Hello everyone and welcome to Week 5 of ART F261X.

Please do the following before 11:59pm, Sunday, June 25.

1. Go through the material in the Byzantine and Early Medieval Art wings.

2. Respond to the discussion questions posted in the Slack channels #week5part1 and #week5part2.   Remember to comment on at least two of your classmate’s responses.

Slack channel #week5part1

  • Artistic Conventions: Artists of the Byzantine Empire and the Medieval era had priorities that differed greatly from Greco-Roman traditions. Realism, for example, was no longer of paramount importance. Discuss the shift in stylistic and thematic conventions found in Byzantine and Medieval art and how it relates to the changing social and political climate of Eurasia.

Slack channel #week5part2

  • The Dark Ages: The Medieval era is commonly referred to as the ‘Dark Ages’ due to a perceived lack of cultural production and innovation (although this is starting to change). How do you respond to this (mis)nomer now that you have had a chance to explore the Medieval wing?

3. Turn in your first Grant Proposal via Canvas. Instructions for this assignment can be found here.

Call For Proposals

The Doctor Jones Institute of Lost Treasure is asking for proposals to include a new work of art in the museum. The Institute has noticed that there is room in the following wings: Ancient Aegean, Ancient Greece, Etruscan Art, Roman, Jewish and Early Christian, Byzantine, or Early Medieval. You can also choose a project from the Romanesque or Gothic time period even though we won’t be covering that until next week. What work (that is not already discussed as part of the class) do you think deserves to be included in the museum halls? Tell us why you think it is so important. How does it fit in with the other works in the wing? How does it expand our understanding of the art we have seen this semester.