History I Paper Topics

Art History Term Paper (30 points)

Choose one of the following topics and write a 6 page paper in response.  The paper should be well-researched and presented in a professional manner paying attention to coherence and grammatical accuracy.

1.     Discuss the influences of Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman art on the development of Christian Art.  Comment on early depictions of Christ, development of religious architecture, and Funerary art.  Site specific examples.

2.     Referring to specific works and/or artists, discuss at least 5 varying interpretations of the human body from prehistory to the Proto-Renaissance.  Identify the work or artist that you consider the most interesting or compelling and explain why you think so.

3.     Discuss the representation of mythology in Geometric, Archaic, and Classical period Greek sculpture.  What were the influences?  Pay attention to how the visual forms (proportion, balance, movement, beauty) reflect the philosophies of the periods.

4.     Examine the development of narrative in art, focusing on works on walls (relief sculpture and paintings).  Pay attention to shifts in the works of Paleolithic, Near Eastern, Egyptian, Greek, and Medieval cultures.

5.     In Roman art and architecture, discuss the difference between art commissioned from the Imperial workshops and art produced for the working class.  Use examples to support your comments.

6.     Examine images of death and the macabre in Medieval and Early Renaissance art.  How can you relate this to the period’s concepts of the afterlife?  Pay particular attention to the 14th century and the Black Death.