A painting ought to change as you look at it, and as you think, talk, and write about it. The story it tells will never be more than part of the stories you and others tell about it. The stories --or interpretations, as they are sometimes called--come in different genres, such as the formalist, the iconographic, the connoisseurial, the genetic, the convervatorial, the contextual, and various mixtures of these and other genres. Harry Berger, Jr.. Fictions of the Pose, p.107. |
Thursday, January 22: watch video entitled Behind the Mask which explores the social context of "art" in the Dogon tradition, an African tribal culture. Review questions associated with video.
Tuesday, January 27: discussion of the Dogon video. In preparation for the discussion respond in your journal to the questions accompanying the video.
Thursday, January 29: take one of the questions accompanying the video and write a short 2-3 page paper responding to it. Bring this paper to class to workshop.
We will continue our discussion of the Dogon video.
Thursday, February 5: First Paper Due. A major monument of Early Medieval Art is the Book of Kells. This manuscript is the text of the Christian Gospels. It was made in a monastery in the British Isles, perhaps in southern Scotland or Ireland. One of the most famous pages in the manuscript is the so-called Chi Rho page. Chi Rho are the Greek letters that are the monogram of Christ. The page presents the beginning of the 18th verse of the first chapter of the Book of Matthew. This work presents us a useful focus to the function of art in the context of a monastery. We will use it to the explore the act of "making" art and its use and meaning in the life of the monastery. Review the webpages I have developed to explore the context of Hiberno Saxon Art and the Book of Kells in particular.
I have asked you to consider the Chi Rho page from the Book of Kells in relationship to the following series of questions that we will be regularly asking over the course of the semester: 1) What is the role or function of the "work of art" in the social context? 2) What is the position of the artist in the social context? 3) What is the conception or nature of making "art" in the social context? 4) How do your answers to the first three questions help you to gain an understanding of the particular culture's conception of reality? |
Tuesday, February 10: The sculptural decorations of the facades of Romanesque and Gothic churches presented a way for expressing the authority of the church in medieval society. The west facade of Chartres cathedral contains the so-called Royal Portals, a mid twelfth century sculptural program. Review the webpage introducing the Royal Portals that I have prepared for my Medieval Art course. Made by teams of anonymous craftsmen, the Royal Portals becomes a good way of understanding the position of the artist in the social and political order of medieval society. (Gothic Architecture)
English Coronation, 14th century.
Thursday, February 12: To complete our discussion of the Royal Portals of Chartres, I would ask you to put yourself in relationship to the portal sculpture. The portal can be seen as a presentation of their conception of reality. How do you fit in?
I would also ask you consider the idea of the artist in relationship to the portals. What are the priorities for the artist to be successful in this context?
In the later Middle Ages artistic production was dominated by the development of guilds. The artist was understood to be a craftsman trained in a trade like any other industry. Review the page entitled Medieval Guilds and Craft Production. (Life of St. Denis and class images)
We have been seeing that each period has a class of object that exemplifies that period. For the Hiberno-Saxon period, we saw the Gospel Book like the Book of Kells played a central role in the religious community of a medieval monastery. For the Gothic period, the urban cathedrals like Chartres Cathedral were the focal points of the important social, political, and intellectual changes that were occurring in Medieval society. For the fifteenth century in northern Europe we can identify two types of objects: the devotional book that we know as the Book of Hours and the panel painting serving as an altarpiece. We will examine the social contexts in which we these objects flourished. As we will see the difference in the contexts reflects the profound social and religious changes occurring in northern Europe during this period. Here are two examples of Books of Hours:
The Belles Heures of Jean de Berry, c. 1405-1409. Painted by the Limbourg Brothers. |
Hours of Mary of Burgundy, c. 1470-75. |
Tuesday, February 17: In the later Middle Ages artistic production was dominated by the development of guilds. The artist was understood to be a craftsman trained in a trade like any other industry. Review the page entitled Medieval Guilds and Craft Production. (Life of St. Denis and class images)
Tuesday, March 3: we have discussed the book industry and the role of the craftsman. I want to turn our attention to painting. Review the webpage entitled Medieval Guilds and Craft Production. At the end of webpage you will find excerpts from Cennino Cennini's Craftsman's Handbook. Read this carefully and try to articulate the values or nature of the craftsman as articulated by Cennini. Compare this to your preconceptions about the role of the artist. Review the examples that I have included on the page entitled Samples of Artists' Contracts and get a sense of the priorities of the patrons and artists. We will be focusing our discussion on the following two works:
Robert Campin (Master of Flémalle), The Merode Altarpiece, c. 1430 Review webpage I have dedicated to the Merode Altarpiece |
Rogier van der Weyden, St. Luke Drawing the Virgin, c. 1435. Review webpage I have created for this painting. For other works of Rogier van der Weyden |
Tuesday, March 10:
In the later Middle Ages and Early Renaissance with the development of the courts of Europe, the role of court artist presented a professional and social alternative for the artist. Review the webpage entitled Court Artist. The miniature above is the January page from the Très riches heures. It was painted by the Limbourg brothers who were members of the court of Duke Jean de Berry. Read the page I have dedicated to the Limbourg brothers. Consider how the January page is a reflection of court culture. For more on this page see the page I have dedicated to the Très riches heures.
