Francesco Borromini.  San
Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Rome. 

On the Final

Final Exam: Thursday June 8 at 1 pm in Room 166

Discussion: Tuesday June 6 at 4 pm in the courtyard outside of Room 166

The Final will have the same format as the Midterm. You will be given three broadly-phrased essay questions; two will be given as the exam and you will write on one. You are given these questions several days in advance, so that you may be able to do a thorough job of working them up before the exam. Please use your notes, the course readings, and the books placed on reserve in the Art Library as your sources.

I will provide the Green Books and the munchies. Note that no notes, dictionaries, or aids of any sort except for those with a documented disability will be allowed during the exam. What follows is a repeat of the instructions given for the Midterm.

It is most important to write an essay, not a catalog or a list of works. Your essay needs to show a thoughtful consideration of the topic and your own plausible response. While it is a good idea to discuss the topics with others in the class, the final product must be your own. The submission of identical or nearly identical essays by two or more people will be considered cheating.

The best way to respond to this exam is to work up two of the three topics primarily in the form of an outline for each topic. You should write up in full and memorize the introductory paragraph and the concluding paragraph. This latter suggestion is especially useful for you because having the conclusion ready will allow you to finish gracefully if you end up running out of time. Each outline should consist of notes about the points you wish to make and the art you wish to describe. You should know both well enough to be able to expand the outline into an essay.

In discussing the art you've chosen for the essay, you will want to pay special attention to creating a full word picture of what you are citing. Don't just say, "Annibale Carracci's Bean Eater is a well-known example of the genre style. And then he painted the Assumption of the Virgin..." And, it is all right to state an opinion as part of your discussion.

Dates: Please remember to factor in the appropriate dates. The easiest way to do this is to treat your topic chronologically. On the Midterm there were several people who did not cite any dates; as long as the chronology was clear I let this pass, but I am going to be a bit more insistent on their presence this time.

Length of the essay: the equivalent of about 3 typewritten pages. I consider a page in the Green Book to consist of medium-sized handwriting using each line. Not less than three pages; and not much more. Longer is not necessarily better. Please remember to write clearly!!

Length of time to write: 2.5 hours; a bit more if you need it. If another class comes in for a final after our allotted time has expired we will move out into the courtyard.

Essay Topics for the Final Exam

• The many new types of the visual expression of spirituality in the post-Counter-Reformation period are a notable feature of the Italian Baroque. Select three artists and one or two (no more) works by each which you think exemplifies either several facets of one idea (ie, mysticism) or three different interpretations of one central idea.

• Discuss the completion of St. Peter's from 1600, emphasizing either the interior projects or the exterior : ie, the church, the piazza, and the colonnade. Give also some thought as to their contemporary context.

• Discuss the Bernini's interpretation of the individual. Cite four examples in detail, and you may include non-portraits among them. You may, if you wish, include Alessandro Algardi as a sort of compare/contrast figure.

Finito! In Bocca Lupo Tutti!

Art History Department | Art History Main Page