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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Edinburgh College of Art : History of Art

Undergraduate Course: Goya: 'The last of the old masters and the first of the new' (HIAR10063)

Course Outline
SchoolEdinburgh College of Art CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryArguably one of the most versatile Post-Renaissance artists, Francisco Goya (1746-1828) is a pivotal figure in European art of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This course places his oeuvre within both the Spanish and European context. It also considers the continued relevance of his work to the present day. We will explore the full range of his pictorial expression - from Goya?s light-hearted tapestry designs, glittering portrayals of the royal family and figures of state, religious paintings, controversial depictions of the nude and the horrors of war to images of beggars, madmen, witches, monsters and strange creatures of the artist?s imagination.

We will focus on the following themes: How do we explain Goya?s transformation from a provincial (and at first unsuccessful) painter to a confident artist who infiltrated the most exclusive aristocracy in Spain and became court painter to the king? To what extent can Goya be defined as an artist of the Enlightenment? A series of works provide the opportunity to look at the dialogue which existed between the painter and key figures interested in the reform and modernisation of the Spanish monarchy. To what extent can Goya be described as a ?Spanish? artist, and how did he position himself vis-a-vis his Spanish heritage? What is Goya?s place within the wider European context? For instance, what is the relationship between Goya?s work and Hogarth?s satirical prints in England? What makes Goya a ?Romantic? artist? What were the personal, political and social issues that impinged upon his art? Here we will look in particular at Goya?s position as a painter in Madrid during the years of political turmoil and war. It seems he painted for whatever faction (French, British and Spanish). Is it possible to define his attitude? A visit to the Print Room (National Gallery of Scotland) introduces the student to Goya?s most fascinating graphic work ? the Proverbios and the Disasters of War.
Course description Not entered
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: History of Art 2 (HIAR08012) OR Architectural History 2A (ARHI08002) AND Architectural History 2B (ARHI08003)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. An in-depth knowledge of Goya?s life and oeuvre; an understanding of his work in relation to the Spanish tradition, Neo-classicism and Romanticism
  2. Knowledge of the changing artistic, social, historical and political context (including taste, fashion, society, politics, military conflict) in Spain
  3. An understanding of Goya's 'modernity' and his influence on subsequent artists
  4. An ability to set artists, patrons, intellectuals in Spain within the wider European context
  5. A critical engagement with the methodological approaches towards the study of Goya from 1800 to the present day (including patronage, biography, identity, feminism, gender/sexuality, social history, semiotics, film)
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserMs Madeleine Haddon
Tel:
Email: mhaddon@exseed.ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMrs Sue Cavanagh
Tel: (0131 6)51 1460
Email: Sue.Cavanagh@ed.ac.uk
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