Spanish Art and its Regulators (P01529)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : ACE-P-P01529

This course provides an in-depth study of selected works of art and architecture of the 'Golden Age' of Spain: c. 1518 - 1680. Spanish art did not develop coherently as in Italy. It will become clear that in Spain, on the contrary, the arts evolved idiosyncratically; though the influence of powerful patrons is a constant in both architecture and painting. Hence a main theme explored is 'Art and its Regulators'. Analysis of textual and visual material will contribute to an understanding of how artistic creativity was controlled, and at times censored to serve particular political and religious ends. We shall examine the role of patrons in the design of iconographic programmes, and their impact on individual artists such as: El Greco, Velázquez and Murillo in the broadest cultural context: the built environment, the spiritual context of Spanish mysticism and the dynamics of the court in Madrid.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

History of Art, (School of Arts, Culture and Environment, Schedule A)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 2 (Blocks 3-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

? Additional Class Information : Semester 1 or 2, at times to be arranged.

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

It is intended that students acquire a good knowledge and understanding of the material studied through preparing a series of short seminar presentations on selected topics, reading the texts recommended in the bibliography, week by week and engaging actively in general discussion during seminars. The students are urged to use archive, gallery as well as library sources and thus get used to documentary research and the analysis of primary sources from the beginning of the MSc degree. One-to-one tutorials are used to help them select the subject of the course essay and to monitor the progress of their research and thinking. The other purpose of these tutorials is to aid them make the transition from undergraduate to postgraduate study and to develop their self-confidence and sense of their potential contribution as art historians.