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Syllabus
Seminar
Propaganda Portraits: Royal Imagery in the Age of Absolutism
[course #]
[semester & year]
[time of course meetings]
[location of course meetings]
Instructor:
William Ambler
william.ambler@gmail.com
(212) 722-0877
Office hours after class and by appointment
Course Description:
This course studies the relationship between art and politics in European Baroque state
portraiture.
In the 17th century, with few means to reach a broad populace, depictions of the king played a
central part in convincing the people of a monarch’s legitimate authority. The most talented
artists of the age glorified their monarchs in paint, harnessing religious and Roman mythological
symbolism to give visual form to political theories that justified increasingly centralized royal
rule.
To understand these portraits in their original context, the modern viewer must become familiar
with the debates that preoccupied 17th century European courts: religious controversies of the
Reformation; dynastic ambitions of European royal houses; and political theories of legitimate
government. Understanding an artist’s position at a royal court and knowledge of the preexisting traditions of royal imagery are also essential.
Learning Outcomes:
By the end of the course, students will have acquired an understanding of the political, religious,
and cultural history of Europe in the sixteenth and seventeenth century. They will also be able to
analyze visual imagery in the context of the audience for which it was created originally. In
addition, students will also have refined the skills necessary for successful participation in
college seminars: critical reading, analytical discussion, and presentation delivery. They will
also hone their research skills, master correct formatting for academic texts, and refine their
prose while writing essays.
Course Requirements:
 Class participation. Read assigned texts and participate in discussion.
20% of course grade.
 Reading presentations. Each student will summarize and critique a reading in class.
10% of course grade.
 Written summary of reading presentation (maximum 3 pages). Due 1 week after
delivering your summary.
10% of course grade.
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Mid-term paper. Each student will write a comparative critique of two readings, neither
of which may be the reading summarized for presentation (5-6 pages). Due [date].
20% of course grade.
Research presentation. Each student will research a subject in depth and deliver a
presentation to the rest of the class.
20% of course grade.
Final paper. Students will write a final paper based on their research presentations (8-12
pages). Due [date].
20% of course grade.
Attendance:
Attendance is not optional, and failure to attend class without good excuse will affect grades
more than the 20% allocated to class participation.
Course Materials:
Course information is available online at: [web address]
Here you will find class information, assignments, lecture PowerPoints, study suggestions, etc.
Please check it often.
Readings:
There are no books that students must purchase for this course.
Readings are listed here in the syllabus and online at: [web address]
Most are available through the reserve desk in the library, and some are online.
Evaluation:
Grading follows the guidelines established by NYU CAS. For more detailed information, see:
[web address]
Teaching Strategies:
This course will employ a mix of lectures, class discussion, and student presentations. As a
small seminar, lectures and presentations will remain relatively informal with the opportunity for
questions. Ultimately, the goal is for you, the students, to teach each other, with the professor
serving as discussion leader and moderator.
Presentation Assignments and Schedule:
In the second week of class, we will choose our assignments for reading and for research
presentations. Each student will select one reading from weeks 3-7 to summarize and present to
the class. Each student will also select a research topic to present from those listed in weeks 814. Once you have selected your assignment, it is essential to the schedule of the class that you
present on the day you have chosen. Rescheduling due to illness is possible only if the student
presents a note from a clinic or doctor.
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Course Outline:
The course is divided into three sections.
 Weeks 1-2, the lecturer provides a general historical review of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, as well as a summary of developments in royal portraiture in
sixteenth century.
 Weeks 3-7, each student summarizes and critiques an assigned reading, followed by
broader class discussion. Students should each prepare two or more questions in advance
about each reading.
 Weeks 8-14, each student will deliver a research presentation on an assigned subject,
followed by broader class discussion. Each student should prepare two or more questions
for the presenters based on the week’s assigned reading.
Week one – [date(s)]
 Introduction
 Review of European history 1500-1600
Reading assignments in preparation for week two:
-Palmer, R. R. and Joel Colton, A History of the Modern World, McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York,
2002. Chapters 2.8-24 (pp.71 - 201).
Week two - [date(s)]
 Review of European history 1600-1700
Reading assignments in preparation for week three:
(First readings presented by students. Discussion following each reading requires the entire class
to be familiar with all readings.)
