Online courses directory (215)

This course is an exploration of visual art forms and their cultural connections for the student with little experience in the visual arts. It includes a brief study of art history, and in-depth studies of the elements, media, and methods used in creative thought and processes. In this course, you will learn how to develop a five-step system for understanding visual art in all forms, based on the following: Description: A work of art from an objective point of view its physical attributes, and formal construction. Analysis: A detailed look at a work of art that combines physical attributes with subjective statements based on the viewer’s reaction to the work. Context: Historical, religious, or environmental information that surrounds a particular work of art and which helps to understand the work’s meaning. Meaning: A statement of the work’s content. A message or narrative expressed by the subject matter. Judgment: A critical point of view about a work of art concerning its aesthetic or cultur…

In this course you will learn about audio signal processing methodologies that are specific for music and of use in real applications. You will learn to analyse, synthesize and transform sounds using the Python programming language.

By Tina Seelig

This course serves as an introduction to the major artistic and architectural traditions of Ancient Egypt and the Ancient Near East.  This course will explore how artifacts and monuments can be used to study the history and culture of the ancient world.  It is divided into two units that chronologically focus on the art, architecture, and archaeology of each region.  The first unit examines Ancient Egyptian tombs, monuments, and art from the Early Dynastic (c. 3100-2650 BCE) through the Roman (30 BCE- 4thcentury CE) periods.  The second unit focuses on Ancient Near Eastern artistic and architectural traditions from the late Neolithic (c. 9500-4500 BCE) through the conquest of the Achaemenid Persian Empire (550-330 BCE) by Alexander the Great. After completing this course, you will be able to identify the major characteristics of Egyptian and Near Eastern art and architecture, more specifically what types of objects and buildings were made and used by Egyptians and Ancient Near Eastern peoples.  You wil…

This course is an introduction to the major methodologies that have been and are used by art historians.  Although not a history of art history per se, it is organized in a roughly chronological order that traces major methodological developments within the discipline from the birth of art history in the nineteenth century through the late twentieth century.  By focusing on several outstanding historical and critical readings, as well as secondary discussions of different types of art historical analysis, the student will be introduced to some of the major methodologies that have shaped the field: formalism, biographical analysis, connoisseurship, technical analysis, iconographical analysis, psychoanalysis, Marxism and the social history of art, feminism, post-colonialism, and semiotics.  The course will also examine how artworks are displayed in modern art museums. After completing this course, you will be able to explain the strengths and weaknesses of different art historical methodologies and explain…

This course will introduce you to the art and architecture of the African continent from the prehistoric to the present. The objects, images, and sites featured in this course represent a small cross-section of the diverse ethnic and artistic heritage in Africa. This course emphasizes the role of art as manifested in the lifestyles, spiritualities, and philosophies of particular African societies, while also breaching aesthetic principles and the study and display of African art. Many works produced in Africa are used for spiritual purposes that include ritual and performance. The study of masks and ceremonies will enable you to become more familiar with the significant role art plays in the everyday lives of the citizens of African nations. For example, most traditional African art was not meant to be displayed, but rather viewed in use and in motion, especially in mixed-media masquerades. Body adornment and textiles have long been important forms of visual communication and expression in Africa, whereas pai…

Augustus of Primaporta. Painted Garden, Villa of Livia. Head of Augustus. Sculpture from the Parthenon's East Pediment. Victory Stele of Naram-Sin. Ancient Greek Temples at Paestum, Italy. Dying Gaul. Ara Pacis. The Standard of Ur. Dionysiac frieze, Villa of Mysteries, Pompeii. East and West Pediments, Temple of Aphaia, Aegina. Colosseum. Myron, Discobolus (Discus Thrower), Roman copy of an ancient Greek bronze from c. 450 B.C.E.. Nike of Samothrace. Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi . The Pergamon Altar. Arch of Titus. Great Lyre from the "King's Grave" at Ur. Hadrian's Villa: A Virtual Tour. Parthenon Frieze. Maritime Theatre at Hadrian's Villa, Tivoli. Neo-Assyrian Art: Human Headed Winged Lion and Bull (Lamassu). The Parthenon: Metopes. Pair of Centaurs Fighting Cats of Prey from Hadrian's Villa. Mixing Vessel with Odysseus Escaping from the Cyclops' Cave. Erechtheion: Caryatid and Column. Column of Trajan. Ishtar Gate and Processional Way . Medea Sarcophagus, 140 - 150 C.E.. Equestrian Sculpture of Marcus Aurelius. Ludovisi Battle Sarcophagus. After Praxiteles, Venus (Roman Copy). Apollonius, Boxer at Rest, c. 100 B.C.E.. Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf). Seated Scribe. Arch of Constantine. Digging Through Time. Thutmose's Bust of Nefertiti. House Altar with Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Three Daughters. Ramesses II. Alexander Mosaic. The Colossus of Constantine. Rosetta Stone. Hellenistic Art at the Metropolitan: Eros Sleeping and An Old Market Woman. Bodhisattva from China. Geometric Greek Krater. Exekias, Attic black figure amphora with Ajax and Achilles playing a game. Buddha of Medicine Bhaishajyaguru (Yaoshi fo). Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer). Barberini Faun, c. 220 B.C.E.. New York Kouros. Japan, Muromachi to Momoyama period Negoro ware ewer. Ancient Rome. Temple of Portunus. The Pantheon, Rome.

