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JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY
COURSE CODE: "AH 153"
COURSE NAME: "Foundations in early Modern Art"
SEMESTER & YEAR:
Spring 2024
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SYLLABUS
INSTRUCTOR:
Laura Foster
EMAIL: [email protected]
HOURS:
TTH 10:00-11:15 AM
TOTAL NO. OF CONTACT HOURS:
45
CREDITS:
3
PREREQUISITES:
OFFICE HOURS:
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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The course addresses the skills, methods and issues essential to building the future Art Historian’s tool kit. To this end, it develops simultaneously on three levels: immersing students in progressively complex assignments and exams; getting students to practice art history as an issue-based analysis of objects; providing students with the historical and methodological frameworks specific to the field. The course lays the foundation for looking at, understanding and working in the visual arts. The material corpus that the course draws on is primarily Early Modern Europe and the Americas, across a period roughly between AD 1400-1750.
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SUMMARY OF COURSE CONTENT:
The course is structured with a fundamentally chronological approach. This provides a framing
‘scaffold’ to facilitate a ‘global Early Modern’ approach as investigative practice, and to engage
with the abundance of theoretical approaches and critical debates that are essential to
understanding artistic practices of the Early Modern period. The historical period was one of new cultural encounter, prompted by religious, scientific, and economic interests that resulted in travel throughout the world. The first half of the course will concentrate upon the world before 1492, the second half of the course focuses upon the dramatic economic and religious upheavals in the wake of European colonial expansion. The course is organized in four overarching issues, each of which frame a different way to approach art and archaeology: Art and vision, Art and exchange, Art and history, Art and empires. As well as providing avenues of in-depth analysis pertinent to the works examined, these issues engage with the theoretical approaches and methods that characterize the analysis of Early Modern art.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES:
- Recognize key works and issues in early modern art and architecture
- Develop an understanding of the chronology and development of art from the late Medieval period to the 18th century.
- Exercise critical thinking while looking, reading, writing and speaking about early modern art and architecture
- Identify, analyze and interpret significant aspects and themes in the histories of early modern art within different social, historical and critical contexts
- Evaluate the ways that art as is shaped by dynamic social and cultural interactions
- Recognize and reason about the contributions of influential artists and art historians
- Formulate an analytical argument and draw out observations on the cultural outlook, norms and histories that influenced the production, creation and reception of the works under discussion.
- Develop technical vocabulary appropriate to the fields of art history, communication, studio art and, more generally, to our image-based culture.
- Develop an aptitude at visual analysis and the contextualization of works in different critical frameworks
- Learn to visually analyze works in relation to other genres and other bodies of knowledge — scientific, political, economic, intellectual
- Formulate and develop critical and rigorous arguments, especially through assignments; find and evaluate pertinent, high-quality sources and information
- Structure and effectively communicate ideas and information orally and in writing; understand how ideas and information may be conveyed visually
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TEXTBOOK:
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REQUIRED RESERVED READING:
| Book Title | Author | Publisher | ISBN number | Library Call Number | Comments |
| A New History of Italian Renaissance Art | Stephen Campbell and Michael Cole | Thames & Hudson | 9780500239759 | N6915 .C283 2017 | |
| The Mirror of the Artist: Northern Renaissance Art in Its Historical Context | Craig Harbison | Laurence King | 9780133685497 | N6370 .H26 | |
| The Royal Arts of Africa | Suzanne Preston Blier | H.N. Abrams | 9780810927056 | N7391.65 .B58 1998 | |
| The Arts of China | Michael Sullivan | University of California Press | 9780520294806 | N7340 .S92 2018 | |
| Baroque & Rococo. Art & Culture | Vernon Hyde Minor | Laurence King | 9781856691734 | N6410 .M56 | |
RECOMMENDED RESERVED READING:
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GRADING POLICY
-ASSESSMENT METHODS:
| Assignment | Guidelines | Weight |
| Visual Analysis | 1. Image and full caption (list of essential data to identify the work)
2. Visual analysis, maximum 500 words | 5% |
| Contextual Analysis and Significance | 1. Image and full caption
2. Visual analysis, maximum 500 words
3. Context and significance, maximum 500 words | 10% |
| Compare and Contrast | 1. Images and full captions for the two works
2. Bullet points of main issues in maximum 250 words | 15% |
| Midterm Examination | Three compare and contrast essays. No guiding question is provided | 20% |
| Research Paper | Approximately 1500 words. Students are free to choose the work they want from the list
provided; all works are on display in situ or in museums in Rome. The choice of work and
research question must be submitted for Professor approval. | 25% |
| Final Examination | 1. One compare and contrast essay.
2. Two essays. | 25% |
-ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
AWork of this quality directly addresses the question or problem raised and provides a coherent argument displaying an extensive knowledge of relevant information or content. This type of work demonstrates the ability to critically evaluate concepts and theory and has an element of novelty and originality. There is clear evidence of a significant amount of reading beyond that required for the course.
