrasts the realism that is exhibited within the paintings of Caravaggio and Annibale Carracci. By analyzing the Farnese gallery of Carracci, this paper sees the sense of realism that is anatomically in compliance with Caravaggio's painting style. Within the scope of realism, however, Caravaggio is more reliant on shadows and color schematics than Carracci in his compositional technique. This paper further discusses how in this manner, both Carracci and Caravaggio express similarities and differences in their approach to painting technique during the Italian Renaissance.

Tags:art, history, renaissance

Abstract
The paper talks about Jean-Francois Millet's "The Gleaners" and Paul Gauguin's "After the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel)," that both depict peasantry in different ways, both with style and subject matter. Then the paper talks about the gaze, Cassatt versus Degas, realism and the directions of impressionism.

From the Paper
"Jean-Francois Millet's "The Gleaners" and Paul Gauguin's "After the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling with the Angel)," both depict peasantry in different ways, both with style and subject matter. Millet drew much criticism from his peers because many upper class French didn't want to see the truth in the existence of the lower classes. Though they thought it inappropriate and pretentious, Millet, as a Barbizon realist committed to realism in the light of romanticism (the popular style of the time) was actually trying to articulate a sense of social realism within the oeuvre, from the..."

Tags:art, impressionism, midterm

Abstract
In this paper, the comparison and contrasting artistic designs involved in both Roman and Umayyad fresco paintings are analyzed. It explains that the earlier Roman designs played a great part in influencing the Islamic peoples to use figural drawing and various decorative natural or organic themes. Much of this is seen within the context of the examples used in the paper, which conveys a large-scale influence of Roman Villa-styled fresco application and artistic design on various Umayyad palaces.

From the Paper
"This art study will examine how the Roman Fresco had influenced the Umayyad perspective on murals and fresco work in their mosaic design and symbolic meanings within these works. By providing examples from the various Umayyad frescoes that now exist in various levels of decay, one can realize how Roman frescoes had a major impact on how these latter works of art were achieved. In essence, this paper is to describe the influences that Roman frescos/wall painting had on Islamic fresco/ mosaic & wall-paintings in art history. The Umayyad choice of Syria as their power base had enormous effects on later Islamic art, as craftsmen from all over gathered together to learn compete and work on Islamic projects. The Umayyad art design was enhanced by the ideas and traditions of imperial Rome, incorporating ..."

Tags:islam, art, roman

Abstract
This paper discusses the various periods and works in art history. The paper explains that the Gothic and early renaissance periods represented periods of rebirth in art. The paper looks at why one of the permanent sources of art is nature. The paper then analyzes the "Labors of the Months", which according to several historians, made its first impact in classical iconography as early as 800 or the 9th century AD.

From the Paper
"The representations of the labors of the months are found in two Anglo-Saxon manuscripts. Both are written in the 11th century, although one dates in the first half of the century and the other in the second half, which might explain the influence of the Norman invasion along the way. One was created in Canterbury, while another was made in Winchester. All the representations for the months are common between the two, except for the three months of summer, June, July and August, where the same activities (cutting wood, mowing and reaping) are placed in different months depending on the manuscript."

Tags:Middle, Ages, calendar, iconography

Abstract
In this paper the writer discusses the Mayan and Aztec cultures in a comparative nature to reveal the similarities in their interrelation to each other. By understanding the connectedness of the two cultures, the writer shows why they are so closely related in their art. Further, the writer shows the way that they made their art for life and religion. The writer also demonstrates that through an understanding of the artistic history of these nations, there is a semblance of influence that can be found in both of them.

Abstract
The paper examines how humankind has always had an inherent need for expression and this need has been fulfilled through various media such as art, literature, poetry and music. It looks at how the field of art has always been a fascinating form of human expression in that it blends aesthetics with the artist's comment or interpretation of culture, history, politics and other aspects of society. It describes how art historians study art from two primary angles: the quality of artistic rendition and the historical reflection of the artist's time. It evaluates the theories of some famous philosophers such as Plato, Aristotle and Kant on how an art historian needs to develop objectivity in interpreting the life and times of the work being studied and the artist's own intended expression.

From the Paper
"Another epistemological assumption underlying art is that it necessarily has to be concerned with producing something of beauty, as defined by social standards. This is a natural fall out of the underlying theory that knowledge of vision, coded to recognize aesthetics and beauty, is necessary to appreciate art. An opposing philosophy exists wherein great art critics like "John Ruskin, Herbert Read, Morris Collis and Eric Newton would judge art from a wider angle". Any object may be called beautiful feelings which one obtained in the aesthetic contemplation of it are pleasurable feelings? (Ijele Web site). This is in line with Kant's Critique of Pure Reason, where he dealt with aesthetics as if it only has to do with perception."

Tags:aesethics, epistemology, ontology