Humans have been making art for tens of thousands of years, long before there was writing. Why was Egyptian art obsessed with death? Why did the ancient Greeks seek the perfect human form? How did the ancient Romans use art as state propaganda? Why was the naturalism of ancient Greek and Roman art abandoned with the rise of Christianity? This topic explores the art of the ancient world, from the Venus of Willendorf to a 6th-Century Chinese Bodhisattva. Prehistoric Art: Paleolithic Origins. Nude Woman (Venus of Willendorf). The Neolithic Revolution. Jade Cong. Prehistory: Proto-writing. Prehistoric Art Quiz. Introduction. Ancient History: The Alphabet. Sumerian Art: Standard of Ur. Sumerian Art: Great Lyre from the "King's Grave" at Ur. Akkadian Art: Victory Stele of Naram-Sin. Babylonian Art: Law Code Stele of King Hammurabi. Ashurbanipal Hunting Lions (Assyrian). Assyrian Art: Human Headed Winged Lion and Bull (Lamassu). Neo-Babylonian Art: Ishtar Gate and Processional Way. Ancient Near Eastern Art. Introduction. Egyptian Art. Materials & Techniques. Ancient Near Eastern & Ancient Egyptian Art. Old Kingdom: Seated Scribe. New Kingdom: House Altar with Akhenaten, Nefertiti and Three Daughters. Portrait Head of Queen Tiye with a Crown of Two Feathers. New Kingdom: Thutmose's Bust of Nefertiti. Judgement in the Presence of Osiris, Hunefer's Book of the Dead. New Kingdom: Ramesses II. Ptolemaic: Rosetta Stone. Ancient Egypt. Ancient Greece and Rome. Ancient Greek and Roman Art. Geometric: Terracotta Krater. Archaic: Exekias, Attic black figure amphora with Ajax and Achilles playing a game. Archaic: Exekias, Dionysos Kylix, c. 530 B.C.E.. Archaic: Mixing Vessel with Odysseus Escaping from the Cyclops's Cave. Archaic: New York Kouros. The Classical Orders. Archaic and Early Classical: Ancient Greek Temples at Paestum, Italy. Archaic and Early Classical: East and West Pediments, Temple of Aphaia, Aegina. Early Classical: Polykleitos, Doryphoros (Spear-Bearer). Classical: Myron, Discobolus (Discus Thrower), Roman copy of an ancient Greek bronze. Classical: Parthenon Frieze. Classical: Sculpture from the Parthenon's East Pediment. Classical: Parthenon Metopes. Classical: Caryatid and Column from the Erechtheion. Late Classical: Lysippos, Farnese Hercules, 4th century B.C.E. (later Roman copy by Glycon). Late Classical: Lysippos, Apoxyomenos (Scraper), c. 330 B.C.E. (Roman copy). Late Classical: After Praxiteles, Venus (Roman Copy). Hellenistic: Barberini Faun. Hellenistic: Dying Gaul. Hellenistic: Nike of Samothrace. Hellenistic: The Pergamon Altar. Hellenistic: Apollonius, Boxer at Rest. Hellenistic: Alexander Mosaic. Hellenistic: Laoco

This is a transitional period. In the art of Florence and Siena there is a move away from medieval abstract depictions of space and the human body as artists began to focus on the illusion of mass and space and the expression of human emotion. With hindsight, it is possible to trace elements of Renaissance art back to this period. This century saw the creation of the beautiful poetry of Dante and Petrarch, but it is also the century that saw the worst outbreak of the Bubonic plague (known then as the Black Death) which wiped out close to half the population of Europe

This is the century that sees the full realization of the Renaissance and the end of the medieval way of thinking about the world. The Humanist rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman culture is supported by the wealth accumulated in prosperous cities such as Bruges, Florence, and Venice. New wealth and increasing trade created a demand for an art based on the world we see. The second half of the century saw the invention of the printing press, and Columbus

