Rubens and the Arts of Persuasion (P01733)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : ACE-P-P01733

Rubens has rightly been described as "the most learned man" in the world of his day. It is in the context of Rubens as polymath that I wish to consider his unique skills as propagandist: artist, architectural historian and authority on the sculpture of the ancients; classical scholar trained in the best school of letters and rhetoric in early modern Europe; brilliantly gifted linguist; courtier, and diplomat who was known personally be the kings of Spain, France and England. The purpose of this course is to construct a cultural biography of this Promethean figure whose output within the tradition of western art was not even surpassed by Picasso.

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 : Not being delivered

? 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

Students who enrol on this course will acquire a very broad understanding of the culture of early seventeenth century Europe. An unusually large number of letters by Rubens survive and accordingly, there will be an unparalleled opportunity to relate the personal testimony of an artist to his oeuvre. In addition, there will be training in appreciating the bearing of documentary evidence to an understanding of cultural artefacts. Vice-versa, so too, we shall consider the potential and limitations in seeing paintings as historical documents. Students will finish the course with a good acquaintance with the contours of early modern European history.