Notes from Feb 26th

For notes from Feb 26th - Chapter 18, click on the title of the post or "comments".

Quiz March 12th

There will be an in-class review on Tuesday, March 10th. The quiz will take the whole class period (1h 15m) on Thursday, March 12th.

Quiz format

• 2 comparisons
• Review in class on Tuesday March 10th
• Study guide will be posted on the blog

Each comparison should:

1. Identify the works being compared. (artist, title, year, medium, location if applicable)
2. demonstrate observational skills
3. Relate relevant visual elements to historical and geographic context in each work
4. Relate relevant visual elements to art historical developments, using examples of other artworks
5. Use vocabulary correctly in context

Possible comparisons for quiz March 10th

• Albrecht Durer. Self-Portrait. 1500. Oil on panel, 26 x 19”. (p638) vs. Judith Leyster. Self Portrait, ca 1633. Oil on canvas. 30 x 26”. (p714)

• Michelangelo. The Creation of Adam. 1508-12. Portion of Sistine Chapel ceiling, The Vatican, Rome. (572) Vs. Giulio Romano. Fall of the Giants from Mount Olympus, from the Sala dei Giganti, ca. 1530-1532. Palazzo del Te, Mantua. (604)

• Andrea del Verrocchio. Bust of Lorenzo de’ Medici. Ca 1480. Painted terra cotta. Vs. Rembrandt van Rijn. Self-Portrait. 1658. Oil on canvas. 53 x 41”. (721)

• El Greco, The Burial of Count Orgaz. 1586. Oil on canvas. 16’ x 12’. (630) vs. Peter Paul Rubens. Marie de’ Medici, Queen of France, Landing in Marseilles (3 November 1600), 1622-25. Oil on canvas. 13 x 10 feet. (703)

Study tips

Prepare an outline of each comparison answer by March 10th. Use the review class to ask questions and adjust your outlines.

Office hours

Please come to office hours between 10 and 11am on Tuesday March 3 & Tuesday March 10. I will in the adjunct office in the Department of Art and Philosophy on the 6th floor of building 3. If you need to meet with me another time, please arrange for an appointment at the gallery. (Dorsch Gallery, 151 NW 24 St, Miami 33127, 305-576-1278)

Notes from Feb 24th

Click on the heading for this post or comments for the complete notes from the presentation in class on Tuesday, Feb 24th.

Feb 24 Announcements

Reading for Thursday: Chapter 18: 621-623, 629-657

1. How did the Reformation affect artistic visions in Northern Europe during the sixteenth century?

2. Why do you think that the Italian Renaissance aesthetic had less of an impact on Northern European architecture and sculpture in the sixteenth century?

3. How does Dürer’s approach to the human figure following his Italian trip differ from that of Grünewald?

4. How would you compare and contrast the Renaissance in Northern Europe during the sixteenth century with that in Italy during the same period?


5. In what ways did Elizabeth I control her iconography? What iconography did she adopt?

Tuesday, Feb 24th presentations

• Leonardo da Vinci (serena)
• Michelangelo di Ludovico Buonarroti (alexandra)
• Raphael (ruben)
• Giorgione (claudia)

10 minutes per presentation. Contextualize the artist in the turbulent times and talk about their artistic achievements. Do this by presenting a timeline, or only one work, or by presenting supplementary information to what’s in the text book. You can be creative. Extra credit will be awarded, but it will be small. The real incentive is that the best presentation gets a “free pass” on the next assignment.

Feb 19th Power Point notes

I've posted the notes in the comments. Click on "comments" below.

"High Renaissance" links

For your enjoyment, here are some links

Institute and Museum of the History of Science (Florence) http://galileo.imss.firenze.it/

Leonardo da Vinci (BBC—Science and Nature) http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/leonardo/

Michelangelo Buonarroti http://www.michelangelo.com/buonarroti.html

Michelangelo’s David (PBS: Culture shock flashpoints) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/david_at.html

Mona Lisa (PBS: The Treasures of the World) http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/mona_lisa/mlevel_2/mlevel2_renaissance.html

St. Peter’s Basilica and Michelangelo (PBS: Wonders of the World) http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig/wonder/structure/st_peters_basilica.html

Objects of value worksheet posted

The worksheet is posted as the 2nd comment beneath the Objects of Value announcement post.

On your primary and article source

Giving further thought to your library assignment, some of you may not be able to locate primary sources for your chosen work, only references to that source. Another good place to look for primary source texts is in Google books, where books whose copyrights have expired are available for full view and download. For instance, see http://books.google.com/books?id=VKYCAAAAYAAJ.

And, to reiterate, a good source for articles is JSTOR, which is available through MDC library. Ask the librarian to help you with access on campus and off.

Announcements

Thursday, February 19th will be a lecture class on the way the "Early Renaissance in 15th century Italy" or chapter 15, leads into the "High Renaissance" or chapter 16.

To prepare for this lecture, please read through the end of Chapter 16, paying closest attention to p585, which outlines the sections of the chapter. Be sure to have one artwork example of each of the section headings. Think about how that example relates to the big ideas in the summary of the section.

The Rubell Collection visit has been delayed. We will wait until we get a chance to learn more about contemporary art before we visit.

What is your preferred format for the final exam?

What is your preferred format for the final exam?

