Module description

The module will provide a survey of western European art from the late Middle Ages to the end of the eighteenth century. Each lecture will focus on a particular work of art or monument, chosen to illustrate not only the achievement of great individual artists (including Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt), but also different media (painting, sculpture, architecture, print-making). Attention will also be paid to different art-historical approaches to the art of the Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Intended learning outcomes

• utilise a repertoire of images which serve as a vocabulary for the understanding and discussion of this period in the history of western art and architecture
• identify principal works of art from this period
• think critically about the making and meaning of works of art and architecture
• clearly present information and ideas in writing
• research a topic making intelligent use of library and IT resources
• exchange ideas in a group context

Module description

This module explores the intersection of visual culture with modernity, empire and revolution in the long nineteenth century, predominantly but not exclusively in Europe. Students pay close attention to the constructs of gender, class, race and sexuality, particularly in relation to imperialism, colonialism and rapid industrial, technological and social change. Each week introduces key movements and themes, including Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Orientalism, Primitivism, and the emergence of the avant-gardes. Throughout, visual objects and material history are examined using analytic tools including feminist, post-colonial and critical race theory.

Intended learning outcomes

• Be confident in their knowledge of the history of art and architecture during the nineteenth century
• Understand the essential critical, theoretical, social, political, and cultural issues relating to this period in the history of art
• Use skills of observation and analysis to critically discuss works of art from this period, speak and write clearly about related concepts, issues and contexts
• Research a topic, making use of the resources provided by the University Library
• Present information, ideas and arguments clearly in written and spoken form, using visual aids, working to deadlines and participating constructively in group discussion
• Evaluate and interpret evidence from a range of primary and secondary sources

Module description

This module examines the relationship between art and political struggle in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, exploring how practitioners around the globe have contributed to socio-cultural change and forged new ways of seeing. It addresses how artists, architects, photographers and designers have responded to the increasingly industrialised and fast-paced nature of modern and contemporary experience, and how this has led to a constant re-evaluation of what might be expected of art. Each week is devoted to a specific theme, including modernism, the metropolis, materiality, protest, dissent, and globalisation.

Intended learning outcomes

• Be confident in their knowledge of the history of art and architecture in the twentieth century, which is crucial to understanding the art produced today
• Understand the essential critical, theoretical, social, political, and cultural issues relating to this period in the history of art
• Use skills of observation and analysis to critically discuss works of art from this period, speak and write clearly about related concepts, issues and contexts
• Research a topic, making intelligent use of the resources provided by the Visual Resources Library, the University Library and Moodle
• Present information, ideas and arguments clearly in both written and spoken form, using visual aids, working to deadlines and participate constructively in group discussion
• Evaluate and interpret evidence from a range of primary and secondary sources

Module description

The module will provide a survey of western European art from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century. Each lecture will focus on a particular work or art, monument or movement, chosen to illustrate not only the achievement of great individual artists (including Courbet, Cassatt, Goncherova and Picasso), but also different media (painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, applied arts). Attention will also be paid to differing art-historical approaches to the art of the Modern period.

Intended learning outcomes

• utilise a repertoire of images which serve as a vocabulary for the understanding and discussion of this period in the history of western art and architecture
• identify principal works of art from this period
• think critically about the making and meaning of works of art and architecture
• identify critical, theoretical and historical issues relating to this period in the history of art
• speak and write clearly about these concepts and issues
• research a topic making intelligent use of library and IT resources

Module description

This module analyses the development of the central European art, architecture and design between the 1880s and the 1910s. Focusing on the Austro-Hungarian empire (in particular the cities of Vienna, Budapest, Prague and Cracow) and the Balkans (e.g. Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia), it examines significant new material expression in this key crucible of modern cultural forces. Emphasis is placed on the relationship between the artistic search for cultural and personal identity, the state and contemporary society. Issues of nationalism and supranationalism are analysed in the course of studying the work of such groups as the Austrian Secession, Wiener Werkstätte, Gödöllő colony, Mánes and Sztuka societies. Major figures include Klimt, (Otto) Wagner, Hoffmann, Lechner, Luksch-Makowsky, Mucha, Petrović, Rippl-Rónai and Wyspiański.

Intended learning outcomes

• understand the diversity of the material and intellectual cultures which shaped the heart of Europe around the turn of the twentieth century
• recognise the distinctive impulses towards national recognition, individualism and modernism whose impact was so profound in shaping modern Europe and beyond
• assess the individuals, ideas and cities in central Europe who and which played a prominent role in this
• develop their critical thinking by the application and appraisal of various methodological approaches to visual materialshis
• participate in group discussions and present their ideas clearly

Module description

In 1370 the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) founded his empire and made Samarqand his capital. This module introduces a culture Timur and his successors created and its transition during the long fifteenth century. Students will explore the art and architecture under their patronage in the eastern Islamic world, including present-day Iran, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. Emphasis is placed on the impacts of their nomadic tradition, politics, and ideology on the artistic production and urban landscape. The latter part of the module centers around the late Timurid court in Herat.

