| Unit name | Sculpture Ancient and Modern |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HART30005 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| 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 |
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. This unit examines these issues chronologically, from 1750 to the present, exploring key moments in the modern reception of ancient sculpture, from the perspectives both of classical scholarship and of modern artistic reception. The unit draws on primary texts as well as recent scholarship on the reception of classical antiquity in the modern world.
On successful completion of this unit students will have (1) developed a detailed knowledge and critical understanding of the relationship to and the reception of ancient sculpture within modern art; (2) in-depth understanding of the archaeological and theoretical contexts informing this relationship; 3) demonstrated the ability to analyse and evaluate competing perceptions of ancient and modern sculpture; (4) demonstrated the ability to identify and evaluate pertinent evidence/data in order to illustrate/demonstrate a cogent argument. Additionally, as part of a level H/6 unit, students will be expected to (5) display high level skills in evaluating, analysing, synthesising and (where apt) critiquing images and ideas.
1 x 2-hour seminar per week.
One summative coursework essay of 3-4000 words (50%) and one unseen examination of two hours comprising 2 questions out of 8 (50%). Both elements will assess (1) students’ knowledge and understanding of the relationship to and the reception of ancient sculpture within modern art; ; of (2) and (3) different archaeological, theoretical and interpretative contexts. The coursework essay in particular will offer students the opportunity to demonstrate ILOs (4) and (5).
Richard Brilliant, My Laocoön: Alternative Claims in the Interpretation of Artworks,U of California Press, 2000. Francis Haskell and Nicholas Penny, Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900, Yale UP, 1982. Charles Martindale and Richard Thomas (eds.), Classics and the Uses of Reception, Blackwell, 2006. Alex Potts, The Sculptural Imagination: Figurative, Modernist, Minimalist, Yale UP, 2000. Elizabeth Prettejohn, Beauty and Art 1750-2000, OUP, 2005. Johann Joachim Winckelmann, History of the Art of Antiquity (1764), trans. Harry Francis Mallgrave, Getty Research Institute, 2006.
