The Seminar in Art History and Fine Art Studio work hand in hand with the Seminar in Humanities to explore the great questions animating Western and world culture. Students examine our culture’s answers to these questions through human art, both secular and sacred. They are guided in their understanding of how the art of a given culture expresses its basic understanding of reality, and how that understanding changes through history and changes the art it produces. The seminar meets in class and regularly launches out on excursions to museums and landmarks so that students can gain firsthand experience of great works of art and architecture. Since the works are selected in tandem with the Humanities topics, students continue the conversations begun in Humanities and examine in depth the art inspired by or discussed in their reading. Students then pick up their pencils and practice developing the harmony of hand and eye needed to create works of beauty. The studio artists work with students to develop their capacity to see the subjects they are working on and replicate them in subtle detail and complexity. Studio meets every other week for 3 hours, but students are encouraged to spend more time with specific projects as they progress in their skills.
