Assignments
Wednesday, January 23: review the page Introduction: Mary of Burgundy in Prayer
Wednesday, January 30: From Cathedral to Court: French Royal Patronage of the Fourteenth Century. The major monuments we will be considering in this class will be the early fourteenth century Life of St. Denis manuscript and the Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux by Jean Pucelle. The Pucelle Heritage.
Wednesday, February 6:The Court of Charles V and Establishing Female Literary Authority: this class will combine two different topics. We will begin with an examination of the court patronage of Charles V of France. It will be crucial to situate these works within the context of court culture. As part of our discussion we will consider the change in palace design evident in Charles V's revisions to the Louvre (be aware that this page is a work in progress). This will be related to a series of innovative presentation images to his manuscripts. For these see the web-page entitled: Representations of Intimacy. The second part of the class will focus on the career of Christine de Pizan. The focus of our discussion will be on how she as a woman author established her literary authority within the context of a very patriarchal world. Review the web-page entitled: Christine de Pizan and Establishing Female Literary Authority. The dedicatory poem introducing the copy of Christine's collected works given to Isabeau de Bavière. For the primary images we will be discussing see page entitled Images of Charles V, le Sage and Christine de Pizan and Establishing Female Literary Authority: A Gallery of Images. A useful comparison can be made between Christine's images and those included in the texts of Pierre Salmon.
As we consider late fourteenth and early fifteenth century French art and then go on to examine Netherlandish art of the fifteenth century, it is important to be aware of the central role the Valois family plays. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the family genealogy:
Tuesday, February 14: From Workshop to Chamber: the Paris Book Industry of the Early Fifteenth Century:Fourteenth and Fifteenth century Paris was the site of a very vital book industry. As a way of understanding the development of the artist, we need to consider the workings of the book industry. Review the webpage entitled Medieval Guilds and Craft Production. Read article entitled Considering a Marginal Master. Marginal Matters Home. Dissertation images
Tuesday, February 21: First Seminar: The Très riches heures and the World of Jean de Berry: we will be devoting this week to a seminar on the Très riches heures of John of Berry. Review the web page dedicated to the Très riches heures, explore the web resources linked to this page, and read the article by Alexander linked to this web page. Review the webpage entitled History of Northern Renaissance Art: Introduction which focuses on the January page.
Tuesday, March 6: Jan Van Eyck as the Court Painter for the Duke of Burgundy: we are going to shift our focus away from France to begin our consideration of Netherlandish art. I want to begin with Jan Van Eyck. To give you an introduction to the political, cultural, social, and intellectual contexts review the page entitled The Frontispiece to the Chroniques de Hainaut: An Introduction to Valois Burgundy. I want to use this as an introduction to an examination of one of Van Eyck's most famous images: the Rolin Madonna. Be aware the figure praying before the Virgin is Nicholas Rolin who also appears prominently in the Chroniques de Hainaut frontispiece. An important factor in our discussion will be the role of Van Eyck as the court painter for the Duke of Burgundy. See the page I have devoted to Jan Van Eyck as Court Artist. You might also want to consider the gallery I have constructed of Van Eyck's works.
Tuesday, March 13: The Second Seminar will focus on the Arnolfini Wedding Portrait. We will be discussing this work next week. You can begin to review the page I have constructed relating to this painting. But rather than limiting your options for the second paper to this painting, I want to give you the option to consider any aspect of the art of Jan van Eyck that interests you. I would like you to consult me about your choice of topic to make sure that you are on the right direction.
Tuesday, March 20: review page entitled The Work of Jan Van Eyck and Religious Vision.
Tuesday, March 27: We will be examining the work of the Master of Flémalle/ Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden. In preparing for this class review the following webpages: Robert Campin, Introduction to the Art of Rogier van der Weyden, and Rogier van der Weyden. In considering this work think about the comparisons of these artists to the art of Jan van Eyck. In my survey course I make the following comparisons:
Robert Campin, Madonna of the Firescreen, c. 1430. |
Jan van Eyck, Rolin Madonna. c. 1435 |
Rogier van der Weyden, St. Luke Drawing the Virgin, c. 1435-40. |
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Tuesday, April 10: The Tormented Worlds of Hieronymus Bosch and Mathias Grünewald. Review page dedicated to Bosch's Prado Epiphany
Tuesday, April 17: The Art of Albrecht Dürer and the Changing Conception of the Artist. Review web-page entitled Key Dates and Events in the Life of Albrecht Dürer, Albrecht Dürer: the Human Figure and The Self Portraits of Albrecht Dürer. Introduction to Albrecht Dürer.
Tuesday, April 24: We will focus on The Self Portraits of Albrecht Dürer.
Tuesday, May 1: Hans Holbein the Younger and The Ambassadors (1533). This is a pretty extensive site. You might want to begin exploring it. Do not feel obliged to print all of this out.
