Course Description
The art and architecture from ca. 1100 until 1400 with an emphasis on the medieval society and artistic production in France.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be expected to produce an extensive
research paper on specific works or issues related to the field
and the methodologies appropriate to the topic under
consideration in the course. This paper will be a detailed,
in-depth consideration of the student's chosen theme requiring
not only a demonstration of advanced research skills (including
the ability to read and use material presented in foreign
languages), but also an articulation of the student's ability to
understand and manipulate the critical apparatus of art history
in connection with Gothic Art.
Athena Title
GOTHIC ART & ARCHIT
Prerequisite
Two ARHI 3000-level courses and permission of major
Semester Course Offered
Not offered on a regular basis.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
After completing this course, students will be able to recognize the richness, variety, and complexity of this art created in a society remote from modern concepts and technological means. They will understand the function of these objects and buildings within medieval society, and be familiar with some of the recent issues and debates among medieval art historians. They will also be able to critically assess and analyze works of art of the Gothic period, and will understand the richness and importance of this art for the knowledge of Western medieval society. Successful students will pass two written tests and prove their mastery of the materials through a developed research paper on an assigned topic.
Topical Outline
1. The Beginnings of a New Style a. The Roots of Gothic: Western European Art in the 11th and Early 12th centuries b. First Structural Experiments: Normandy and Burgundy; Durham c. Paris, Sens, and Reims: The Capital of the Capetians and the Archbishop’s See, and the Abbot’s Abbey d. Scholarly Controversies: The New Art History e. Rebuilding Canterbury Cathedral after 1174 2. Successes of the Building Style a. Gothic Treasures Changes of Scale: Bourges, Chartres, and Amiens b. England in the Thirteenth Century c. The Thirteenth-Century Capetian Apogee d. Building Castles England vs. France 3. The Export of Gothic a. Crusades and the House of Anjou b. Gothic in the Iberian Peninsula c. Later Gothic and Bohemia, the Parler d. Later Gothic in England 4. Epilogue a. Nineteenth Century Visions
Syllabus