1 & 2) Campbell, Lorne, Renaissance Portraits: European Portrait-Making in the 14th, 15th and
16th Centuries, Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1990. Introduction (pp. 1-40);
Chapter 8 – “The Functions and Uses of Portraits” (pp.193-227). – _______________ &
_______________
3) Pope-Hennessy, John, The Portrait in the Renaissance, Princeton University Press, Princeton,
1966. Chapter IV – “The Court Portrait” (pp. 155-204) – _______________
4) Haskell, Francis, History and its Images: Art and the Interpretation of the Past, Yale University Press,
New Haven & London, 1993. Chapter 2 – “Portraits from the Past” (pp. 26-79). – _______________
Week three - [date(s)]
 Portraits
Reading assignments in preparation for week four:
1 & 2) Jenkins, Marianna Duncan. The state portrait, its origin and evolution, Monographs on
archaeology and fine arts, 3. [New York]: College Art Assn. of America in conjunction with the
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Art Bulletin, 1947. Sections I-VI (pp. 1-22); VII-XII (pp. 22-47) – _______________ &
_______________
3 & 4) Michael Levey, Painting at Court, New York University Press, New York, 1971. Chapter
3 – Propaganda for the Prince (pp. 81-116); Chapter 4 – The Courtier-Artist (pp. 117-152). –
_______________ & _______________
Week four - [date(s)]
 Court Portraits
Reading assignments in preparation for week five:
1 & 2) Warnke, Martin. The court artist: on the ancestry of the modern artist, Ideas in context.
Cambridge; New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1993. (pp. 111-155; pp. 155-168 &
212-224. – _______________ & _______________
(3) Orso, Steven N. Philip IV and the decoration of the Alcázar of Madrid. Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1986. Chapter III – “The Gilded Hall and Conventions of Spanish
Habsburg Decoration” (pp.118-135). – _______________
(4) Woodall, Joanna. "'His Majesty's most majestic room': The division of sovereign identity in
Philip II of Spain's lost portrait gallery at El Pardo." Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 46,
(1995): 52-103. – _______________
Assignment for week five: Write a 1-2 page comparison of the two class readings thus far that
you have liked most and least.
Week five - [date(s)]
 Artists at Court
 Displays of royal portraits
Readings in preparation for week six:
1 & 2) Monod, Paul Kléber, The Power of Kings: Monarchy and Religion in Europe 1589-1715,
Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 1999. Introduction (pp. 1-31); “The sickness of
the Royal Body, 1589-1610” (pp. 33-80). – _______________ & _______________
3) Feros, Antonio. ""Sacred and Terrifying Gazes": languages and Images of Power in Early
Modern Spain." In The Cambridge companion to Velázquez, edited by Suzanne L. StrattonPruitt, 68-86. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002. –
_______________
4) Woodall, Joanna. "An Exemplary Consort: Antonis Mor's Portrait of Mary Tudor." Art
History 14, no. 2 (1991): 192-224. – _______________
Week six - [date(s)]
 Theories of Monarchy
Readings in preparation for week seven:
1) Dixon, Annette, ed., Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses, Amazons in Renaissance and
Baroque Art, Merrell, London, 2002. “Introduction” & “Women’s Authority in the State and
Household in Early Modern Europe” (pp. 19-39) & “Women Who Ruled: Queens, Goddesses,
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Amazons 1500-1650 A Thematic Overview” (pp. 119-178 mostly illustrations). –
_______________
2) Reynolds, Anna, In Fine Style: The Art of Tudor and Stuart Fashion, Royal Collection Trust,
London. Chapter 1 – Dress and its Meanings (pp. 11-29) & Chapter 6 – Fashion Across the
Borders (185-221). – _______________
Week seven - [date(s)]
 Modes of Feminine Presentation and Fashion
 Lecture on royal portraiture, 1500-1600, Prof. Ambler
Readings in preparation for week eight:
- Schroth, Sarah. "Re-Presenting Philip III and His Favorite: Changes in Court Portraiture 15981621." Boletín del Museo del Prado XVII, no. 36 (2000): 39-50.
- Brown, Jonathan. "Enemies of Flattery: Velázquez’ Portraits of Philip IV." Journal of
Interdisciplinary History XVII, no. 1 (1986): 137-54.
- Kaufmann, Thomas DaCosta, Court Cloister & City: The Art and Culture of Central Europe
1450-1800, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1995. Chapter 8 – “Princely Patronage of the
Later Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries: The Example and Impact of Art at the Court of
Rudolf II”, (pp. 184-203).
