This course provides a comprehensive picture of the development of European architecture, sculpture, and painting from the Renaissance to the early 20th century in Central Europe.

Stress is placed upon 17th- and 18th-century Prague, which is considered one of the most beautiful Baroque cities in the world. The Baroque of Central Europe is basically a manifestation of political power and religious faith, therefore it was not popular in Europe in the subsequent centuries in which liberal attitudes prevailed and analytic understanding was preferred to synthetic truth. Since the end of the 20th century, however, artists and scholars alike have been professing a new interest in Baroque because of its “open” and dynamic forms, which have a basic affinity to modern art. The Baroque emphasis on expression close to every day experience rather than to an ideal order is certainly much closer to life as we perceive it today. Given the importance of the visual experience and the unique opportunity to see first-hand the most important buildings and works of art in Prague, the course is organized around 21 on-site lectures. These lectures are supplemented with excursions to the historical surroundings of Prague (Kutná Hora, Český Krumlov, Znojmo and Karlovy Vary). At the beginning of the course, students will receive a reading package based on H.W.Janson, A.F.Janson, History of Art (New York, 2001) and booklets related to excursions outside of Prague. There will be always a reading test (homework). The course meets for three hours per week and is not intended exclusively for art history students. Course requirements: active class participation, reading (100 pages per week), homeworks based on reading, midterm and final essays (1500 and 3000 words respectively) and midterm and final tests (consisting in identification of painting and/or architectural monument and its analysis, explanation of basic art concepts, questions based on reading, lectures and excursions).

Jan Bažant

Professor of Classical Archaeology at Charles University, Prague; Senior Research Fellow and Head of the Department of Classical Studies, Institute of Classical Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. Prof. Bažant belongs among the most prominent and internationally renowned Czech classical archaeologists. His scholarly interests range from issues of Classical studies to Art history, semiotics of art to iconology. He has lectured at various scholarly institutions throughout Europe and participated in major international Classical Studies publishing and research projects. He is Editor-in-Chief of the International journal EIRENE.