UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND ARTH 201: Art and Society in the West from the Renaissance to the Present Course Instructor: Mrs Elizabeth Allen This course is an introduction to Western Art from the late Gothic period to Modernism using original works of art and architecture in London as the basis for teaching. Within this broad chronological framework students will study major examples of painting, sculpture and architecture by means of a weekly class visit to the relevant gallery, museum or site. Original examples of art encountered in each class will be limited to those that serve as case studies for the art of the relevant period. The course will focus on the principal characteristics and developments of major styles and movements within Western art as well as major themes and types of art. The course will equip students with a basic terminology for describing, analysing and interpreting a range of works of art and architecture; relate the works of art to their social and historical contexts; consider the different functions of art; assess the role of materials used by artists and examine the changing role of the artist. These terms and concepts of art history have been developed by art historians to enable students and scholars to communicate the experiences of painting, sculpture and architecture, so they must be understood, learnt and assimilated on a weekly basis. Of course, works of art and architecture also make an aesthetic impact and this aspect of art will also be explored .and discussed. Teaching All classes take place in galleries, museums or on site except for the introductory class, the mid-term session, and the final two sessions (revision and final examination) which take place in the classroom. The teaching takes place in front of individual artworks, so the student must read the weekly reading assignment before attending class and must be prepared to discuss the works and respond to questions. A notebook must be kept and brought on every visit. Teaching will be primarily lecture based, although all students will be encouraged to ask questions and participate in discussions. (See below under ‘Course Assessment’.) Required Texts Art in History, Martin Kemp, 2014, Profile Books, London. An Introduction to Art, Charles Harrison, 2009, Yale University Press, New Haven & London. How to Read a Building, Timothy Brittain-Caitlin, 2007, Collins, London. Dictionary of Art and Artists, P. & L. Murray, 7th edition, Penguin. Course Assessment 1 The final grade for the course will be calculated as follows: *Attendance and participation (10%) *The notebook used for note-taking in every class. (15%) *A review of the National Gallery Visit in Week 2. (500 words) (10%) *Short answer test in Classroom Session in Week 6. (15%) *A short essay on contrasting attitudes to mythology in Baroque and Rococo art. (500 words) (10%) *A comparative review between a work of art seen in a class and one seen on an independent visit to one of the galleries/sites listed in the syllabus. (500 words) (10%) *Final Examination (30%) Attendance and Participation (10%) Classes will start promptly at 10.00. Students are expected to actively participate in each class session by taking part in discussions and by asking and responding to questions. Notebook (15%) A notebook must be brought to every class. This should be an A5 hardback notebook. Comprehensive notes of each visit are to be made in the notebook and accompanied by a visual reminder -sketches, photographs or postcards. The purpose of the notebook is to record information and observations and to reflect on what has been learned and experienced in class. Therefore the class notes of each visit must be completed by a paragraph length formal reflection or evaluation by the student after each visit. The notebook will be graded by the following criteria: Depth of content Use of illustrations Quality of reflections National Gallery Review (10%) This review of the National Gallery visit is to provide students with the opportunity to write up the first class visit to a gallery. Students will be expected to integrate the different aspects of the experience to demonstrate their understanding of the aims of the session. (500 words) Short Answer Test (15%) 2 The test will be in two parts. The first requires students to write short answers to ten (10) questions from the key terms listed in the syllabus (up to Week 5). The second is a slide test of ten (10) images that the students are asked to identify. Essay on Contrasting Attitudes to Mythology in Baroque and Rococo Painting (10%) This essay provides an opportunity for students to choose two paintings of mythological subject matter, one from the Baroque period and one from the Rococo period, and to compare and contrast treatment of the subject matter and the different contexts in which the paintings were produced. (500 words) (Sources see Appendix A) A Comparative Review (10%) The comparative review is to be made between a work of art seen in a class and one seen on an independent visit to one of the galleries or sites listed as Suggested Visits in the syllabus. Each student would choose a visit and afterwards write a review in which comparisons and contrasts were made between (a) a painting/ sculpture or (b) an example of architecture. (500 words) (Sources see Appendix A) Examination (30%) The final examination is a written slide test of 20 images selected from the class visits. You will be asked to name the object and give its *Date *Period *Artist or Architect (if known) *Significance The examination is unseen and will last one hour. The following grade scale will be used: A+,A,A-,B+,B,B-,C+,C,C-,D+D,D-F. 3 Course Outline All classes start promptly. 