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If art, as Gombrich suggests, be taken to mean such activities as building temples and houses, making pictures and sculptures, or weaving patterns, then we come to realize that there is no people in the entire world without art. Nor has there been a period in history which did not yield fascinating creations of artistic virtuosity and imagination. Human expression in a visual form can be traced back to its strange beginnings in caves and on rock faces, and it is safe to say that it has not lost a bit of its appeal since. Starting from the oldest images that have come down to us decorating the ceilings of Altamira and Lascaux, from then on to delve into the documented history of art covering the period from the ancient world till the 1960s, this course will introduce the students to the fascinating world of visual arts and its most important monuments in the domains of architecture, sculpture and painting, as rendered in Gombrich’s Story of Art.
However, since from the Middle Ages onwards painting gradually developed into a major art form, this medium will take center stage in the first part of the course. More specifically, the discussion will revolve around two major traditions that emerged in its post-classical history: the ‘academic tradition’ with its strongholds in Tuscany and Rome, and the alternative one, which flourished in Venice and in the regions north of the Alps. Whereas the former tradition was wedded with the term disegno, literally meaning ‘drawing’, but indicating an array of concepts, such as clarity of contour, proportion, and perspective, the latter one was described through the Italian word colore, meaning both ‘color’ and ‘paint’. It focused on convincing depiction of materials and developed techniques employed to create illusionistic representations of objects and light, and allegedly gave birth to paintings centered on lifelike images of everyday life.
After the midterm break it will become clear that Gombrich’s vision is but one of many stories of art. The second part of the course will therefore be devoted to the perception, reception, and ultimately the canonization of art through patrons, collections and - later - public art institutions. In order to tackle the ever changing perception of art and its history, we will look into various sources and methods that have been used in art historical research. This, as well as new approaches that raised awareness of the existence and importance of non-European art, will put the development of the discipline into perspective, and point out to the emergence of multiple art histories.
Format
During the fifteen weeks of the course, meetings are held twice a week for lectures and/or seminars. Two art classes are held at UCU, and two museum visits, within the Netherlands, will take place on Wednesdays. Apart from these meetings, individual meetings may be scheduled to discuss the progress of the paper or other matters.
Students write a paper on a particular work of art for which the literature has been assembled in a reader. Written exams will also take place to test the knowledge and understanding of the topics and items that have been discussed.
Students practice a number of fundamental techniques of painting and drawing themselves. Such practical work sharpens the student’s eyes for qualities that were compared and discussed during the long and diverse discourse on painting as an art.
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