Art History

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The Art History program is built on two core directions: the history of world art from prehistory to the present, and the history of Armenian art from antiquity to the independence period, supported by sustained training in art historiography, criticism, and the analysis of the work of art. Students develop scholarly and interpretive foundations through structured reading, writing, and close visual analysis, alongside a practical grounding in drawing, painting, and colour.

In world art history, students work through Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece and Rome; Early Christian, Byzantine, Iranian, African and Islamic art; the Italian and Northern Renaissance and the art of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Europe and America; and modern and contemporary art from the late nineteenth century onward. In Armenian art history, the focus moves from the ancient and Hellenistic periods through medieval art and architecture, the early modern period and the diaspora communities, to Soviet, post-Soviet, and independent Armenia. The program is completed with curatorial and museum studies, work in source languages including Classical Armenian, and exposure to contemporary practices including artificial intelligence and grant-funded research.