All students take introductory Italian, the required studio course, and two elective courses. Upon successful completion of the program, students earn 16 units. Courses are held at the BU Venice center and Accademia delle Belle Arti. In addition to regular class meetings, students have access to studios at the Venice center during normal building hours.
Required Courses
Students must enroll in introductory Italian, and the following studio course.
Required Language Course:
CAS LI 111 First-Semester Italian
Required for students without prior Italian language study.
Students with prior Italian language experience may select a third elective course.
This course for beginners offers intensive listening, oral, and written practice of Italian. Reading comprehension is also included.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Individual in Community
Studio Courses:
CFA AR 242 Painting III
Required for painting majors.
Prerequisites: CFA AR 241 (Painting 2) or the equivalent.
Examines techniques of design, painting, and drawing. Students learn pencil, pastel, carbon, charcoal, ink, oil, wax, and mixed design techniques; tempera, acrylic, watercolor, oil, and mixed media painting techniques; and perspective, tonality, abstraction, chiaroscuro, and color in drawing. They also review different artistic genres, including still life, portraiture, nudes, and landscape as well as research into the figurative and abstract styles.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Teamwork/Collaborationy
Elective Courses
Students choose two courses from this list.
CAS AH 354 Image and Word in Venetian Renaissance Art
Students explore in-class and on-site XIV to XVI century Venetian Renaissance art, the relation between Renaissance art and Venice, the political structure of the Serenissima and the architectural program of Palazzo Ducale, trades routes and the artistic production in Venice.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Aesthetic Exploration
Writing Intensive course
CFA AR 501 Drawing Venice
Drawing Venice is a course in which students experiment with drawing as a way to translate their own experience as travelers. By engaging in the sketching process and selecting subjects of the city of Venice, students will develop a drawing narrative that include specific content including personal thoughts and emotions. Students will expand their technical skills by both drawing in class and on-site, through targeted exercises and creative and innovative projects. On-site practice, discussions and critiques allow the student to directly experience and instinctively reinterpret Venice in a set time, immersed in historical places, in museums and art galleries, in artist studios and artisan workshops of the city.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Aesthetic Exploration
Global Citizenship and Intercultural Literacy
Creativity/Innovation
CFA AR 447/448 Printmaking (Intaglio and lithography)
The course means to push the horizon of what it means when talking about print media in the age of digital dominance and provide students with a setting to articulate their artistic vision.
The goal of the course is to produce a “Cartella d’Arte” (an art folder, for a limited art edition).
Available only to students who have studied Italian and who have room for an elective course.
Limited class size.
Units: 4
BU Hub areas:
Creativity/Innovation
CFA AR 321 Sculpture Studios
Limited class size. Priority will be given to majors.
This class focuses on teaching materials, tools, and methods essential to the process of sculpture making. Practical problem solving will be taught through working with materials including wood, clay, found objects, plaster, resins, found objects, and armatures. Students will develop a facility with a wide range of tools. There will be a strong focus on developing the students’ ability to resource and experiment with materials, and for students to create works with personal content and conceptual framework.
