AR940-7-AU-CO:
Current Research in Art History
2023/24
Philosophical, Historical and Interdisciplinary Studies (School of)
Colchester Campus
Autumn
Postgraduate: Level 7
Current
Thursday 05 October 2023
Friday 15 December 2023
20
10 October 2023
Requisites for this module
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This module will be covered by the latest research work of one of our members of staff, introducing their research field and its debates. The module offers an interdisciplinary study that concentrates on the material and visual culture of prints in Italy and the north of Europe (Germany, the Netherlands, England) between 1450 and 1650.
The module will consider issues with ongoing relevance today, such as the definition of ‘obscenity’ and ‘copyright’, links between print and observational ‘sciences’, relationships between printing techniques and artistic virtuosity, the development of book genres, the role of censorship, and the art historical problems raised by mechanical ‘copying’ and ‘reproduction’.
The aims of this module are:
- To introduce students to specialised debates in past and recent literature in the history of art;
- To raise student awareness of different methods of approaching the discipline through cutting edge and innovative research;
- To stimulate students to develop skills in written communication through essay and oral communication and debate in seminars;
- To encourage students to reflect upon research at post-graduate level and beyond;
- To cultivate a critical attitude to the use of art-historical resources;
- To develop an understanding of the role of critical debate in research;
- To foster the participation of students in research-led discussions of challenging subjects.
By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:
- Display detailed knowledge of the art historical texts studied in the module;
- Develop a critical assessment of at least some of the views examined in class and articulate their own views on the same topic;
- Be able to write a well-researched paper on a subject related to the topic of the module.
The Shock of the New: Print Cultures in Renaissance Europe
From their inception around 1400 in Europe, the graphic media have established social functions and aesthetic criteria that differ markedly from those of painting, sculpture, and architecture. The introduction of printing with moveable type and new techniques of pictorial reproduction had a major and lasting impact on European culture and society, comparable in scope and impact to the explosive rise of the Internet and social media in recent decades.
Students will become familiar with a range of different printing techniques (woodcut, engraving, etching, drypoint, etc.) and different categories and functions of prints, in both single-leaf issues and illustrated books.
This module will be delivered via:
- One 2-hour seminar per week.
- One reading week with no seminars.
Discussion will be encouraged throughout.
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Landau, D. and Parshall, P.W. (1994) The Renaissance print, 1470-1550. New Haven: Yale University Press.
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MacGregor, W.B. (1999) ‘The Authority of Prints: an early modern perspective’,
Art History, 22(3), pp. 389–420. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8365.00163.
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Roberts, S. (2013) ‘Tricks of the Trade: The Technical Secrets of Early Engraving’, in
Visual Cultures of Secrecy in Early Modern Europe. Philadelphia, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, pp. 182–207. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/j.ctv1gbrrmt.13.
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Koerner, J.L. (2002) ‘Albrecht Dürer: A Sixteenth-Century Influenza’, in. London: British Museum.
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Lincoln, Evelyn (no date) ‘Making a Good Impression: Diana Mantuana’s Printmaking Career: Document View’, 50. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/3039405.
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Benjamin, W. and Arendt, H. (2007) Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. New York: Schocken Books.
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AREFORD, DAVID S. (no date)
Multiplying the Sacred: The Fifteenth-Century Woodcut as Reproduction, Surrogate, Simulation. National Gallery of Art. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/42622516.
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Pon, L. (2008) ‘Place, Print and Miracle: Forlì’s Madonna of the Fire as Functional Site’,
Art History, 31(3), pp. 303–321. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8365.2008.00608.x.
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Patricia Simons (2016) ‘Mantegna’s Battle of the Sea Gods’ in Prints in Translation, 1450-1750. Taylor & Francis Group.
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Gaudio, Michael (no date b)
Introduction: White Pebbles in the Dark Forest. United States: University of Minnesota Press. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.5749/j.cttts63r.4.
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Areford, D.S. (2010) ‘Acts of Viewing’ (Chapter 2) in The viewer and the printed image in late medieval Europe. Farnham: Ashgate.
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David S. Areford (2012) ‘RECEPTION’,
Studies in Iconography, 33, pp. 73–88. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/23924274.
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Movable Mayhem: Pop-Up Books through the Ages – Digital Collections for the Classroom (no date). Available at:
https://dcc.newberry.org/?p=21137.
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Marr, A. (2018) ‘Ingenuity in Nuremberg: Dürer and Stabius’s Instrument Prints’,
The Art Bulletin, 100(3), pp. 48–79. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.2018.1429745.
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Noyes, R.S. (2016) ‘Mattheus Greuter’s Sunspot Etchings for Galileo Galilei's Macchie Solari (1613)’,
The Art Bulletin, 98(4), pp. 466–487. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.2016.1178547.
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Janice Neri (2011)
The insect and the image. Minneapolis [Minn.]: University of Minnesota Press. Available at:
https://www-jstor-org.uniessexlib.idm.oclc.org/stable/10.5749/j.cttts5g8.
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Porras, S. (2016) ‘Going viral? Maerten de Vos’s St Michael the Archangel’,
Netherlands Yearbook for History of Art / Nederlands Kunsthistorisch Jaarboek, 66, pp. 54–79. Available at:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/44657325.
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Hyman, A.M. (2017) ‘Inventing Painting: Cristóbal de Villalpando, Juan Correa, and New Spain’s Transatlantic Canon’,
The Art Bulletin, 99(2), pp. 102–135. Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1080/00043079.2016.1249251.
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Gaudio, Michael (no date a)
Flatness and Protuberance: Reforming the Image in Protestant Print Culture. United States: University of Minnesota Press. Available at:
https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=231361&site=ehost-live&authtype=sso&custid=s9814295&ebv=EB&ppid=pp_87.
The above list is indicative of the essential reading for the course.
The library makes provision for all reading list items, with digital provision where possible, and these resources are shared between students.
Further reading can be obtained from this module's
reading list.
Assessment items, weightings and deadlines
Coursework / exam |
Description |
Deadline |
Coursework weighting |
Coursework |
4000-word essay |
|
|
Exam format definitions
- Remote, open book: Your exam will take place remotely via an online learning platform. You may refer to any physical or electronic materials during the exam.
- In-person, open book: Your exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer to any physical materials such as paper study notes or a textbook during the exam. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, open book (restricted): The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may refer only to specific physical materials such as a named textbook during the exam. Permitted materials will be specified by your department. Electronic devices may not be used in the exam.
- In-person, closed book: The exam will take place on campus under invigilation. You may not refer to any physical materials or electronic devices during the exam. There may be times when a paper dictionary,
for example, may be permitted in an otherwise closed book exam. Any exceptions will be specified by your department.
Your department will provide further guidance before your exams.
Overall assessment
Reassessment
Module supervisor and teaching staff
Prof Diana Presciutti, email: dbpres@essex.ac.uk.
PHAIS Postgraduate Queries: phaispg@essex.ac.uk
Yes
Yes
Yes
Dr H Camilla Smith
University of Birmingham
Lecturer in Art History
Available via Moodle
Of 20 hours, 20 (100%) hours available to students:
0 hours not recorded due to service coverage or fault;
0 hours not recorded due to opt-out by lecturer(s), module, or event type.
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