The art of this period is familiar, since the world of the Realists, Impressionists and Post-Impressionists is much like our own. More and more people lived in cities and worked in factories or shops for wages. Scientific and technological advances increased dramatically during this period and although there was dislocation and privation, standards of living increased sharply. In essence, modern mass culture was born. Artists responded sometimes by embracing these radical changes, and at other times by resisting them. Key here is understanding the authority of the various art academies in Europe, which controlled matters related to taste and art, and which were, to some extent, always connected to the government. A small number of artists rebelled against the strictures of the academy, and against the demand for art to tell clear stories for a middle class audience, and formed what we know as the

An Introduction to Contemporary Art. Why is this Art? Andy Warhol, Campbell's Soup Cans. Art as Concept: In Advance of the Broken Arm. Why Is That Important? Looking at Jackson Pollock. Art & Context: Monet's Cliff Walk at Pourville and Malevich's White on White. Representation & Abstraction: Millais's Ophelia and Newman's Vir Heroicus Sublimis. Interpreting Contemporary Art. Big Questions in Modern & Contemporary Art. Matisse, Luxe, calme et volupt

The Art of Our Time. Bacon, Triptych - August 1972. Freud, Standing by the Rags. Diane Arbus, Boy with a Toy Hand Grenade. William Eggleston, Red Ceiling, or Greenwood, Mississippi, 1973. Ed Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz Useful Art #5: The Western Hotel, 1992. Warhol, Gold Marilyn Monroe. Warhol, Campbell's Soup Cans. Oldenburg, Floor Cake. Lichtenstein, Rouen Cathedral Set V. Gerhard Richter, Betty. Gerhard Richter, The Cage Paintings (1-6). Gerhard Richter, September. Donald Judd, Untitled. Dan Flavin, Untitled (To Donna) II. Smithson, Spiral Jetty. Hesse, Untitled. Hesse, Untitled (Rope Piece), 1970. Chicago, Pasadena Lifesaver, Blue Series, No. 4 & Benglis, Omega. Winsor, #1 Rope. Joseph Beuys, Table with Accumulator. John Baldessari, I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art. Hans Haacke's Seurat's 'Les Poseuses' (small version). Interpreting Contemporary Art. Colescott, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder. Sherman, Untitled Film Still #21. Sherrie Levine, Untitled (After Edward Weston, ca. 1925). The Art of Our Time. Bacon, Triptych - August 1972. Freud, Standing by the Rags. Diane Arbus, Boy with a Toy Hand Grenade. William Eggleston, Red Ceiling, or Greenwood, Mississippi, 1973. Ed Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz Useful Art #5: The Western Hotel, 1992. Warhol, Gold Marilyn Monroe. Warhol, Campbell's Soup Cans. Oldenburg, Floor Cake. Lichtenstein, Rouen Cathedral Set V. Gerhard Richter, Betty. Gerhard Richter, The Cage Paintings (1-6). Gerhard Richter, September. Donald Judd, Untitled. Dan Flavin, Untitled (To Donna) II. Smithson, Spiral Jetty. Hesse, Untitled. Hesse, Untitled (Rope Piece), 1970. Chicago, Pasadena Lifesaver, Blue Series, No. 4 & Benglis, Omega. Winsor, #1 Rope. Joseph Beuys, Table with Accumulator. John Baldessari, I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art. Hans Haacke's Seurat's 'Les Poseuses' (small version). Interpreting Contemporary Art. Colescott, Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder. Sherman, Untitled Film Still #21. Sherrie Levine, Untitled (After Edward Weston, ca. 1925).

Birth of the Gothic: Abbot Suger and the Ambulatory at St. Denis. Two Royal Figures (Saljuq Period). Last Judgment Tympanum, Cathedral of St. Lazare, Autun. Sutton Hoo Ship Burial. Virgin from Ger. Wise and Foolish Virgins, Sant Quirze de Pedret. Coronation Mantle. Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. Basilica of Santa Prassede (Praxedes). Santa Sabina. Byzantine Art: Justinian and His Attendants. Historiated Capitals, Church of Sant Miquel, Camarasa (Noguera). Santa Maria Maggiore. Ivory panel with Archangel. Berlinghieri's St. Francis Altarpiece. Cathedral of Notre Dame de Chartres. Ilkhanid Mihrab. Hebrew Astrolabe. Pre-Columbian Cup.

