The course will focus on key matters in the history of art, from early Renaissance, through the high Renaissance, the Mannerism, and Baroque, ending with modern and contemporary art on the verge of the 21th century. The course includes lectures dedicated to Non-European art (Islamic and Asian art).

There will be an emphasis on art’s role in different media in the visual culture as social, political and religious means. These will provide the students with the evolutionary knowledge, basic concepts, and terminology required for the core and advanced courses and will enable them to discuss the formal qualities of the artworks, their subject-matters, and significances within their historical perspective. 

The panoramic introduction will be accompanied by a reading section that will be mandatory for the students of Art History, and elective for students from other departments. Classes will be given by several lecturers, each an expert in the specific field.