Art & the History of Art 338 - Art/Work: Labor and Materials in early Modern European Art

(Offered as ARHA 338 and EUST 338) What is the “work” of an artwork? What roles do labor and materials play in the meaning and aesthetics of art objects? This course will consider these questions in the art history of early modern Europe, Britain, and their burgeoning empires in the Americas and South Asia. From the harvesting and mining of raw materials to manufacturing by hand and machine, we will unpack examples of architecture, ceramics, furniture, paintings, sculptures, textiles, and works on paper. The matter of plants, minerals, and animals will guide our inquiry into how artists and their audiences thought about materials and their origins. In addition to considering what objects are made of, we will look at representations of materials in different media - for example, how artists painted a silk dress or embroidered a wooly sheep - and at depictions of voluntary, exploited, and forced labor. We will seek not just to understand processes of artistic production, but to interrogate how visual representations often obscured and beautified labor. Our material investigations will lead us to debate the very definitions of artistic labor, creativity, and genius in the face of an entangled web of global production. 

Limited to 18 students. Spring 2026: Visiting Assistant Professor Dostal.

How to handle overenrollment: Priority given to ARHA and EUST majors

Students who enroll in this course will likely encounter and be expected to engage in the following intellectual skills, modes of learning, and assessment: Enrich skills in visual and material analysis of objects; critically engage with contemporary scholarship and primary sources; experiment with different techniques and skills of making; visits to local collections and learning from a variety of local experts; collaborative and creative work with an emphasis on historical research and writing. Assessment will include short weekly assignments, oral presentations, two short essays, and one collaborative cumulative project.