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HAU44009/HAU44010 Facing the Past - Renaissance and Baroque portraiture 1 and 2

This module examines portraiture from the mid-fifteenth century to c.1700 through the works of major practitioners in a select number of European centres. These include Titian, El Greco, Velázquez, Rubens, and Bernini. Particular attention is paid to the typology, functions, conventions, and meanings of portraiture in different artistic centres in the early-modern period, and the importance of precedents from classical antiquity in shaping these.
  • Module Organisers:
    • Dr Peter Cherry
  • Duration:
    • all year
  • Contact Hours:
    • 1 x 2 hour seminar per week
  • Weighting:
    • 10 + 10 ECTS
  • Assessment:
    • Continuous assessment (50%) and examinations (50%)

The use of portraits to articulate ideas of royal authority and power is studied in the courts of Spain, England, France and Rome, as well as the emergence in Europe of portraits of individuals of more modest social standing. The relevance of historically located constructions of gender in the portrayal of sitters will be considered over the course of the module. Artistic techniques and style will also be a concern. The module ends with an examination of portraits of artists and artists’ self-portraits, and the different ways in which the images express concepts of creativity, status, and fame.

Learning Outcomes:

Upon the successful completion of this module students should be able to:

  • identify the major works of a selected number of painters and sculptors in different artistic centres in Europe during the period c.1450-c.1700
  • explain key trends in artistic practices at different historical points and in different artistic centres over the historical period covered by the module
  • explain the function and meaning of a range of types of portraiture in response to the patronage of a select number of individuals and institutions over the historical period covered by the module
  • assess the value of specific historical texts in interpretation of period imagery
  • engage critically with methodologies and scholarly debates which have shaped art-historical interpretations of portraiture over the historical period covered by the module
  • interpret visual and written evidence to formulate informed, contextual analyses of visual art of the historical period covered by the module
  • defend an argument in response to a specific question in written and oral presentations, using concrete examples of works of art