Jan Van Eyck was the court painter for Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy. Review the webpage dedicated to Van Eyck as Court Artist. For an introduction to the court culture of Burgundy see page entitled The Frontispiece of the Chroniques de Hainaut: an Introduction to Valois Burgundy. The painting above is the so-called Rolin Madonna. It represents Nicholas Rolin, the Chancellor of the Duke of Burgundy, praying before the Virgin. If you are interested in learning more about the Arnolfini Double Portrait you can read the webpage I have dedicated to it.
Tuesday, March 17: A major moment in the history of the Italian Renaissance was the competition for the commission to do the doors for the Baptistry of Florence. There remain two of the competition panels, one by Ghiberti who got the commission and the other by Brunelleschi. Review the webpage I have dedicated to the Baptistry Competition. I have included on this webpage two contemporary literary accounts of the competition, one written by Ghiberti himself and the other part of a biography of Brunelleschi. Careful reading of these accounts provides us interesting insights into two artists' attitudes towards art and the role of the artist in society. On the basis of your study of this material, I want you to play the role of a judge in the competition and choose who you would award the commission to. What is important is not getting the right answer, but how you justify your decision which should be based on both the visual evidence of the panels themselves and what you have been able to glean about the attitudes of the respective artists.
Thursday, March 19: I need to cancel today's class to take care of a sick daughter. We will move the material scheduled for today to next Tuesday.
Tuesday, March 24: Fifteenth century Florentine artists were concerned with transforming the social status of the artist. Read the following webpages: Anthony Blunt, "The Social Position of the Artist" , A.C. Crombie excerpts and Renaissance Conceptions of Man. Pay special attention to the comparison between the jamb figures of Chartres Cathedral and the St. George by Donatello. Also read carefully the excerpts from Pico della Mirandola's Oration on the Dignity of Man.
Fifteenth century art is distinguished by a variety of modes of art. Two of the most important are exemplified by the following comparison of works. The painting on the left is the Brera Altarpiece by Piero della Francesca. It can be seen to represent the mathematical/scientific mode of painting, while the painting on the right is Sandro Botticelli's Birth of Venus which exemplifies the poetic mode. These different modes illustrate the different intellectual interests explored by early Renaissance artists. Compare these two works.
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Guidelines for the Second and Third Paper Assignments
March 24: Deadline for Submitting the Second Paper
Thursday, March 26: we will turn to a consideration of the work of Michelangelo. Look at the images of the David and the Creation of Adam included on the webpage Renaissance conceptions of Man. Read the excerpts of Vasari's biography of Michelangelo. To get a sense of the significant change in the conception of the artist in little over a hundred years, compare the introduction of Vasari account to the introduction of Cennino Cennini's Craftsman's Handbook.
Tuesday, March 31: We will devote the class to an examination of the Art and Science of Leonardo da Vinci.
Thursday, April 2: we will focus on the Mona Lisa.
