| Unit name | Caravaggio |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HART30033 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Cervantes |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
NONE |
| Co-requisites |
NONE |
| School/department | Department of History of Art (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The seventeenth-century artist Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610) is of interest not only as one of the most intriguing protagonists (or, perhaps, antagonists) of his age, but as a subject whose study allows an introduction to many of the most important issues of late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century art history, including artistic identity, stylistic and iconographic novelty, new painting techniques and practices, influence and reception, and patronage and art collecting. This unit aims to give students the opportunity to conduct their own research and think critically about the subject of art and the theoretical procedures of art history. A great wealth of scholarship has been (and continues to be) written about Caravaggio, making him a particularly useful subject for exploring the various methodologies of art history, from biography and aesthetics to iconology, semiotics and gender study. In addition to probing Caravaggio’s significance for his own time, with the help of early source material in the form of biographies, letters, court records, and poetry, we will consider the far-reaching influence of Caravaggio on modern artists (such as Andrés Serrano, Derek Jarman, and Cindy Sherman) and his impact upon our own ideas about art and artistic identity.
On successful completion of this unit students will have developed: 1. a detailed and in-depth appreciation and understanding of works and reception of Caravaggio; 2. the ability to work with primary sources; 3. the ability to integrate both primary and secondary source material into a wider analysis; 4. the ability to learn independently within a small-group context; 5. the ability to select pertinent evidence/data in order to illustrate/demonstrate more general ideas; 6. the ability to derive benefit from and contribute effectively to group discussion; 7. the ability to identify a particular academic interpretation, evaluate it critically and form an individual viewpoint; 8. the acquisition of advanced writing, research, and presentation skills.
Seminars - 3 hours per week
3,500 word essay (50%) 2-hour unseen written exam (50%)
Keith Christiansen, “Caravaggio and “L’esempio davanti del naturale” (1986). Elizabeth Cropper, “The Petrifying Art: Marino’s Poetry and Caravaggio” (1991). Michael Fried, “Thoughts on Caravaggio” (1997). Lorenzo Pericolo, Caravaggio and Pictorial Narrative: Dislocating the Istoria in Early Modern Painting (2011). Philip Sohm, “Caravaggio’s Deaths” (2002).
