9010 - Art History: Women in Art I

Course Description

Berthe Morisot, Child in a Red Apron, 1886. Helen M. Danforth Acquisition Fund. Courtesy of the RISD Museum.

This class looks at and considers images made by female artists, as well as works commissioned by and for women, between the Renaissance and the Age of Enlightenment. Despite challenges and in opposition to the traditional art historical narrative, women have been and continue to be integral to the institution of art. As recent scholarship shows, daughters, wives and sisters were important and productive members of artists' workshops that produced paintings, sculpture, prints and household furnishings. Female patrons commissioned grand buildings and public memorials as well as small decorative items. Women have also not only been sources of inspiration, but they have also heavily contributed to the art canon as art historians and art critics. Here, we discuss women from various social classes and their contributions to the visual and material culture of Europe across four centuries.

Applies Towards the Following Certificates

• Animation : Electives
• Graphic Design : Electives
• Interactive Design : Electives
• Natural Science Illustration : Electives
• Painting Studies : Electives
• Photography : Electives