Module CLAS3521: THE MYTH OF ANTIQUITY IN FRENCH NEO-CLASSIC ART

Department: Classics and Ancient History

CLAS3521: THE MYTH OF ANTIQUITY IN FRENCH NEO-CLASSIC ART

Prerequisites

• CLAS1301 or modules of equivalent relevance offered by this or other Boards of Studies.

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• None

Aims

• To equip students with an understanding of French neo-classic history painting (and related works in other media), its use and mediation of ancient and 18th century textual sources, and its place in the political culture of the Revolution.
• To enable them to evaluate and analyse phenomena of political transfer and imitation between Antiquity and the French Revolution, in the light of the mediating influence of artworks and their visual conventions.
• To enable them to formulate independent judgements and observations about specific artworks and artists, by means of a combination of lectures, seminars, and tutorials.

Content

• The module is intended for students with some previous knowledge of Greek and Roman history and society, but assumes no previous knowledge of French culture and history. Its primary object of study are history paintings produced in the period around the French Revolution, supplemented by reference to antiquity in other media such as sculpture, works on paper, coins and medals, and ephemera, and contextualised with reference to the wider visual and political culture of the period.
• The topic involves approaches pertaining to both art history and cultural history, applied to a wide range of evidence drawn from antiquity and 18th century France.
• Aspects covered include: The place of ancient history in 18th century education and culture The salon as public space; the role of public and private spheres. Gender and social formation. The print culture of the Revolution Royal art commissions and revolutionary competitions and prix d'encouragement Academic training and practice; concepts and terminology of 18th Century art criticism.

Learning Outcomes

• Knowledge of a representative corpus of French history paintings from the period 1774-1815, based on study of reproductions of the artworks, their textual sources and other pertinent material on the visual and political culture of the Revolution; understanding of the presence of Antiquity in the French Revolution as mediated by such artworks; understanding of academic concepts and debates relating to these different areas.

• An ability to handle the methodologies appropriate for a sophisticated understanding of the presence of Antiquity in revolutionary France and its mediation through artworks; in particular those relating to the forms and conventions of history painting, their use of historical sources, and the response to antiquity in other media and the wider political culture; an ability to synthesise these different forms of evidence in reconstructing a coherent and plausible picture of the culture of revolutionary France and its relation to antiquity; ability to present ideas and arguments in written form according to the conventions of academic writing.

• The skills needed to analyse, evaluate, and synthesise a wide range of evidence, and to select and apply the methodologies appropriate in different cases; the capacity to sustain a clear, well-structured, and well-defended argument in written form; the ability and self-discipline to work autonomously, and the capacity for organisation required to meet deadlines and to negotiate competing claims on finite resources; facility with key IT resources: in particular, the ability to use word-processors and online databases; also the ability to make fruitful use of internet resources.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures are appropriate to the imparting of information and of methods of interpretation concerning 18th century artworks, their sources and context, and modern scholarship relating to these.
• Seminar classes on textual and visual source material provide engagement with varieties of historical evidence, including the opportunity for oral presentation.
• Writing essay and picture comment assignments enables the assembling and evaluation of material and the formulation of logical and coherent argument, as well as skills of interpreting and explicating visual images, and skills of written English.
• Tutorials contribute to the critical handling of evidence and facility of discussion.
• Final examination tests ability to analyse and interpret artworks in terms of their sources and cultural context, and also the ability to focus relevantly on cultural and historical issues and organise knowledge and argument appropriate to questions raised.
• The portfolio assesses students' understanding of the methodologies for handling artefactual, visual and written material, and their ability to organise knowledge and argument appropriate to questions raised.enter text as appropriate for the module

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

1 essay, 1,500 words, 1 picture comment, 750 words, 1 oral presentation, 5 minutes.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University