I am leaning towards a take-home exam. Technically, the exam should take place on Thursday, April 30th during class time. If we choose to do a take-home exam, then I will give you a list of points and questions to study on April 14th. On Tues, April 28th, I will distribute the take home exam, which will consist of a selection of the questions in the review. There will be no surprises. You will be required to turn in your final exam (I prefer typed) by 12:30pm on Thurs, April 30.

For those students who are making travel plans, notify me and we can adjust the plan for your schedule.

Please post our comments about this issue here.

Reading due Tues Feb 17 and assignment due Tues Mar 3

Please read the rest of chapter 15 in Janson's and begin Chapter 16.

Choose a work in the Janson's (any work in chapters 15-17) that you would like to research. Starting in class at the Miami Dade Public Library on Tues., Feb 17th, you will gather a bibliography of at least one primary source, one reference source, and one scholarly article relating to this work of art.

Identify the work of art first, then list the source, in proper bibliographic form (see below for an example). Beneath each bibliographic listing, write a paragraph about how the book or article cited relates to the artwork you chose to research. The completed document is an annotated bibliography.

Work: Hans Baldung Grien. Stupified Groom. 1544. Woodcut, image 13 15/16 "x 7 7/8.

1. Stokstad, Marilyn and others. Art History. Vol. 2. (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1995), 736.
This book is a reference source, written by experts in the field of art history after consulting many primary sources and other experts. Stokstad's paragraph on Grien reveals that he was a close friend to Albrecht Durer. The two men influenced each other. This leads me to some next steps: compare other Durer woodcuts to Grien's to establish the extent of this influence and/or rivalry. Also, primary sources cited as related to Durer may also relate to Grien.


You will turn in this annotated bibliography, typed, by Tues., Mar 3. It should be between 2-3 pages, single spaced.

Reminder: typed assignment due Thur Feb 19

Objects of Value

Miami Art Museum

February 12, 2009

How is economic value defined and determined? Does it correspond to an object's intrinsic qualities or is it purely a social construction? Fundamentally, what do we say about our culture and our society - about our selves - through the objects that we have chosen to value? This exhibition centers on the rich cultural history of traditionally valuable materials such as silver, diamonds, gold, etc., as well as the nearly visceral desires that these substances are capable of evoking. The exhibition also focuses on the important immaterial factors that underlie the determination of value: from a given object's emotional or religious significance to aspects of its life on the market, as well as the crucial if silent role played by human labor and the human body.

- exhibition description, from Miami Art Museum’s website, miamiartmuseum.org.

Assignment:

Using you resources – your own knowledge and observations, the exhibition’s wall text, Rene Morales’ essay in the exhibition brochure, Janson’s text, Barnet’s Short Guide to Writing about Art, and the Baxandall reading – complete the questions below. You will be able to complete some of these today, but some questions will demand your attention over the week. The complete assignment is due Thursday, Feb 19.

Since you have one week to complete this assignment, I would like you to type your responses to the questions in paragraph form. Edit them to avoid spelling and grammatical errors. Cite the source of any quote or fact you reference.

Refer to the handout given in class for the questions. If you do not have a handout, please email me requesting a copy.

Baxandall's relevance today

Go to the following introduction to January's Artforum. Artforum's editor, Tim Griffin, reflects on the relevance of Michael Baxandall's approach to art history. http://artforum.com/inprint/id=21708

Announcements:
- Thurs, Feb 12, 11:15-12:30 pm meet at Miami Art Museum (MAM) at 101 W Flagler St.

- Tues, Feb 17th, 11:15. Meet at Miami Dade Public Library in the plaza in front of the library at 101 W Flagler St. This is the same plaza where MAM is located.

- Homework: Read Jansons 983-989, 1037, 1046-48, 1077-78, 1105. Due for Thur, Feb 12. Note Dada, Duchamp, Hoch and Rauschenberg and John Cage.

Resources for studying art history

I also posted some word documents: one about primary sources and another about strategies for studying and writing about art. In one of these documents is a list of links to resources available to you online. Use the same website to download these documents:
http://dorschgallery.com/private/ARH2051.

Also, regarding a question about emailed questions: go ahead and email questions to me this week (for next Tuesday); write the question in the form of a really good paragraph, meant to inspire commentary from your classmates. I'll post the best two on the blog (let me know if you'd like your name on it or not). You'll get kudos for your responses to this post.

Finally, note that the make-up quiz below can be an extra credit assignment, as stated in class.

Assignment due February 5

• Read Baxandall pdf for Thursday Feb 5th. To download go to http://dorschgallery.com/private/ARH2051
• All those needing to make up the exam, here is your assignment: Using readings from Chapters 13-15 in Janson's as your source, write a 1000 word essay on social, historical, economic and art historical changes demonstrated by architecture. Remember to use a thesis statement to guide your writing. Use comparisons as a way to link (and contrast) at least 4 examples, with at least 1 from each chapter. If you choose to closely paraphrase or quote a section of the text or any other source, be sure to name this source precisely. You can use the following formats: (Name of source, page number) as in (Janson's, 530) or footnote it. This is due by Thursday, Feb 5th.
  

Welcome

This is a better format for sharing ideas, questions and reading than exchanging emails. This way, your classmates can respond to and/or benefit from others' questions and comments. I can also post an up-to-date list of assignments here.

List links here related to class discussions and readings, as well as comments and questions.

I hope this will be a useful and economical tool for us all.

Best,
Ms. Tyler