Intended learning outcomes

• Discuss aspects of Islamic, especially Perisan, art, architecture and urbanism
• Understand and articulate some of the theoretical issues around Timurid art and architecture
• Systematically analyze the style and content of such works
• Relate these to their wider historical and cultural context and understand the circumstances surrounding their creation and reception
• To critically assess and evaluate different types of primary sources

Module description

This module introduces students to the work of women artists from the 1550s to the present, including Artemisia Gentileschi, Berthe Morisot, Yayoi Kusama, and many others. Instead of an exhaustive survey, the module focuses on artists who also wrote about their lives in letters, diaries, journals and memoirs. Students will gain insights, from the perspective of the artists themselves, into the conditions affecting women’s art production, including the tensions between family life and creativity. We explore how women used writing alongside self-portraiture to represent themselves and their work, reshaping existing myths of the artist in the process. We also study the increasingly complex crossovers between life and art in text-based art works and artists’ books. As well as addressing the gendered constraints on women artists’ careers, we analyse the category ‘woman artist’ critically, consider how some artists resisted gender norms, and explore the work of non-binary artists.

Intended learning outcomes

• Understand the relationship between artists’ writings and their work
• Describe and identify key works by women artists from the sixteenth century to the present day
• Understand key debates about life-writing, self-portraiture and feminist theories of representation
• Conduct independent research through the use of library resources, the study of artworks and period sources, and other forms of art historical investigation
• Participate in constructive group discussion and present their ideas to others
• Work diligently under strict deadlines

Module description

This module examines European Gothic architecture from its origins in 12th-century France to the end of the Middle Ages. There will be a particular focus on ecclesiastical architecture, and on English and French Gothic, for it is in these fields that the growth and formal development of the style is best understood. Military, civic and domestic architecture will also be examined, and individual lectures devoted to Gothic architecture in Scotland, Germany, the Low Countries, Spain, Italy, and Central Europe. This course will not adopt a purely formalist approach. Issues of function and embellishment will be discussed where relevant to an understanding of Gothic architecture, and students will have an opportunity to address them in their coursework.

Intended learning outcomes

• analyse the exteriors and interiors of buildings on sight, stylistically and in historical terms.
• carry out independent research on historic architecture
• understand the style, iconography and symbolism of historic buildings
• understand architectural terminology, particularly as it relates to the Gothic style.
• advocate for the cultural value of historic architecture
• appreciate the place of architecture in relation to the other pre-20th-century arts commonly studied by art historians.

Module description

This 30-credit module provides an introduction to the most significant approaches currently practiced in art history. It is designed to encourage students to consider new ways in which they might think about art, society and history. Topics that will be explored include aesthetics, iconography, semiotics, feminism and queer theory, post-colonialism and critical race studies.

Intended learning outcomes

• recognise the critical and methodological debates that have defined art history since its inception as a discipline
• navigate the history of art history as a discipline, and identify changing theories of art
• engage with abstract, theoretical arguments, and to apply these arguments to particular cases and circumstances appropriately
• work effectively in small coordinated groups
• enhance oral and written communication abilities and the capacity to participate constructively in collective discussion
• engage intellectually with challenging texts, through note taking, gaining an understanding of the development of the argument, and formulating an appropriate response

Module description

Caught between two and three dimensions, the relief remains hard to pin down. It is at once an aesthetic concept and a category of object, a deceptive fiction and a solid reality, a bearer of knowledge and a storehouse of memory. This course studies salient examples of relief in virtual exhibition and in person, attending to functions and conditions of display; to narrative strategies; to constructions of space; and to material distinctions between painting and sculpture, carving and modelling, low and high elevation. Focus objects and weekly readings introduce key debates in the history of art, from the hierarchy of media and the invention of perspective to the didactics of dioramas and the design of monuments. Special attention will be paid to the development of the relief in early modern Europe (1400-1750). Other case studies include ancient stonecarving, medieval bronze doors, nineteenth-century topographic models, modern choreography, and contemporary memorials.

Intended learning outcomes

• Analyze and interpret three-dimensional works of art with confidence and precision. This includes describing forms, processes, tools, and materials with appropriate technical vocabulary introduced in lectures and readings.
• Enter into dialogue with past viewers, contemporary scholars, and peers through readings, text annotations, and in-class discussions, thereby appreciating art history as an ongoing conversation to which their voice adds value.
• Conceive and develop an original argument, and present it in an articulate and compelling manner.
• Conduct independent research through the use of library resources, the study of artworks and period sources, and other forms of art historical investigation.
• Participate in constructive group discussion and present their ideas to others.
• Work diligently under strict deadlines.

Module description

The Indian subcontinent is home to a rich variety of painting traditions, ranging from murals to illuminated manuscripts to devotional images. This module offers an introduction to the history of painting in India from the 10th through the 20th century. By using case studies from the major religious traditions and courts of India, this survey will explore the diversity of painting in South Asia and address its cultural and historical context. Students will encounter Buddhist palm-leaf manuscripts, sumptuously illuminated poems and stories, portraits of emperors and kings, and watercolour natural history studies. Drawing on a range of methodological and critical approaches, we will move beyond the field’s traditional emphasis on style and patronage to develop questions about forms of artistic knowledge. Topics covered include the role of the artist, the impact of cross-cultural interactions, and alternative approaches to modes of depiction such as naturalism or portraiture.

Intended learning outcomes

• Describe and identify key South Asian works of art, artists, and styles from the tenth to twentieth century
• Understand the artistic processes and materials involved in the major painting traditions of South Asia
• Systematically analyse the relationship between South Asian painting and major cultural, historical, and literary movements
• Convey their ideas to others through clear written analysis, group discussions, and presentations
• Engage critically with historiographical and methodological issues involved in the analysis of artworks