ARTH 372: History of Western Art I

ARTH 372 at the University of Maryland Global Campus (formerly ARTH 370) is a survey of the Western tradition of visual art, from prehistory through the Middle Ages.

UMGC describes it as examining and comparing the expression of cultural and aesthetic values in different parts of the Western world. The stated objectives are to apply principles of visual literacy; to describe, analyze and contextualize the content and elements of art; and to differentiate historic periods and styles.

The span is enormous, from cave paintings to Gothic cathedrals, which is why students find it challenging. Success depends less on memorizing every date and more on learning to look closely, use the right terms and explain how an artwork expresses the beliefs and values of the culture that made it.

Periods ARTH 372 Typically Spans

Key Skills Explained

Visual Literacy

Visual literacy means reading an image as carefully as a text: noticing line, shape, color, space, scale, material and composition, and explaining how they work together.

Describe, Analyze, Contextualize

These three steps, named in UMGC's objectives, give you a structure: say what you see, explain how the formal choices create meaning, then connect the work to its time, place, function and patron.

Differentiating Styles

Comparing two works side by side, for example an Archaic and a Classical Greek statue, is the quickest way to see what defines each period.

Typical Assignments and How to Approach Them

Writing About Artworks

Identify each work properly: artist if known, title or common name, date, material and current location. Write in the present tense about what the work shows and in the past tense about its making. Use reputable sources, such as museum collection pages and scholarly art history texts, for dates and attributions.

Keep the artwork at the center. Historical background is valuable when it explains what you see, for example why a cathedral's pointed arches and large windows matter to its religious purpose, but a paper that is mostly history with little looking will miss the visual literacy objective.

Comparison is one of the most useful tools in this course. Placing an Egyptian standing figure beside a Classical Greek statue, or a Romanesque church portal beside a Gothic one, makes differences of style and belief visible at once.

When you compare, keep the same categories for both works (pose, proportion, material, setting, purpose) so that your conclusions rest on evidence rather than impression, and finish by explaining what the change tells us about the cultures involved.

Where Students Get Stuck

• Judging by modern realism. Ask what a style was trying to achieve, not whether it looks lifelike.
• Too many periods at once. Focus on a few well-chosen works.
• Loose vocabulary. Learn terms such as contrapposto, relief, basilica and tympanum.
• Unreliable image sources. Use museum or library images with full captions.

Study Tips for ARTH 372

• Make flashcards with image, period, date range and two defining features.
• Draw quick sketches of compositions; it trains your eye.
• Build a timeline that links major works to historical events.
• Explore museum websites for high-quality images and descriptions.

How We Help with ARTH 372

Send the prompt, the rubric, the artworks you are discussing and your notes or draft. A writer with an art history background can prepare a model formal analysis or comparison, help you research context or edit your paper for precision. Our critical analysis essay guide explains analytical structure.

GradeEssays is independent of the University of Maryland Global Campus. Our help is study and reference support; you write and submit your own work under UMGC's academic integrity policy. Papers are written from scratch, plagiarism-checked and revised free within the original scope.