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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 Jessi 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 - Early European Art: Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance

Course Content

  • 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 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

Course Components

  • Core lecture series c.3000 BC to AD 1527: underpins all components of the programme
  • Study Trips: two international trips a year to major sites in Europe or the Americas supplement regular visits to UK sites throughout the year and are included in the basic fee.
  • Object-based study is central to our teaching: training relevant to the public and commercial art worlds; practical and research based study of materials and techniques, scientific analysis, style, dating, quality and authenticity.
  • Cataloguing to auction house and museum standards: handling sessions, warehouse and museum visits; professional cataloguing exam.
  • Gallery and Curatorial Studies: engage with current debates about curating and devise fresh approaches to the display of art works. Explore practices in art criticism developing skills to review exhibitions and produce reports.
  • Culture and Ideology Seminars: the importance of iconography, patronage and artistic context of early European works of art is discussed in small groups. Students acquire the skills to deliver presentations and generate seminar discussion.
  • Methodology Seminars: the analysis of technical, art historical and interpretative texts which provide transferable skills for independent research and individual development.
  • Thesis: 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.

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 Early European Art

Course Dates

Term 1

Thursday 1st October 2009
– Friday 11th December 2010

Term 2

Monday 11th January 2010
– Friday 9th March 2010

Term 3

Monday 26th April 2010
– Friday 2nd July 2010

Course Fees

£16,000

Course Director

Dr Richard Plant

University of Glasgow

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