111-213 Baroque and Rococo Painting and Sculpture: Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Watteau

Note

Available as 111-313 at 3rd-year level.

Credit Points

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Subject Description

This subject deals with painting and sculpture in Italy and France, and to a lesser extent Spain, in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The artists on whom most attention is focused are Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Annibale Carracci, Domenichino, Rembrandt, Bernini, Velazquez, George de La Tour, Poussin, and Watteau. It aims to give an introduction to the main issues to be found in the art historical literature on these artists, and so the subject deals with a wide range of questions and themes. These include: Colour and Chiaroscuro: the Chiaroscuro of Caravaggio and the artful colour of Barocci. Theory and Practice: did artists like Annibale Carracci work to consciously formulated theoretical programs? Workshop Practice and the Rise of Academies: what was the role of academies and workshops? Interpretation: iconography, gender, biography, and post-structuralist readings. Art and Culture: How can Baroque and Rococo art be investigated in term of cultural history?

Assessment

Written work which may comprise class papers, essays, visual tests or take-home examinations totalling about 5000 words.

Prescribed Texts

• Wittkower R, Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750. Pelican.