AH 201 Home Page | Description and Requirements | Lecture and Reading Schedule

ART HISTORY 201:
ANCIENT AND MEDIEVAL ART
FALL 2009

SECTIONS

The sections are designed both to provide an opportunity for questioning and reviewing material presented in class and for providing a chance for more in-depth discussion of topics related to the lectures. For most sections, you will be asked to prepare in advance a short response (about 1 page) to discussion questions presented below. You will not be graded on the response but you may be asked to hand it in to your TA for review.
There will be four quizzes, each lasting no more than 5 to 10 minutes. Additional quizzes may be added at the instructor's discretion. These exercises are designed to help you assimilate all the basic information about the works of art we are studying in the course. You will be required to identify both works on the syllabus, and "unknown" works that are closely related to works you have studied.
SECTION 1: What is Art History? (Sept. 8-11)
Choose any work of Ancient and medieval art on display in the Chazen Museum (Gallery 1). Describe the work as fully as possible. As a general rule you will find it helpful to begin with general aspects of composition and then move to more specific observations. Why are you drawn to this work and why do you think it deserves to be described as art? If you were to play the role of art historian, what questions would you want to answer?

 

SECTION 2: Narrative and Propaganda in Ancient Mesopotamia (Sept. 15-18)

***Quiz 1, covering lectures 1-3***

Reading:

Narrative or story-telling is one of the chief functions of visual art in all periods. Visual narratives can project the ideal histories, beliefs and power structure of a society. Russell discusses a series of Assyrian bas-reliefs that once decorated the royal palace of King Sennacherib. What is the likely textual source of the visual narrative and how is it translated into pictures? What are the problems posed by illustrating a written text? How does the artist convey a sense of action or movement within the static image? What techniques are used to convey the illusion of space and volume within the shallow low-relief carvings? How does the artist make clear who the principal protagonists of the narrative are? How do text and image differ in this example? What is the principal message conveyed by these narratives and how does it relate to other examples of visual propaganda discussed in class from Ancient Egypt and Ancient Mesopotamia? Can you think of any contemporary situations in which military imagery is used for comparable propagandistic aims?

 

Assignment 1: Style & Connoisseurship in Greek Vase Painting (Due Section 4: Oct. 6-9)
Length: 2 pages, double-spaced at Font size 12 (Times New Roman)
Background Readings: Gardner, I, ch. 5.
One of the essential tasks of the art historian is connoisseurship: the art of characterizing the style of a work of art and attributing it to a specific artist and/or date on the basis of conventional traits, such as the treatment of anatomical details (drawing of ears, hands, noses etc.), drapery patterns, space and contour. You are asked to justify the attribution and dating of one of the following Greek vases in the collection of the Chazen Museum: 1) Black-Figure Hydria attributed to the Priam Painter, ca. 510 BCE (68.14.1); or 2) Red-Figure Kalpis, attributed to the Pisticci Painter, ca 440-430 BCE (1976.31). You should start with a general description of the vase, its shape, the placement of figural decoration, the ornament etc, and then turn to a more detailed description of the individual figures. You may also briefly discuss the choice of subject, the mode of illustrating a text and how these features typify the general period as well as this specific artist. In justifying the attribution, you should start with a general comparison with works from the same general period as your vase as illustrated in your text, and then turn to more detailed comparisons with works attributed to the same artist in the database of Perseus.
You should compare the work with two other examples attributed to the same painter. You will find a couple of comparisons on the course website here:
Priam Painter examples
Pisticci Painter examples
You can also find others by going directly to:
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifactBrowser?object=Vase&field=Painter&value=Priam+Painter
OR
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifactBrowser?object=Vase&field=Painter&value=Pisticci+Painter
Please attach printouts of comparison illustrations to your assignment, including web-address.

 

SECTION 3: Ancient Egyptian and Greek Art in the Chazen Museum (Sept 22-25)
Meet in the Chazen Museum, Gallery 1.
In preparation for this section, please review your notes from class on Greek Vase painting and go up to Gallery 1 on your own to survey the different painting styles, vase shapes, techniques and subjects. Come prepared to discuss what distinguishes Red-Figure and Black-Figure techniques, and how size and shape are related to the function the vessel served.

 

SECTION 4: Defining the Classical Ideal (Sept. 29-Oct. 2)
***Quiz 2: Lectures 4-7***

Reading:

  1. Thucydides, Funeral Oration of Pericles, excerpt from his History of the Peloponnesian War, 5th century BCE, in Reader.
  2. Hallett, "The Origins of the Classical Style in Sculpture" in Reader.

