In this class you will learn tools and strategies to look, understand, enjoy, and write about art--no matter how much or how little you know about art and its histories. You will focus on the first-hand experience of art through selected case studies from different periods and world regions, but you will also spend considerable time actively looking at art in person: in the UVA Art Museums, at Special Collections, around grounds and in Charlottesville. You will learn a handful of core strategies and skills that can help you enhance the experience of looking at art. With these skills, you can encounter any work of art—regardless of media, artist, or period—find some resonance with your own experiences, and discover and reflect on the fundamental pleasure of looking at art.