Were the Middle Ages really all that dark? Hardly! How could we call the period that saw the building of Chartres Cathedral with its stunning stained-glass windows, dark? Sure, the Roman empire collapsed, but with the Christianization of Europe came magnificent churches, illuminated bibles, and intricately designed broaches. This period also saw the birth of Islam, the third great monotheistic religion. Introduction. Medieval and Byzantine Art. A New Pictorial Language: The Image in Early Medieval Art. Iconoclasm. Medieval Manuscripts. The Bestiary. Beginner's Guide to Medieval Art. An Introduction to Christianity. Standard Scenes from the Life of Christ in Art. An Introduction to Early Christian Art. Early Christian Art & Architecture after Constantine. Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus. Santa Sabina. Santa Maria Maggiore. The Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna. Early Christian. Sutton Hoo Ship Burial. The Lindesfarne Gospels. Medieval and Byzantine Art. San Vitale. Sant'Apollinare in Classe, Ravenna, Italy, c. 533-49. Hagia Sophia. Ivory panel with Archangel. Icon of Saint George (the "Black George"). Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy. Byzantine Art. Introduction to Islam. The Five Pillars of Islam. Arts of the Islamic World. Two Royal Figures (Saljuq Period). Coronation Mantle. Ilkhanid Mihrab. Hebrew Astrolabe. Qa'a: The Damascus Room. Carolingian Art: An Introduction. Charlemagne: An Introduction (1 of 2). Charlemagne and the Carolingian Revival (part 2 of 2). Saint Matthew from the Ebbo Gospel. Lindau Gospels Cover. Santa Prassede (Praxedes). Carolingian. Ottonian Art: An Introduction. Bronze doors, Saint Michael's, Hildesheim, commissioned by Bishop Bernward, 1015. Pilgrimage Routes and the Cult of the Relic. Pentecost and Mission to the Apostles Tympanum, V

New to art? If so, this is a good place to start. We often think we should understand what we see and that we know what we like, but art can be challenging. It has meant different things at different moments in history. Art gives us access to the way other people have seen the world. Jump in and explore!. A Beginner's Guide to the History of Western Culture. Common Questions about Dates. Why Look at Art?. The Skill of Describing. The Skill of Describing. The Classical Orders. How One-Point Linear Perspective Works. Art History Basics. Woodcuts and Etchings. Tempera Paint. Oil Paint. Oil Paint in Venice. Bronze Casting. Quarrying & Carving Marble. Art History - Media. A Beginner's Guide to the History of Western Culture. Common Questions about Dates. Why Look at Art?. The Skill of Describing. The Skill of Describing. The Classical Orders. How One-Point Linear Perspective Works. Art History Basics. Woodcuts and Etchings. Tempera Paint. Oil Paint. Oil Paint in Venice. Bronze Casting. Quarrying & Carving Marble. Art History - Media.

In this course, we will study the history of Western art, beginning with the first objects created by prehistoric humans around 20,000 years ago and ending with the art and architecture of the High Gothic period in fourteenth-century Europe.  The information presented in this course will provide you with the tools to recognize important works of art and historical styles, as well as to understand the historical context and cultural developments of Western art history through the end of the medieval period.  Introductory readings paired with detailed lectures will provide you with a well-rounded sense of the history, art, and culture of the West up through the medieval period. At the end of this course, you will be able to identify key works of art and artistic periods in Western history.  You will also be able to discuss the development of stylistic movements and relate those developments to important historical events.  Completion of this course will prepare you for ARTH111, which surveys the history o…

The course facilitates a close reading of Don Quixote in the artistic and historical context of renaissance and baroque Spain. Students are also expected to read four of Cervantes' Exemplary Stories, Cervantes' Don Quixote: A Casebook, and J.H. Elliott's Imperial Spain. Cervantes' work will be discussed in relation to paintings by Velázquez. The question of why Don Quixote is read today will be addressed throughout the course. Students are expected to know the book, the background readings and the materials covered in the lectures and class discussions.

This course is an introduction to the great buildings and engineering marvels of Rome and its empire, with an emphasis on urban planning and individual monuments and their decoration, including mural painting. While architectural developments in Rome, Pompeii, and Central Italy are highlighted, the course also provides a survey of sites and structures in what are now North Italy, Sicily, France, Spain, Germany, Greece, Turkey, Croatia, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, and North Africa. The lectures are illustrated with over 1,500 images, many from Professor Kleiner's personal collection.

Graphic designers, artists, photographers and all those involved in the visual arts need an accurate understanding of colour theory. This free online course from ALISON presents aspects of colour and light perception such as hue, lightness and chroma, brightness and saturation, visual perception of colour, mixing paints, and additive and subtractive colour mixing. The comprehensive text is accompanied by interactive graphics that further explain the concepts. This course is ideal for any learner who practices the visual arts, either professionally or as a hobby, and who wants to greatly enhance their knowledge and understanding of colour theory.