Art and culture in Europe, 19th and 20th centuries
2 points * one 1-hour lecture and one 1-hour tutorial per week * First semester * Caulfield * Prerequisites FNE1911 and FNE1912
Objectives On successful completion of this subject students will have a clear understanding of the evolution of practice and theory in the visual arts and of European culture from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century; an enhanced appreciation of formal, aesthetic and symbolic qualities of works; an appropriate level of skills in research and communication.
Synopsis The evolution of a modernist aesthetic is examined through the writings of artists, contemporary criticism and painting, printmaking, sculpture, design and architecture. Movements from romanticism to early expressionism will be considered as manifestations of an avant-garde continually proposing change in the definition of art and its social, political and aesthetic role. In France, the role of the artist as social critic and art theorist will be discussed through the study of innovation in style and content. The contribution of major critics to the definition of modernism will also be assessed.. Reference will be made to aspects of contemporary art which relate to issues discussed in the course.
Assessment Essay (2000 words): 40% * Tutorial paper presentation (1500 words): 30% * Examination/visual test (1 hour): 30%
Prescribed texts
Novotny F Painting and sculpture in Europe 1780-1880 Penguin, 1960
Rosenblum R and Janson H W Art of the nineteenth century Thames and Hudson, 1984
Recommended texts
Brion M Art of the romantic era Thames and Hudson, 1966
Clark T J The absolute bourgeois: Artists and politics in France 1848-1851 Thames and Hudson, 1973
Chipp H B (ed.) Theories of modern art U California P, 1968
Hoffert B and others Art in diversity: Studies in the history of art Longman Cheshire, 1988
Loevgren S The genesis of modernism: Seurat, Gauguin, Van Gogh and symbolism in the 1880's 1971
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