Fifteenth-Century Netherlandish Art I: The Age of Jan van Eyck (Online) (10 credit points)

Pre-requisites for enrolment

Students will need to be able to confidently use videoconferencing software and be comfortable with using websites.

Special Information

In order to participate in this course, you will need access to a computer with a speaker and an internet connection.

Content of Course

1. Introduction to Burgundy: The Court and its identity focused on the cult of chivalry, Melchior Broederlam, The Dijon Altarpiece, Claus Sluter, The Well of Moses.

2. The van Eyck Brothers, The Ghent Altarpiece.

3. Altarpieces: Robert Campin, The Merode Triptych, Rogier van der Weyden, The Last Judgement , Jan van Eyck, The Madonna of Canon van der Paele.

4. Painters and their personalities: Robert Campin, Miscreant and Pilgrim.

5. Painters and their personalities: Rogier van der Weyden, piety and pathos.

6. Painters and their personalities: Jan van Eyck, his sense of the past.

7. The development of Portraiture, part 1: Campin, Portrait of a Man and a Woman, van Eyck, The Arnolfini Couple.

8. Portraiture part 2: van Eyck, The Rolin Madonna, Rogier van der Weyden, members of the court.

9. The cult of chivalry and its effects on material culture, the Order of the Golden Fleece, tapestries, embroideries, Books of Hours.

10. Material culture part 2: clothes, jewellery, the sumptuary laws.

Teaching method(s)

This course will be delivered via live online sessions. PowerPoint presentation, class discussion.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a wide-ranging knowledge of the major Netherlandish artists;

• Appreciate their role in the changing status of the artist;

• Understand the role of patronage for art production during this period;

• Critically engage with the historical circumstances and extant evidence.

Sources

Core Readings

Essential:

The relevant chapters of either:

• Gombrich, E.H., 2000. The Story of Art, 4th ed. London: Phaidon.

• Honour, H., and Fleming, J., 1995. A World History of Art, 4th ed. London: Lawrence King.

Recommended:

• Friedländer, M., 1981. From van Eyck to Bruegel (Landmarks in Art History), 4th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press.

• Harbison, Craig, 2003. The Mirror of the Artist, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

• Nash, Susie, 2008, Northern Renaissance Art, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Assessments

10 credit courses have one assessment. Normally, the assessment is a 2000 word essay, worth 100% of the total mark, submitted by week 12. To pass, students must achieve a minimum of 40%. There are a small number of exceptions to this model which are identified in the Studying for Credit Guide.

Studying for Credit

If you choose to study for credit you will need to allocate significant time outwith classes for coursework and assessment preparation. Credit points gained from this course can count towards the Certificate of Higher Education.

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.