Approaches to Western Art History

A Certificate of Participation is awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/learning activities for the duration of the course.

This tutor-led, cohort-based online course is 7-weeks in duration and is made up of 5 teaching units.

Unit 1 - Debates about art and architecture in the classical world

This unit we will study seminal approaches to art and architecture in classical antiquity. We will look at two primary sources: Plato’s Republic and Vitruvius’s De architectura libri decem (The Ten Books on Architecture). We will begin by exploring the argument made by the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato that artistic production constitutes a mere imitation of reality, and is therefore a process of which we ought to be wary. We will then consider the key arguments made in the architectural treatise of the Roman architect and engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, the only surviving writing on architecture from classical antiquity, and examine the impact this had upon later generations of architects.

Learning objectives:

• To understand Plato’s theory of forms and how this relates to debates about the value of art.

• To understand the elements which Vitruvius considered to be necessary for a well-designed building: firmness, commodity and delight. 

• To explore the impact of the work of Plato and Vitruvius upon later approaches to art.

Unit 2 - Renaissance approaches to art and architecture

This unit we will study seminal approaches to art and architecture in the Renaissance period. We will look at two primary sources: Leon Battista Alberti’s De re aedificatoria (On the Art of Building) and Giorgio Vasari’s Le Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori (Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors and Architects). We will explore how the work of the Italian architect and theorist Alberti epitomises the reawakening of classical architecture in the Renaissance period, and how it relates to the context of Humanist learning at that time. We will examine the motivations and narrative techniques of the Italian painter and writer Vasari and how his work served to establish a canon of art and artists. 

Learning objectives:

• To understand how Alberti reimagined classical architecture for the contemporary Renaissance city. 

• To understand how Vasari used his own experience as an artist to shape his writing about art, and how his canon can be critiqued.

• To explore the impact of the work of Alberti and Vasari upon later approaches to art.

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Unit 3 - Art and the European Enlightenment

This unit we will study seminal approaches to art during the European Enlightenment. We will look at two theoretical works: Johann Joachim Winckelmann’s Reflections on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture and Immanuel Kant’s The Critique of Judgement. We will explore how the work of the German art historian Winckelmann reflects the notion of an idealist classicism, and how it relates to the rediscovery of Ancient Greek heritage during the Enlightenment. We will examine how the work of the German philosopher Kant contributes to debates about aesthetic judgement and the concept of genius.

Learning objectives:

• To understand how Winckelmann’s writings on the sculpture of ancient Greece and Rome provided a theoretical framework for Neo-classicism.

• To understand how Kant’s work contributed to debates about aesthetics and the philosophy of art.

• To understand how Kant’s work fits into wider concepts of formalism in art historical theory. 

Unit 4 - Nineteenth and early twentieth-century modernism

This unit we will study the rise of modernism in the nineteenth century and early twentieth centuries. We will look at extracts from Charles Baudelaire’s The Painter of Modern Life and Jacques Derrida’s Restitutions of the Truth in Pointing. We will explore how the work of the French poet and art critic Charles Baudelaire reflects upon the purpose of art and the role of the artist. We will also look at the impact of Baudelaire’s art historical criticism upon later art theory and practice. We will examine the work of French philosopher Jacques Derrida, including his response to the work of Immanuel Kant, and his own contribution to the analysis and understanding of the visual arts.

Learning objectives:

• To understand how Baudelaire’s art historical criticism contributed to the development of modernism.

• To understand how Baudelaire’s writings were responded to in later art theory and practice.

• To understand how Derrida’s discussion of one of Van Gogh’s Boots paintings highlights the difficulties of specifying the referent in a work of representation.

Unit 5 - The New Art Histories

This unit we will study new approaches to Art History that emerged following World War II, which challenge previous traditional approaches. We will look at two examples of ‘New Art History’: Feminist Art Theory and Postcolonial Theory. We will analyse the seminal essay by American art historian Linda Nochlin, Why have there been no great women artists?, to see how it dismantles the concept of greatness and the male-centric genius in art. We will examine Globalization and its Discontents by American art historian Donald Preziosi to see how Art History can be broadened to incorporate a wider geographical context. Both of these approaches will be considered with reference to specific works of art.

Learning objectives:

• To understand how Feminist Art Theory can be used to critique the traditional canon.

• To explore the relationship between Feminist Art Theory and Feminist Art.

• To understand how Postcolonial Theory can help us to understand colonial contexts for art and display.