Art History 222 - THE ART OF CHINA

This course introduces the diverse artistic and cultural traditions in China from the Neolithic period to the nineteenth century. A variety of visual materials, including archaic jades, ritual bronzes, mortuary sculpture, temple murals, and scroll paintings, will be examined both as examples of the culture in which they were made as well as works collected and valued for their aesthetic qualities. With updated archaeological material, this course considers artistic creation in relation to society, class, ethnicity, religion, and changing perception of what constitutes Chinese art.