Tuesday, April 14: The literary historian Stephen Greenblatt wrote a book in the early 1980s entitled Renaissance Self-Fashioning. Drawing upon sixteenth century etiquette books like Baldasar Castiglione's The Courtier, Greenblatt emphasized how identity is constructed or fashioned through the cultural codes presented by culture. Read the excerpts of John Martin's essay entitled "Inventing Sincerity, Refashioning Prudence: the Discovery of the Individual in Renaissance Europe."
The ideas about self-fashioning will be at the center of our discussion over the next part of the course. The significant increase in the number of self-portraits in the sixteenth century attests to artists' concerns with their identity. Self-portraits provide artists ways for artists to construct or fashion their identity as artists. A good example of this is presented by a self-portrait by a Florentine sculptor and rival of Michelangelo, Baccio Bandinelli. Read the webpage I have dedicated to Bandinelli's self-portrait. Consider a remarkable series of self-portraits created by Sofonisba Anguisola, a daughter of nobleman from Genoa who became a court painter active in the court of Philip II, King of Spain.
Note that I have added a comparison to consider at the end of page dedicated to Bandinelli's self-portrait. I would like you to consider this comparison as a way of gaining perspective on the transformations in the conception of the artist from the beginning of the fifteenth century to the middle of the sixteenth century.
Thursday, April 16: Albrecht Dürer, a German artist of the end of the fifteenth and early sixteenth century, was very conscious of his position and status as an artist. His series of self-portraits present us with a remarkable example of the artist consciously fashioning his artistic identity. This will be the focus of much our discussion, but before we consider the self-portraits I think it is important to get a sense of his artistic contribution. Review the following webpages that I have constructed for my Northern Renaissance art class to get a sense of the art of Albrecht Dürer: Key Dates and Events in the Life of Albrecht Dürer, Albrecht Dürer: the Human Figure and Introduction to Albrecht Dürer.
April 23: Deadline for Submitting the Third Paper
Thursday, April 23: we will examine Rembrandt's Self-Portraits. Consider the different identities he has fashioned or constructed for himself. Read the excerpt from Svetlana Alper's Rembrandt's Enterprise: the Studio and the Market. Discussions of these self-portraits regularly place them in the context of ideas of individuality in western culture. Where is the individuality in these self-portraits?
As a way of gaining a perspective on the contributions of Rembrandt in portraiture consider the following comparison to a portrait by his Dutch contemporary, Frans Hals:
Rembrandt (1606-69), Portrait of Jan Six, 1654. |
Frans Hals, Portrait of Balthasar Coymans, 1645. |
Read the linked article from Time: Man with the Golden Helmet How important do think the identity of the artist is to the value of this painting?
Tuesday, April 28: I need to cancel class. My daughter is starring in her Sixth Grade Play, and it is the only performance I can possibly attend.
Thursday, April 30: we will look at Velazquez's Las Meninas.
Tuesday, May 5: review page entitled Constructing Female Artistic Identity in the Seventeenth Century.(Note that this webpage is still a work in progress.) Pay special attention to the Judith Leyster self-portrait.
Thursday, May 7: Final Class Meeting: IRC 9, 9:00-10:30 (Note that the time has been changed from 8:00-10:30 to 9:00-10:30). You are responsible for submitting your writing portfolio which should include your fourth paper as well as copies of your earlier papers. If you have new revisions, make sure that they are clearly marked as new revisions. You are also responsible for turning in your Journal, which should include responses to all the web-pages directly linked from the Assignments page.
As the focus for the class, I want to consider the painting that Hans Holbein paints in 1533 entitled The Ambassadors. I encourage you to explore the extensive website I have created examining this painting.
Fourth Paper: due May 7: you are given the responsibility of organizing an exhibition around the general topic of the artist in social context. For your paper I want you to articulate a specific focus and thesis for your exhibition, and then introduce three works that are going to be the focal point of your exhibition. You need to write a statement for each of these works justifying their inclusion into the show. The specific focus of your exhibition is open to you. You can take a broad approach by considering something like images of women artists and their social context. Or you can take a narrower focus by discussing a specific artist and his/her social context. I would strongly encourage you to have a dialogue with me as you formulate your thoughts about this paper.