BThis is highly competent level of performance and directly addresses the question or problem raised.There is a demonstration of some ability to critically evaluatetheory and concepts and relate them to practice. Discussions reflect the student’s own arguments and are not simply a repetition of standard lecture andreference material. The work does not suffer from any major errors or omissions and provides evidence of reading beyond the required assignments.
CThis is an acceptable level of performance and provides answers that are clear but limited, reflecting the information offered in the lectures and reference readings.
DThis level of performances demonstrates that the student lacks a coherent grasp of the material.Important information is omitted and irrelevant points included.In effect, the student has barely done enough to persuade the instructor that s/he should not fail.
FThis work fails to show any knowledge or understanding of the issues raised in the question. Most of the material in the answer is irrelevant.
-ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS:
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS AND EXAMINATION POLICY
You cannot make-up a major exam (midterm or final) without the permission of the Dean’s Office. The Dean’s Office will grant such permission only when the absence was caused by a serious impediment, such as a documented illness, hospitalization or death in the immediate family (in which you must attend the funeral) or other situations of similar gravity. Absences due to other meaningful conflicts, such as job interviews, family celebrations, travel difficulties, student misunderstandings or personal convenience, will not be excused. Students who will be absent from a major exam must notify the Dean’s Office prior to that exam. Absences from class due to the observance of a religious holiday will normally be excused. Individual students who will have to miss class to observe a religious holiday should notify the instructor by the end of the Add/Drop period to make prior arrangements for making up any work that will be missed. The final exam period runs until ____________
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ACADEMIC HONESTY
As stated in the university catalog, any student who commits an act of academic
dishonesty will receive a failing grade on the work in which the dishonesty occurred.
In addition, acts of academic dishonesty, irrespective of the weight of the assignment,
may result in the student receiving a failing grade in the course. Instances of
academic dishonesty will be reported to the Dean of Academic Affairs. A student
who is reported twice for academic dishonesty is subject to summary dismissal from
the University. In such a case, the Academic Council will then make a recommendation
to the President, who will make the final decision.
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STUDENTS WITH LEARNING OR OTHER DISABILITIES
John Cabot University does not discriminate on the basis of disability or handicap.
Students with approved accommodations must inform their professors at the beginning
of the term. Please see the website for the complete policy.
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SCHEDULE
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Date
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Lecture Topic
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Jan 16
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Course Introduction and Overview
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Jan 18
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Early Modern Art and Architecture: Tools for analysis
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I. Art and Vision – Techniques of Visualizing the World
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Jan 23
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Defining Nature: Italian Art and Architecture, 1400-1430
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Jan 25
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The Revolution in Perspective: Italian Art and Architecture, 1400-1430
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Jan 30
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The Changing Nature of Pictorial Space: Italian Painting, 1430-1480
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Feb 1
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Visions of the City: Italian Architecture and Sculpture, 1430-1480
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Feb 6
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Symbols of Triumph: Italian Art and Architecture, 1480-1500
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II. Art and Exchange – Material Economies
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Feb 8
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Making Art and Royal Ties: Northern European Art and Architecture, 1350-1400
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Feb 13
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The Value of Color: Northern European Art and Architecture, 1400-1450
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Feb 15
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The Fabric of Painting: Northern European Art, 1400-1450
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Feb 16 Makeup day
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The Movement of Art Works: Northern European Art, 1450-1500
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Feb 20
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Ancient and Modern Heroes: Italian art and architecture, 1500-1550
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Feb 22
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Reflection of the Self: Italian art and architecture, 1500-1550
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Spring Break Feb 26 – March 1
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III. Art and History – Appropriation of the Past
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Mar 5
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Review for Midterm
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Mar 7
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Midterm Exam
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Mar 12
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Term paper workshop: How to choose a work, define a research question, obtain quality bibliographical sources and start working
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Mar 14
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Stories of Dynasty: Italian art and architecture, 1500-1550
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Mar 19
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Social Mobility and Art Making: Northern European Art and Architecture, 1500-1550
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Mar 21
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Landscape and Possession: Northern European Art, 1550-1650
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Mar 26
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Bringing the Past into the Present: Italian and Spanish Art and Architecture, 1550-1620
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Mar 28
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Spectacle and Mystical Experience: Italian and Spanish Art and Architecture, 1620-1700
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Apr 2
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Narrating National Identity: Northern European Art, 1650-1725
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IV. Art and Empires – Visual Representation and Power
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Apr 4
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Mexica and Incan Art and Architecture Before and After Spanish Colonization
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Apr 9
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Art of West Africa: Mali, Sapi-Portuguese and Kingdom of Benin
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Apr 11
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Elites and the Display of Cultural Identity in China of the Ming Dynasty
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Apr 16
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Culture in Dialogue: China in the Qing Dynasty
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Apr 18
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Monks and Shoguns: Japan during the Muromachi and Momoyama Periods
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Apr 23
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Japan: Early Edo
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