Week eight - [date(s)]
(First week of student research presentations)
 Philip III of Spain – _________________
 Philip IV of Spain – _________________
 Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II – _________________
Readings in preparation for week nine:
- Cohen, Sarah R., “Rubens's France: Gender and Personification in the Marie de Médicis
Cycle”, The Art Bulletin, 2003 Volume: 85 Issue: 3 Pp. 490 – 522.
- Vivanti, Corrado, “Henry IV, the Gallic Hercules”, Journal of the Warburg & Courtauld
Institutes, 1967, vol. 30, pp176-97.
Week nine - [date(s)]
 Henri IV of France – _________________
 Marie de Medici – _________________
 Louis XIII & Richelieu – _________________
Readings in preparation for week ten:
- Hatton, Ragnhild, “Louis XIV: At the court of the Sun King”, The Courts of Europe: Politics
Patronage and Royalty 1400-1800, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, St. Louis, San
Francisco, 1977, pp. 121-146.
- Belsey, Andrew, and Catherine Belsey. "Icons of Divinity: Portraits of Elizabeth I." In
Renaissance Bodies: the human figure in English culture c.1540-1660, edited by Lucy Gent and
Nigel Llewellyn, 11-35. London: Reaktion, 1990.
- Strong, Roy, Van Dyck’s Charles I on Horseback, Allen Lane, London, 1972.
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Week ten – [date(s)]
 Louis XIV – _________________
 Elizabeth I of England – _________________
 James I & Charles I of England and Scotland – _________________
Readings in preparation for week eleven:
- Brown, Jonathan. "“Peut-on Assez Louer Cet Excellent Ministre?” Imagery of the Favourite in
England, France and Spain." In The World of the Favourite, edited by J. H. and L. W. B.
Brockliss Elliott, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1999 (pp. 223-35).
- Lunger Knoppers, Laura, “The Politics of Portraiture: Oliver Cromwell and the Plain Style,”
Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 51, No. 4 (Winter, 1998) (pp. 1282-1319).
- Sharpe, Kevin, “ “Thy Longing Country’s Darling and Desire”: Aesthetics, Sex, and Politics in
the England of Charles II”, Politics, Transgression, and Representation at the Court of Charles
II, ed. Julia Marciari Alexander and Catharine MacLeod, Yale University Press, 2007 (pp. 1-32).
Week eleven – [date(s)]
 Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell – _________________
 Charles II & James II of England and Scotland – _________________
 Favorites: Count-Duke Olivares in Spain and the Duke of Buckingham in Enlgand –
_________________
Readings in preparation for week twelve:
- Trevor-Roper, Hugh, Princes and Artists: Patronage and Ideology at Four Habsburg Courts
1517-1633, Thames and Hudson, London, 1976. Chapter four – The Archdukes and Rubens (pp.
116 – 152).
- Hook, Judith A., “Urban VIII: The paradox of a spiritual monarchy”, The Courts of Europe:
Politics Patronage and Royalty 1400-1800, McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York, St. Louis,
San Francisco, 1977, pp. 213-232.
- Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Power & Glory: Medici Portraits from the Uffizi Gallery,
The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 2001.
Week twelve - [date(s)]
 Regents: Archdukes Albert & Isabella in Flanders – _________________
 Pope Urban VIII Barberini – _________________
 The Medici of Florence – _________________
Week thirteen - [date(s)]
 Field trip to Metropolitan Museum of Art
Week fourteen - [date(s)]
 Seminar summary
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Reading suggestions for research presentations and papers:
Auerbach, Erna. Tudor artists; a study of painters in the royal service and of portraiture on illuminated
documents from the accession of Henry VIII to the death of Elizabeth I. [London]: University of
London, Athlone Press, 1954.
Belsey, Andrew, and Catherine Belsey. "Icons of Divinity: Portraits of Elizabeth I." In Renaissance
bodies : the human figure in English culture c.1540-1660, edited by Lucy Gent and Nigel
Llewellyn, 11-35. London: Reaktion, 1990.
Brilliant, Richard. Portraiture. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1991.
Brown, Jonathan. "Enemies of Flattery: Velázquez’ Portraits of Philip IV." Journal of Interdisciplinary
History XVII, no. 1 (1986): 137-54.
———. "“Peut-on Assez Louer Cet Excellent Ministre?” Imagery of the Favourite in England, France
and Spain." In The World of the Favourite, edited by J. H. and L. W. B. Brockliss Elliott, 223-35.