1. Meeting Place: Classroom ULU Room 3E Introduction to the course: Classroom This first class begins with an overview of the course and the necessary arrangements for class visits. A slide lecture will introduce some art and architectural terms, important concepts and different ways of experiencing art and architecture. The formal language of art will be used as the basis for a class exercise. Reading: L. Schneider Adams, The Language of Art Key Terms: Formal qualities in painting– composition, plane, balance, line, modelling, tone, depth, perspective, space, plan, shape, light, colour, and texture. Style, movement, period, ‘period eye’, subject matter, genre Materials and techniques in painting and sculpture medium and support, carving, casting and modelling T. Brittain-Catlin, The Elements of Architecture, ‘How to Read a Building’, pp 6-29 2. Meeting Place: Sainsbury Wing Entrance, Trafalgar Square Visiting a National Gallery: National Gallery The purpose of this first class visit is threefold: first to introduce the National Gallery as a public institution whose setting and architecture declare its status and authority; second, to analyse the arrangement and display of the paintings which are housed within the building; and third to examine the gallery as a site of cultural activity. Reading: Harrison, pp.9-30, pp. 44-55; Brittain-Catlin, The Classical Tradition Key Terms: National Gallery, classical architecture, pediment, column, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders, capital, pilaster, entablature, porch, portico display, ‘schools’, chronology Suggested Visits: British Museum, Tate Britain, Museum of London 3. Meeting Place: Westminster Underground Exit Westminster Abbey A Medieval Church: Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey is a mighty and magnificent example of a church constructed in the Gothic style, which is to say that its forms are based on the pointed arch and that it was built some time between 12th and 15th centuries. The pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress enabled the masons to construct an entirely new type of building whose great height, thin walls and large expanses of glass promised the viewer a vision of Heaven on earth. In England, Gothic remained the dominant building style well into the 16th C. for secular as well as religious architecture. Reading: Brittain-Catlin, The Gothic Tradition pp74-92; pp 94-103 Key Terms: Ground plan, nave, aisles, transept, crossing, choir, apse, altar, pointed arch, ribbed vault, fan vaulting, flying buttress, stained glass, tracery 4 Suggested Visits: Canterbury Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, St Margaret’s, Westminster, King’s College Cambridge, Houses of Parliament 4. Meeting Place: South Kensington Tube Station Renaissance Architecture and Sculpture: V&A Museum By the beginning of the 15th century in Italy many sculptors abandoned ‘modern’ i.e. Gothic art and began to work in a vividly realistic style inspired by surviving sculptures from the Classical world. Architects also adapted the art of Roman building for contemporary requirements, such as churches, chapels, grand town houses and hospitals. This period is called ‘the Renaissance’ and can be divided into two phases, an ‘Early’ Renaissance in 15thC. and a ‘High’ Renaissance in 16thC. Reading: Brittain-Catlin, pp52-59 Key Terms: round arch, dome, pendentive, spandrel, the Corinthian order, pilaster, fluting, plaster, pietra serena, glazed terracotta, bronze, marble. Suggested Visits: Banqueting House, Whitehall, Queen’s House Greenwich, Chiswick House 5. Meeting Place: Archway Tube Station A Villa in the Country: Kenwood House Kenwood House, situated to the north of London’s City and West End, was remodeled by Robert Adam between 1764 and 1773 in the Neoclassical style fashionable in late 18th century Britain. It is a superb example of Adam’s interpretation of the villa or county house. His direct study of ancient Roman domestic buildings provided him with source material for the architecture and interior decorative designs required for this project. The gardens were designed by Humphrey Repton as a setting for the house. Reading: Brittain-Catlin, The Classical Tradition, pp 60-68 Key Terms: Neo-Classical, Neo-Palladian, villa, pilaster, colonnade, ‘in antis’, thermae, picturesque Suggested Visits: The Queen’s House, Greenwich, Banqueting House Whitehall 6.