Review:

Viewing:

Discussion:

What are the distinctive features of the classical representation of the human figure? How does the classical canon of Greek art differ from that of Egyptian or Archaic Greek Art? What are the standard explanations for the classical ideal in Greek art and what are their shortcomings according to Hallet? What is Hallet's alternative theory and what kind of "evidence" does he use to buttress his argument; do you find it convincing? How might the same concepts of the classical ideal be applied to architecture? What does this article reveal about the nature of art historical explanation of the history of style and how does this form of explanation compare with scientific or other forms of explanatory theories you are aware of.
Thucydides records the moving funerary oration given in honor of the Athenians who died in the Peloponnesian war by Pericles, the builder of the temples of the acropolis. What values does Pericles praise in Athenians and how might they be related to classical art and architecture?

 

SECTION 5: The Female Nude in Greek Art (Oct. 6-9)

***Assignment I on Greek Vase Painting due ***

Readings:

  1. Roman Reactions to the Aphrodite of Knidos.
  2. Excerpt from Sir Kenneth Clark, The Nude: A Study in Ideal Form in Reader.
  3. Nanette Salomon, "The Venus Pudica: Uncovering art history's 'hidden agendas' and pernicious pedigrees" in Reader.

Discussion:

The Aphrodite of Knidos is often hailed as the "classic" female nude, the model of feminine beauty in the Western tradition. Read the Roman sources in the Reader. What do they tell us about its original setting and its impression on ancient viewers? How does your own reaction differ from the Roman response? How would you describe the figure, its formal modeling, its pose and gestures? What features and aesthetic values distinguish this figure as "nude" rather than naked, according to Clark? Why was the female nude relatively rare in Greek art prior to Praxiteles? What distinguishes the female nude from the male nude in Greek art--e.g. Polykleitos, Canon; or the Hermes and Dionysos by a follower of Praxiteles? How does Salomon's account of the nude differ from Clark's? What different ideological or social meanings were attached to the male and female nude in Greek culture, according to Salomon? How did the perception of nudity change in the Middle Ages? Why does Salomon criticize traditional interpretations of the female nude, such as that of Sir Kenneth Clark? What is her own, particular scholarly agenda?

 

SECTION 6: Roman Portraiture (Oct. 13-16)

Reading:

Discussion:

How does Nodelman define portraiture? What does he mean by signs or "conventional features"? What new concept of the portrait did the Romans invent? How does Nodelman suggest one has to interpret conventions of realistic portraiture? How does Roman portraiture engage the spectator? How does it change in late antiquity and what historical explanations does the author offer?
Bring in a photograph of a friend, family member or public figure. To what extent does your photograph function in the same way as a Roman portrait? How do our expectations of portraiture compare with those of the Roman viewer?

 

SECTION 7: Roman to Early Medieval Art in the Chazen Museum, Gallery 1 (Oct. 20-23)

Midterm (lectures 1-13), Oct. 20, no readings this week.

 

SECTION 8: Early Christian Iconography (Oct. 27-30)

Readings:

  1. Matthew 21:1-12 (The Entry into Jerusalem), in Reader.
  2. Thomas Mathews, "The Chariot and the Donkey" The Clash of the Gods, in Reader.

Discussion:

Iconography (which translates literally from the Greek as "image-writing") is the system of pictorial signs--including attributes, costumes, gestures, facial types, groupings of figures--which convey the meaning of individual figures or stories in art. You are asked to read the biblical story of Christ's Entry into Jerusalem and then analyze how the text is translated into pictures in two different examples shown on the web site: 1. Sarcophagus with Entry into Jerusalem and Miracle Scenes (Rome, Museo Nazionale delle Terme) 325 A.D.; 2. Rossano Gospels (Rossano Cathedral), 6th century A.D. How does each example indicate the essence of the narrative action? How is setting indicated? How is the principal figure of Christ emphasized visually? What significant changes are made by the later artist? It has long been recognized that Early Christian iconography draws much of its pictorial vocabulary from pagan Roman art. Indeed, artists of all periods frequently make use of earlier pictorial models without necessarily reinterpreting the textual model. What are the probable pictorial sources for the Entry into Jerusalem and why might they have been borrowed by the Early Christian artists? Why does Thomas Mathews question conventional wisdom about Early Christian art's debt to the imperial Roman past?

 

SECTION 9: The Byzantine Icon (Nov. 3-5) ***Quiz 3: 14-16***

Reading:

The icon or "holy image" is the quintessential Byzantine art form. What are the essential formal features of early Byzantine icons and how do they establish a tangible presence for the viewer? To what extent do icons represent the adaptation of previous pagan cult images both in form and practice? What is iconoclasm and what were its causes? How did Byzantine writers justify the making of images of God and the saints in the face of iconoclasm? How did the icon change after iconoclasm?

