Unit information: The Altarpiece (Level C Special Topic) in 2012/13

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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 Dr. Cervantes
Open unit status Not open
Pre-requisites

None
Co-requisites

None
School/department Department of History of Art (Historical Studies)
Faculty Faculty of Arts

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

  • Weekly 2-hour seminar
  • Tutorial feedback on essay
  • Access to tutorial consultation with unit tutor in office hours

Assessment Information

1 x 2 hour exam

Reading and References

Entry on ‘Altarpiece’ in The Dictionary of Art, (ed. Jane Turner) in reference section of the library and available for free download at: http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/fineart/faculty/nagel_PDFs/Altarpiece_Grove_compiled.pdf

J. Dunkerton et al., From Giotto to Durer (Early Renaissance Painting in the National Gallery), New Haven and London 1991, pp. 22-37.

P. Hills, ‘The Renaissance Altarpiece: a valid category?’ in Peter Humfrey and Martin Kemp eds., The Altarpiece in the Renaissance, Cambridge 1990, pp. 34-48

Martin Kemp, ‘Introduction. The Altarpiece in the Renaissance: a taxonomic approach’ in Peter Humfrey and Martin Kemp eds., The Altarpiece in the Renaissance, Cambridge 1990, pp. 1-20

D. Norman, ‘Making Renaissance Altarpieces’ in K. W. Woods ed., Making Renaissance Art, New Haven and London 2006, pp. 175-208

Beth Williamson, ‘Altarpieces, Liturgy and Devotion’, Speculum, 79/2, April 2004, 341-406 (available over JSTOR)

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