Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Unit rationale, description and aim
The seismic social, economic and religious upheavals that underpin the trajectories of Western culture and the birth of the modern age can clearly be traced through the grand sweep of visual art evident from the Renaissance to the Romantic period in Western culture (1300-1850) in both Europe and its many colonial places. The re-emergence of Classical ideals in Renaissance art and architecture, the violent revolutions, shifts in philosophical ideas, scientific discoveries and the global expansion of Empires will be examined. There will also be a focus on the rise of the individual as a central core in the fabric of humanist and liberal traditions with their emphasis on freedom in the aesthetic histories of a period filled with psychological tensions, power struggles, grand narratives and political intrigue. The aim of this unit is to introduce students to the rich history of visual art and architecture which is the basis of both the modern and contemporary visual cultures, enhancing and deepening students' knowledge in their chosen professions.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Identify the main tenets and stylistic variations of art movements during the period | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC11 |
| LO2 | Explain the complex relationship between art and the socio-historical and political context in which it is produced | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC11 |
| LO3 | Critically analyse major historical events and technological advances which led to major shifts in art practices during the period | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC11 |
| LO4 | Communicate coherently in a range of critical and/or creative forms | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC11 |
Content
Topics will include:
- Renaissance perspective and Neo-Platonism.
- Symbolism within Northern Renaissance painting.
- Reformation and counter reformation.
- Mannerism in Italy.
- Baroque architecture and design.
- The French Rococo and the celebration of decorative frivolity.
- Neoclassical period.
- Enlightenment ideology and the exploration of ‘freedom’.
- Romanticism and the rise of the Individual.
- Revisiting the contributions of women painters outside the Academies: Artemesia Gentileschi, Sofonisba Anguissola and others.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit embraces active learning strategies and is designed to provide students with a foundational knowledge of the academic discipline of art and design history and theory. Students will have the opportunity to build their practical skills and discipline knowledge which will be consolidated and extended in the higher level art history and theory units in this course.
A range of learning and teaching strategies are incorporated into this unit, including formal lectures, seminars, group activities and films. Online learning resources, guided readings, games and discussions enhance the learning resources. The seminar classes are designed to produce interactive learning with discussion interspersed with reflection on primary and secondary sources that enliven an appreciation of historical events. Formal lectures and seminars will be used to model visual analysis techniques, research skills and communication strategies. Online learning, guided reading, and discussions support the development of research and other skills which fundamentally underpin the creative industries, such as an understanding of the relationship between historical and contemporary practices and the capacity to enhance creative, critical and reflective thinking.
This is a 10-credit point unit and has been designed to ensure that the time needed to complete the required volume of learning to the requisite standard is approximately 150 hours in total across the semester. To achieve a pass standard in this unit, students will find it helpful to engage in the full range of learning activities provided.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessments have been designed to provide students with a variety of tasks in which they are able to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes. Students will study key areas that are essential for the history of art and architecture: visual analysis and the relevant historical movements; the relationship between cultural production and the context in which it is made; and, the development of critical thinking, research and academic writing skills.
In the textual tasks, students will have the opportunity to develop their knowledge of the period through discussion of shifts in cultural values, technologies and society in general. The visual analysis assessment consolidates fundamental skills in reading visual texts and the identification of key movements in modernism. The essay assessment requires students to build on their developing knowledge of key concepts in art history and to research primary and secondary texts to support an argument in a formal essay. This assessment focuses on the development of critical academic skills that are crucial supports for further study. The visual analysis assessment consolidates fundamental skills in reading visual texts and the identification of key movements in modernism.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Critical Textual Exercise To allow students to develop an awareness of art practices developed in the rapidly changing period between 1300 and 1850. | 30% | LO1, LO2 |
Image Analysis Exercise To allow students to demonstrate the core skills of visual analysis and the identification of key movements during the period. | 30% | LO3, LO4 |
Major Essay To allow students to demonstrate research skills and a critical approach to the relationship between art making in its socio-historical context whilst developing scholarly writing and referencing skills. | 40% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4 |
Representative texts and references
Amstutz, N. (2016). Romanticism and the visual arts. The German Quarterly, 89(3), 357–360. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24757618
Anderson, C. (2013). Renaissance architecture. Oxford University Press.
Bailey, G. A. (2019). Baroque & Rococo. Phaidon.
Campbell, G. (2021). The Oxford illustrated history of the Renaissance. Oxford University Press.
Bohn, B., & Saslow, J. M. (2013). A companion to Renaissance and Baroque art. Wiley-Blackwell. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/acu/detail.action?docID=1120623
Carl, K., & Charles. V (2009). Baroque art. Parkstone International. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/acu/detail.action?docID=886839
Charles, V. (2014). French painting. Parkstone International. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/acu/detail.action?docID=1631069
Murray, L. (1991). The High Renaissance and Mannerism. Thames and Hudson.
Palmer, A. L. (2011). Historical dictionary of Neoclassical art and architecture. Scarecrow Press. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/acu/detail.action?docID=653873
Reichardt, R., & Kohle, H. (2008). Visualizing the Revolution politics and pictorial arts in late eighteenth-century France. Reaktion.
Sanger, A. E., & Walker, S. T. K. (2012). Sense and the senses in early modern art and cultural practice. Ashgate.