107-422 Iconography: Rome to Renaissance

Admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth-year honours in art history.

This subject examines the continuity of key iconographic types in Western Christian art, including the Crucifixion, Last Supper and the Annunciation - images now recognised and quoted in contemporary art and media. The subject proceeds from an historiographical survey of 'Iconography' as a defined method of study, its present status as a method of art historical analysis, and its place within the history of ideas. Seminars are organised around specific case-studies, each week tracing the genesis of a key iconographic type in the art of ancient Rome, the process of its transmission through the medieval period, and its development in the Italian Renaissance; subsequent uses and appropriations of the type in contemporary visual contexts will be cited. In this way, the subject aims to equip students with the practical skills of iconographic method by which to identify Christian subjects in Western art, and by which to confidently place images within their broader cultural, theological, philosophical milieu.

• be able to research through a competent use of libraries and other information sources, and be able to define areas of inquiry and methods of research appropriate to the preparation of essays;

• be able to conceptualise theoretical problems, form judgements and arguments, and communicate critically, creatively and theoretically through essay writing, tutorial discussion and oral presentations;

• be able to communicate knowledge intelligibly and economically through essay writing and seminar discussion;

• be able to manage and organise workloads for recommended reading and the completion of essays;

• be able to participate in team work through involvement in syndicate groups and group discussions.

Written work totalling 5000 words. A minimum 75% attendance at tutorials is also expected as a hurdle requirement in order to pass this subject.

A subject reader will be available from the Bookroom at the beginning of semester