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Antiquity has provided a standard by which all subsequent periods have tended to be judged. The Jenkins Venus was thought during the neoclassical period to be the embodiment of love and beauty, so fundamental to contemporary ideas of art appreciation.

Antiquity has provided a standard by which all subsequent periods have tended to be judged. The Jenkins Venus was thought during the neoclassical period to be the embodiment of love and beauty, so fundamental to contemporary ideas of art appreciation. This gypsum bas-relief wall-slab from Room C of the north-west palace of Ashurnasirpal II, at Nimrud, was rediscovered at Canford School where it had long been thought to be made of plaster. When sold in 1994, it was the most expensive sculpture ever to have been auctioned. Theseus slays the Minotaur of Crete who in Greek mythology devoured 7 Athenean youths and maidens each year. Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos, fell in love with Theseus. She gave him a thread by which he escaped the labyrinth where the monster lived. Attic black-figured hydria (water carrier) c. 560 BC. These winged figures represent a particular aspect of the goddess Athena as Victory known as Nike. They are solid cast in gold with sheet gold wings and finely chased details of feathers. They are surmounted by eight-petalled rosettes, fringed with filigree wire and framed by opposing spirals of filigree. Nike earrings, late 4th to 3rd century BC
This panel depicting the ordination of the first Christian Saint, Stephen, is carved on reused elephant ivory during the Carolingian period in the late 9th century, probably at Metz. It once formed part of a casket with stories of the life of the saint. Thomas of Oxford’s Jesse window at Winchester College epitomises the skill and craftsmanship of the medieval glazier. The variety of artistic production during the middle ages has remained an inspiration to subsequent periods of art. This is a detail from the dome mosaic of the Arian Baptistery at Ravenna of c. AD 500. Saint Peter and Saint Paul are shown approaching the Hetoimasia (or prepared throne for Christ’s second coming). The lover-poet resting on his bed, his sword propped by his pillow, his writing materials, spectacles and books laid out on a chest next to an enclosed garden symbolising his unrequited love. From an illuminated manuscript of the Roman de la Rose, the most widely read and debated medieval love poem.
Cima da Conegliano was one of the great colourists of the Venetian Renaissance. Following in the footsteps of Giovanni Bellini he developed a personal language of painting which also had a strong sculptural sense. This Madonna and Child is set in a landscape that includes a view of his hometown of Conegliano. The geometric beauty, technical virtuosity, and massive scale of the Pantheon, originally built by Agrippa and rebuilt by Hadrian AD 118 to 128, inspired architects in the Renaissance to try to surpass the ancient world. This parcel-gilt and silvered Mantuan bronze roundel depicting Mars, Venus, Cupid and Vulcan was discovered inside an under-stair cupboard in 2003 and had been in the family, who considered it to be of little value, the 17th century. As a Renaissance masterpiece from the circle of Mantegna and Gian Marco Cavalli, it sold for £6,949,250 at Christie’s London. This sarcophagus was made in Rome between AD 160 and 200 for a military commander. The scene reflects a lost painting from Pergamum by Phyromachos which depicted the story of the defeat of the Gauls by Attalus I. Such sarcophagi were the inspiration for early Renaissance sculptors such as Giovanni and Nicola Pisano, and Michelangelo himself.

Master's Degree - Arts of Europe: Antiquity | Middle Ages | Renaissance


Discover the visual and material culture that forms the roots of Western civilisation with our Arts of Europe programme.

All the course work for this programme is directly related to a real-work experience. You will be asked to write reviews, artefact analyses, acquisition reports and curatorial reports. Your thesis will be a catalogue of an exhibition that you would like to stage. Whatever period of study you chose you will receive the same core training. We will teach you the Christie’s Auction House cataloguing procedures and you will be able to assess and write about all forms of art in the period you have chosen to study. As part of this course you will also be introduced to critical writing and thinking about art so that you can either enter the art-world immediately or go on to study further.

Course components

  • The core lecture series c.3000 BC to AD 1527 underpins all components of the programme
  • You will participate in two study trips a year to major sites in Europe and several visits to UK sites throughout the year
  • Object-based study is central to our teaching and will provide you with relevant training for the public and commercial art worlds. This includes practical and research based study of materials and techniques, scientific analysis, style, dating, quality and authenticity
  • You will be trained in cataloguing to auction house and museum standards. Handling sessions and warehouse and museum visits all occur during the course
  • Being engaged with current debates about curating will enable you to devise fresh approaches to the display of art works. You'll explore practices in art criticism, developing skills to review exhibitions and produce reports
  • Our Culture and Ideology Seminars will teach you the importance of iconography, patronage and artistic context of Early European works of art. You will acquire the skills to deliver presentations and generate seminar discussion
  • You'll be involved in Methodology Seminars - the analysis of technical, art-historical and interpretative texts that provide transferable skills for independent research and individual development
  • If you're doing a Master's degree you will prepare a thesis. This is your opportunity to create an exhibition on a small group of objects, independently researched and catalogued, where the key academic and professional skills learned on the programme are utilised.

Topics on this option

  • The Art and Culture of Ancient Iraq, Persia, and Egypt
  • Depiction of the Human form in Greek and Hellenistic Art
  • Architectural Form and Meaning in the Ancient World
  • Art, Politics and Power during the Roman Empire
  • The Material Culture of the Roman World
  • The New Art of the Early Christian era
  • The Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Illuminated Manuscripts and Metalwork
  • Sacred and Luxurious Art before and after Charlemagne
  • Byzantium and its culture
  • Colour and Narrative in Medieval Stained Glass, Panel Painting and Illuminated Manuscripts
  • Ivory, Enamels and Textiles from the Treasuries of Europe
  • The Birth of Italian Painting: Duccio, Giotto and the Trecento
  • International Gothic and the Princely Courts of Europe
  • Re-inventing Sculpture and Architecture in early Renaissance Europe
  • Icons of the High Renaissance: Raphael, Leonardo, and Michelangelo

Entry requirements

A university degree. We welcome students who have graduated in a wide range of subjects, including classics, archaeology, history, languages as well as art history and other disciplines. Non-English speaking students must have IELTS 8 or equivalent.

 

 

 

 

 

Master’s - Arts of Europe

Course Dates

Orientation Week

Monday 24 September 2012 -
Friday 28 September 2012

Term 1

Monday 1 October 2012
– Friday 07 December 2012

Term 2

Monday 07 January 2013
– Friday 15 March 2013

Term 3

Monday 22 April 2013
– Friday 28 June 2013

Course Fees

£22,000

Course Director

Dr Richard Plant

Get to know Dr. Richard Plant

Read the interview now

University of Glasgow

Visit the University of Glasgow’s website here.

Apply now

Submit your completed application to applications@christies.com.  Alternatively, your application can be returned to: Christie’s Education, 153 Great Titchfield Street. London W1W 5BD

Visit our admissions page