 

Assignment 2: Post-Byzantine Icons (Due in section 11 - Nov. 17-20)

Background Reading: See section 8 and Gardner, ch. 9, esp. 264, 268, and 270-73.
The Chazen Museum has a large collection of Russian icons from the Post-Byzantine (post-1453) period. You are asked to write about one of two icons, both in the glass case between galleries 2 & 3.
  1. 37.16 (at centre of case, lower level): Great Deësis icon with silver-gilt oklad (cover) Russian, late 18th or early 19th-century.
    - includes Christ enthroned, archangels Michael and Gabriel, Saints Nicholas and Prince Gabriel of Pskov; and the Old Testament Trinity (above).
  2. 37.1.10 (at left, lower level): Anastasis (Descent into Hell), Russian, early 17th century
You are asked to show how your example is both characteristic of Byzantine icons studied in class in terms of its functions, format, composition, style and iconography, and how it represents significant departures that might be ascribed to the later history of icons in Russia and elsewhere after the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
You should start by describing the icon's format, subject matter, composition (groupings of figure within the picture field and representational space) and figure style, moving from the general to the specific. Consider how the figures in the icon relate both to each other and to the viewer through gesture and glance, and how they are situated within space. Then you should draw upon on the Section 8 reading by Tom Mathews and the textbook to place these works in broader artistic and religious/functional contexts. For the iconography, you may find it useful to compare these works with G9-21, 26, 32, 34. For other stylistic or iconographic comparisons, you should look at later examples of Russian icons available on the web. Useful websites include:

 

SECTION 10: Relics, Reliquaries and Medieval Portraiture (Nov. 10-13)

Readings:

  1. Bernard of Angers, Book of Miracles of Sainte-Foy in Reader.
  2. Ellert Dahl, "Heavenly Images: The statue of Sainte Foy of Conques and the signification of the Medieval 'Cult-Image' in the West" in Reader.

Discussion:

The reliquary of Sainte-Foy in Conques is amongst the earliest extant examples of figural sculpture in the round since late antiquity. Why does the medieval writer, Bernard of Angers find the reliquary of Sainte Foy and similar statues disturbing? Why does he eventually change his mind? What is the relationship between the saint and its image? To what extent do this sculpture and similar statues of Saint Baudime and Saint Césaire represent a revival of "pagan" cult statues from antiquity in form and function? What is the relationship between relic and reliquary? To what extent are these images portraits? What is the significance of the material?

 

SECTION 11: Medieval Illuminated Manuscripts, held in Kohler Library (Nov. 17-20)

***Assignment 2 on Russian Icons due***

Background Reading:

The illuminated manuscript (a book, "written by hand") occupies a central position in mediaeval culture as means of disseminating the text of scripture, as well as ecclesiastic ritual, sacred and profane literature and history. In this class you will learn how manuscripts were made and look at different types of text illustration in facsimiles in the Art History Library.
In preparation for this class you should review examples of manuscript illumination seen in class and think about how they are put together, how images are related to text in different ways, how even ornamental decoration can be meaningful in conveying the significance of a given text or its function. Think also about the different functions and users of medieval books and how that impacts their decoration.

 

NO SECTIONS THANKSGIVING WEEK (Nov. 24-27)

 

SECTION 12: Monsters, Fantasy and Orality in Romanesque Art (Dec. 1-4)

***Quiz 4: Lectures 17-22***

Looking:

Readings:

  1. Bernard of Clairvaux, Apologia to William of Saint-Thierry in Gardner, I, ch. 12, 341 (box).
  2. Michael Camille, "Mouths and Meanings: Towards an Anti-Iconography of Medieval Art" in Reader

Discussion:

Monsters take their name from the Latin verb "monstro/monstrare"-to show or demonstrate. Bernard of Clairvaux, the outspoken leader of the Cistercian Order, provides a particularly valuable reaction to the kinds of monsters found so frequently in Romanesque cloister sculpture such as the examples from Cuxa seen in class. What examples does Bernard mention and why does he find them so objectionable? How does his own prose highlight the very "contradictory forms" of the monsters themselves?
What explanations does Michael Camille offer for the presence of monsters in Romanesque art? How does his approach differ from conventional iconographic approaches? How does he justify his approach in terms of the nature of the subject matter? What kinds of sources does he use to buttress his argument for the essential "orality" of monstrous imagery? Why does he ultimately conclude that the monstrous and bestial images of the Souillac trumeau represent an "anti-iconography"?

 

***Optional Assignment 3: Monsters in Romanesque Sculpture (Due in Section 13, Dec. 8-11)***

A Romanesque capital on loan from the Metropolitan Museum to the Chazen Museum in Gallery 1 (just to the right of the main entrance to the gallery from the top of the stairs) displays repeated images of basilisks and monstrous mouths on three of four sides. You are asked to make a sketch of the capital, describe it systematically in terms of style, composition and subject matter, and suggest how it might have functioned in its original context. You should draw upon material from lectures on Romanesque and on the readings for section 12.

 

SECTION 13: Medieval Art in the Chazen (Dec. 8-11)

***Optional Assignment 3 on Monsters due ***

 

FINAL EXAM: Thursday, Dec. 17, at 7:45 a.m. in Conrad A. Elvehjem Building, L160