| Unit name | The Modernity of Ancient Sculpture |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HART30219 |
| Credit points | 40 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Prettejohn |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History of Art (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Modernism in the visual arts is often defined as a liberation from the classical inheritance. This unit is premised on the opposite assumption: that the modern study of ancient sculpture and the making of modern art are inextricably intertwined. It explores how the concerns of the modern art world changed perceptions of ancient sculpture, and, conversely, how modern artists responded to new archaeological discoveries and new theories about ancient sculpture. The unit begins with four introductory seminars and proceeds to a sequence of paired seminars (two per week for eight weeks), in chronological order from 1750 to the present; each pair explores a key moment in the modern reception of ancient sculpture, from the perspectives both of classical scholarship and of modern artisitc reception. The unit draws on primary texts as well as recent scholarship on the reception of classical antiquity in the modern world.