New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1999.
Bryson, Anna. "The Rhetoric of Status: Gesture, Demeanour, and the Image of the Gentleman in
Sixteenth- and Seventeenth-Century England." In Renaissance bodies : the human figure in
English culture c.1540-1660, edited by Lucy Gent and Nigel Llewellyn, 136-53. London:
Reaktion, 1990.
Campbell, Lorne, Miguel Falomir, Jennifer Fletcher, and Luke Syson. Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to
Titian. Edited by London National Gallery Company. London: Yale University Press, 2008.
Erasmus, Desiderius, Lisa Jardine, Neil M. Cheshire, and Michael J. Heath. The education of a Christian
prince, Cambridge texts in the history of political thought. Cambridge, U.K. ; New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Falomir, Miguel. "The Court Portrait." In Renaissance Faces: Van Eyck to Titian, 66-79. London: Yale
University Press, 2008.
Feros, Antonio. ""Sacred and Terrifying Gazes": languages and Images of Power in Early Modern Spain."
In The Cambridge companion to Velázquez, edited by Suzanne L. Stratton-Pruitt, 68-86.
Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
Fletcher, Jennifer. "The Renaissance Portrait: Functions, Uses and Display." Renaissance Faces: Van
Eyck to Titian (2008): 46-65.
Jenkins, Marianna Duncan. The state portrait, its origin and evolution, Monographs on archaeology and
fine arts, 3. [New York]: College Art Assn. of America in conjunction with the Art Bulletin,
1947.
Langedijk, Karla, and Patricia Wardle. The portraits of the Medici : 15th-18th centuries. [Firenze]: Studio
per edizioni scelte, 1981.
Lenaghan, Patrick, and Hispanic Society of America. Images for the Spanish monarchy : art and the
state, 1516-1700. New York: The Hispanic Society of America, 1998.
Liedtke, Walter. The Royal Horse and Rider: Painting, Sculpture, and Horsemanship 1500-1800. New
York: Abaris Books, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1989.
Matthews, P. G. "Portraits of Philip II of Spain as King of England." The Burlington Magazine, January
2000, 13-19.
Moffit, John F. "Rubens’s Duke of Lerma, Equestrian amongst ‘Imperial Horsemen’." Artibus et
Historiae 15, no. 29 (1994): 99-110.
———. "The Theoretical Basis of Velázquez's Court Portraiture." Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 2, no.
53 (1990): 216-25.
Orso, Steven N. Philip IV and the decoration of the Alcázar of Madrid. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton
University Press, 1986.
Pope-Hennessy, John Wyndham. The portrait in the Renaissance. [New York,: Bollingen Foundation;
distributed by] Pantheon Books, 1966.
Portús, Javier, ed. The Spanish Portrait: From El Greco to Picasso. Madrid: Museo Nacional del Prado,
2004.
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Portús Pérez, Javier. "The Varied Fortunes of the Portrait in Spain." In The Spanish portrait : from El
Greco to Picasso, edited by Javier Portús Pérez, 398 p. London: Scala, 2004.
Ruiz Gómez, Leticia. "Court Portraits in the Spanish Monarchy (1530-1660)." In The Spanish portrait :
from El Greco to Picasso, 92-109. London: Scala, 2004.
Schroth, Sarah. "A New Style of Grandeur: Politics and Patronage at the Court of Philip III." In El Greco
to Velázquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III, edited by Sarah Schroth, and Ronni Baer, 76121. Boston: MFA Publications, 2008.
———. "Re-Presenting Philip III and His Favorite: Changes in Court Portraiture 1598-1621." Boletín del
Museo del Prado XVII, no. 36 (2000): 39-50.
Strong, Roy C., and Paul Mellon Foundation for British Art. The English icon: Elizabethan & Jacobean
portraiture. London, New York: Paul Mellon Foundation for British Art, Pantheon Books, 1969.
Warnke, Martin. The court artist : on the ancestry of the modern artist, Ideas in context. Cambridge ;
New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
Wheatcroft, Andrew. The Habsburgs : embodying empire. 1st ed. London ; New York: Viking, 1995.
Woodall, Joanna. "An Exemplary Consort: Antonis Mor's Portrait of Mary Tudor." Art History 14, no. 2
(1991): 192-224.
———. "'His Majesty's most majestic room': The division of sovereign identity in Philip II of Spain's lost
portrait gallery at El Pardo." Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek 46, (1995): 52-103.