| Unit name | Art of the Northern Renaissance |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HART30058 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Professor. Williamson |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of History of Art (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
Why is this unit important?
This unit offers an opportunity for in-depth study of some of the most visually arresting, fascinatingly detailed, and extraordinary works in the history of art. Geographically we focus chiefly on France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Our chronological focus is the fifteenth century, a period of dynamic artistic innovation. We study the greatest painters of the Northern Renaissance, including Jan van Eyck, Robert Campin, Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Memling, Hugo van der Goes, and Petrus Christus. The unit is arranged largely in a chronological fashion, studying one key artist each week. We adopt a method of close looking, with each class focussing in detail on one or more important paintings. Through these case studies we consider a number of key themes that place these paintings into their historical, religious, and social contexts. Overall, we look at the way that art was made, valued, and viewed in northern Europe during the period known as the Renaissance.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
This unit offers an opportunity to bring skills that you have developed in year 1 and 3 of the programme – visual analysis, study of art works in their historical context, historiographical understanding – to bear on a focussed set of visual material, closely demarcated in terms of period and geographical region. It further develops high-level object-based approaches and key discipline specific skills, including visual analysis, building on your experience in the earlier years of your degree. Successful engagement with this unit will widen your knowledge of a key period of art history that in many ways straddles the boundaries sometimes set up between ‘medieval’ and ‘renaissance’ (or ‘early modern’), and allow you to reflect on periodisation and geographical categorisation, as well as on the specific material around which the unit is built.
An overview of content
Material to be studied will include works by Jan van Eyck, Robert Campin, Rogier van der Weyden, Hans Memling, Hugo van der Goes, and Petrus Christus, and others. In keeping with the concerns and functions of visual culture in the period, there will be a significant amount of material with a Christian background and focus (though you do not have to be expert in medieval / renaissance Christianity to study this – guidance and orientation will be given). Key themes may include: ‘vision and visuality’, ‘art and religion’, ‘pilgrimage and journeying’, ‘the function of images’, ‘the role and status of the artist’, ‘patrons, portraiture and self-representation’.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit?
You will be taught in interactive settings that allow you to develop your knowledge and understanding through critical reading and extensive discussion that engages with current debates in art history. You will develop your analytical skills, building confidence and competencies that will help you in the approach to the assessments and provide a foundation for specialist units in Year 3.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Classes will involve a combination of long- and short-form lectures, class discussion, investigative activities and practical activities, which include visual analysis. Students will be expected to engage with readings and participate on a weekly basis. This will be further supported with drop-in sessions and self-directed exercises with tutor and peer feedback.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Essay, 3000-word (50%) [ILOs 1-5]
Timed Assessment (50%) [ILOs 1-5]
When assessment does not go to plan
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HART30058).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
