MODULES AVAILABLE TO OUTSIDE AND VISITING
STUDENTS IN THE HISTORY OF ART DEPARTMENT
IN 2013-14
HA1A1 - INTRODUCTION TO ART HISTORY: THE NATURAL WORLD &
THE ARTS OF MODERNITY
HA1A2 - INTRODUCTION TO ART HISTORY: CLASSICISM AND THE
ARTS OF CHRISTIANITY
HA2A1 - METHODS IN ART HISTORY
HA2A2 - ART & SOCIETY IN RENAISSANCE FLORENCE
HA2C4 – PRACTICAL ART: ARTISTIC MEDIA & TECHNIQUES
HA2C5 – MODERNISM
HA2D6 – ART OF THE BAROQUE
_____________________________________________________________________
HA1A1 - INTRODUCTION TO ART HISTORY: THE NATURAL
WORLD & THE ARTS OF MODERNITY
This module comprises a series of lectures and related seminars which look at the two
themes of The Natural World and The Arts of Modernity. The module will provide a
historical survey of western art which - instead of adopting a conventional
chronological approach - employs a thematic one which encourages stimulating crosscomparisons across time and space. It will introduce students to the broad spectrum
of images, ideas and approaches which the history of art comprises. Students will
acquire a basic grasp of the essential areas which they will need to use as reference
points for other modules in the degree.
This first-year core module will give students a foundation in the history of art,
architecture and the applied arts from the Middle Ages to the present day. It will
continue to train students in core skills (of visual analysis, use of specialist vocabulary
and methodology, essay writing, seminar presentation) essential to their progress.
HA1A2 - INTRODUCTION TO ART HISTORY: CLASSICISM
AND THE ARTS OF CHRISTIANITY
The module is formed by a series of lectures and related seminars that address the
intertwined themes of Classicism and Christianity. The module will provide a
historical survey of western art from antiquity to the Renaissance and its reception in
the modern and contemporary age. The lectures follow a broadly chronological
sweep, while the related seminars will concentrate on issues of technique, terminology
and iconography. The main goal of this module is to provide students with the tools
necessary to describe and analyse artworks – in terms of how an image or object is
made, as well as its form and iconography. Students will acquire a basic grasp of the
essential topics which will be dealt with and deepened in other modules of the
undergraduate degree.
This first-year core module will also teach students the use of specialist vocabulary
and methodology, and the techniques of essay writing and oral presentation: skills
which are essential to their progress.
HA2A1-METHODS IN ART HISTORY
The module aims to familiarise students with a range of art-historical methods for
interpreting meaning and effects in art, and for understanding the historicity of art.
The Autumn term's Methods will concentrate on the art in ‘art history’ rather than
history (which will be the focus of the Spring term).
HA2A2 - ART & SOCIETY IN RENAISSANCE FLORENCE
Florence remains the locus classicus of the Italian Renaisssance, the subject of the
most intensive and innovative research in the field of Renaissance visual culture. This
course introduces you to traditional narratives of artistic genius and renewal, but also
addresses more recent approaches, which have stressed the social, economic, ritual,
gendered and political contexts of Florentine visual culture. We will examine the fine
arts of painting and sculpture, but also architecture, the urban fabric of the city, and
how Florentines experienced art in their daily lives. You will be encouraged to be
historiographically literate, to think critically and independently about visual and
contextual material, and to compose reasoned arguments using material from both. By
familiarising students with the debates, genres and terminology of Italian Renaissance
art, this course also provides an excellent grounding for the material taught during the
Venice term in the autumn of the third year.
HA2C4 – PRACTICAL ART: ARTISTIC MEDIA & TECHNIQUES
Students will study the technical aspects of traditional art and have the opportunity to
investigate a wide range of approaches to contemporary fine art, including sculpture
and installation. The course is also characterised by its use of drawing and objective
study through drawing. You will learn a wide range of traditional skills and
contemporary approaches in an environment that encourages personal expression and
interpretation. It is not intended to produce fully-fledged artists, but will help students
in the development of a personal visual language and encourage them to look for new
directions.
HA2C5 – MODERNISM
This module is designed to give students a critical understanding of the selfconsciously modern art and theory produced between c.1825 and 1945. It will
examine what are considered to be major, or canonical, examples of modern artists
and artistic movements, and the criticism purporting to explain them, the objective of
bringing into focus what being modern actually meant to artists and their
contemporaries. It will also examine the work of artists excluded from the canon, and
the reasons for their exclusion. Artists and movements studied may include the
Ancients, the French Realists, the Pre-Raphaelites, the Impressionists and PostImpressionists, Arts & Crafts, Aestheticism, Cubism, the Camden Town group,
Bloosmsbury, German Expressionism, Russian Constructivism, Neu Sachlichkeit,
Dada, and Surrealism. The module also provides a solid grounding for students
wishing to specialise further in the modern/contemporary stream in their final year.
HA2D6 – ART OF THE BAROQUE
The module will familiarize students with the art of the Baroque period (1600-1700).
Looking at artists such as Caravaggio, Bernini, Rembrandt and Rubens, they will be
introduced to the main currents in baroque art. In addition, these currents will be
contrasted with what happens in this period in lesser studied areas, such as Venice,
Naples and South America, thus allowing for a critical evaluation of recent debates
about the Baroque as a global phenomenon.