DEPARTMENT OF ART
ART HISTORY & ART
CONSERVATION
ARTH 353/3.0
Flemish Baroque Painting
PREREQUISITE: Level 3 or above. RECOMMENDATION: ARTH 253 (Baroque Art).
Instructor:
Prof. Stephanie Dickey
Bader Chair in Northern Baroque Art
Department of Art
(Art History & Art Conservation)
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CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:
A detailed study of painting and related arts in Flanders (present-­‐day Belgium) in the 17th century, with emphasis on the achievements of artists such as Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, and others. Prerequisites: Level 3. It is recommended that students have taken ARTH 120 and ARTH 253 (Baroque Art) and have some familiarity with European art of the early modern period (16th-­‐17th century). COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The Southern Netherlands (also known as Flanders) was contested territory in the seventeenth century, ruled by the Spanish Empire and smarting from economic losses suffered in the Eighty Years War. Yet it was also a flourishing center of innovative art and culture and a fervent site of Catholic renewal following the Counter-­‐Reformation. One Flemish artist, Peter Paul Rubens, rose to international prominence and exercised a profound impact on his contemporaries (he was also a diplomat and possibly a spy). Rubens was a master of many genres, excelling especially at large-­‐scale altarpieces, allegories, and history paintings, while around him other talented artists developed a growing market for portraits, landscapes, and scenes of daily life. This course places Rubens at the center of an exploration of paintings and related arts (drawings, prints, sculpture, architecture) that reflect the ideals and interests of a lively and complex society finding its way toward modernity. COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
A detailed list of readings and requirements will be available during the first class. The course will be part lecture and part discussion. Attendance is expected and will count toward your grade. Requirements will include in-­‐class activities, tests, reading responses, and one or more writing assignments including a paper based on works of art that can be studied first-­‐hand at the Agnes Etherington Art Centre.