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| Unit name |
The Altarpiece (Level C Special Topic) |
| Unit code |
HART10213 |
| Credit points |
20 |
| Level of study |
C/4
|
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24)
|
| Unit director |
Emeritus Professor. Pemberton |
| Open unit status |
Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department |
Department of History of Art (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty |
Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences |
Description including Unit Aims
This Special Topic unit introduces the altarpiece, one of the central genres of Western religious art. It examines the category from its late medieval origins through to the mid-sixteenth century, and is designed to introduce students to important examples in sculpture and painting from both northern and southern Europe. The unit will deal with a number of important themes: the origins and formal development of the altarpiece over time (in particular the transition in Italy from polyptych to pala); the functions of the altarpiece and the impact on content and structure; the significance of the 'audience' and the opportunities and conditions for viewing; the differences and similarities between north and south; and the relevance of materials, contracts and construction. It concludes with the fate of the altarpiece during the Reformation and Counter Reformation.
Aims:
- To place students in direct contact with the current research interests of academic tutors and to enable them to explore the issues surrounding the state of research in the field.
- To introduce students to working with primary sources
- To introduce students to issues relating to setting primary sources in their wider context
- To introduce students to the practice of learning independently within a small-group context.
Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of the unit students should be able to:
- Demonstrate knowledge of the different materials and techniques involved in making altarpieces
- Demonstrate a knowledge of the origins and key developments in the evolution of the altarpiece
- Demonstrate a knowledge of the social, cultural and religious contexts surrounding the production of altarpieces
- Improved their understanding of how to work with primary sources
- Developed their skills in contributing to and learning from a small-group environment.
Teaching Information
- Tutorial feedback on essay
- Access to tutorial consultation with unit tutor in office hours
Assessment Information
1 x 2 hour exam
Reading and References
- E. Borsook and F. S. Gioffredi eds, Italian Altarpieces 1250-1550: Function and Design, (Oxford, 1994)
- P. Humfrey and M. Kemp eds, The Altarpiece in the Renaissance, (Cambridge, 1990)
- L. F. Jacobs, Early Netherlandish Carved Altarpieces, 1380-1550: medieval tastes and mass marketing, (Cambridge, `1998)
- R. Kahsnitz, Carved Altarpieces: Masterpieces of Late Gothic, (London, 2006)
- M. OMalley, The Business of Art: Contracts and the Commissioning Process in Renaissance Italy, (New Haven and London, 2005)
- M. Baxandall, The Limewood Sculptors of Renaissance Germany, (New Haven and London, 1980).
