AH210 SP09 Syllabus

AH210 SP09 Baroque Art
M/W 6:00-7:25 pm
Myers Auditorium

Adrian Duran
aduran@mca.edu
901.272.5129 [x 272]
theduranarthistoryblog@blogspot.com

Office Hours: Tuesday 2-5pm (3rd floor, North tower, otherwise Library)

Notice: Some of the content of this course may disturb the sensibilities of some students. If you need to discuss this situation, please contact me.

Notice: Students who are entitled to considerations under ADA guidelines are asked to contact me immediately. Every situation is unique and warrants specific consideration. Thus, notifications made in close proximity to exams and/or other due dates may cause complications. The greater the amount of available time, the more appropriately and successfully these matters can be addressed.

Goal: This course will introduce students to the major artists, themes, media, and developments of the European Baroque, ca. 1580-1750. Students will learn the specific iconographies used by these artists, develop interpretive mechanisms for these works, and become familiar with past and current methodologies of the history of Baroque art.

Communication: I can be contacted by both phone and e-mail. E-mail is preferred and, most likely, will result in a quicker response. I will contact you via your MCA e-mail account. If you are having any problems with your e-mail account, please contact Ian Sterling. It is your responsibility to monitor these accounts actively and consistently. Students’ individual choices regarding the maintenance and awareness of MCA e-mail will not be acceptable as excuses for missing e-mails.

Attendance: Attendance is mandatory and will be monitored. Expecting to pass this course without constant, attentive attendance is not realistic. Missed classes will have a negative effect on your final grade. Upon your fourth absence, you will receive an F grade in the course. Punctuality is likewise expected. For every two late arrivals, you will be assessed one absence.

Powerpoints: Class Powerpoints are available on the MCA server (Dali). Students will be responsible for these materials, which will be eligible for inclusion on exams.

Readings: Please complete ALL readings prior to class. They will provide important background and will be directly addressed in class. Some readings will be available only on reserve at the MCA library. It is your responsibility to obtain these readings.

The primary course textbook is:
Ann Sutherland Harris. Seventeenth Century Art and Architecture, 2nd ed. Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005.

DO NOT PURCHASE THE 1st EDITION. IT IS OBSOLETE.

The text is available for purchase at Burke’s Books. If you have any questions regarding any texts or wish to explore further, I am more than happy to help you find bibliography.

Exams: Exams will consist of a combination of slide identifications, slide discussions, compare/contrasts and essays. The distribution of these segments is at my discretion and may be changed at any point during the semester. Exams WILL NOT be cumulative. You will be responsible for purchasing and bringing blue books to the exams. These can be bought in the MCA Supply Store.

There will be NO make-up exams. If there is legitimate reason for missing an exam, this will be taken under consideration, but students are not guaranteed any make-up opportunities. The burden of presence at and preparation for exams in on the student.

Internet Resources: Students should be wary of internet resources. Art History, as is the case with many academic disciplines, is still primarily a paper-based endeavor. There are a number of online journals, but students must be diligent in recognizing the difference between a legitimate, academic journal and other, less rigorously prepared sites. Many websites are excellent (Web Gallery of Art, Met Museum of Art), while many are questionable (Wikipedia, blogs). If there is any doubt, please consult me. Students may consider the below as helpful points of reference:

· http://www.wga.hu/index1.html
· http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/
· http://witcombe.sbc.edu/ARTHbaroque.html#Baroque
· http://socrates.acadiau.ca/courses/musi/callon/1293/art.htm

Research Assignment: As part of this course, students will undertake a research assignment. This will include a multi-step process by which students will propose, refine, and solidify a topic of research. This research will then be developed into an annotated bibliography (12-point font, 1” margins, double-spaced), which will be properly formatted according to the Chicago Manual of Style. The Chicago Manual of Style can be found on reserve in the MCA library. Work that does not conform to this format will be returned to the student, ungraded, for correction. It will then be the task of the student to correct and resubmit the paper for grading. If the assignment is not returned before the final date of submission, a zero (0) grade will be assessed.

The total assignment is built of a progression of individual parts, each of which will have its own deadline. Late submissions will not be accepted, and a zero (0) grade will be assessed to that respective component of the assignment.

Students should begin by visiting the MCA Library and consulting the college’s online resources, which are collected at www.delicious.com/mcalibrary. Do not overlook the Grove Dictionary of Art, in the library’s reference section. MCA students have library privileges at the University of Memphis and Rhodes College and should not neglect these collections.

Plagiarism: MCA policy on plagiarism can be found in the student handbook. Students under suspicion of plagiarism will be given one opportunity to prove their conduct as other than plagiarism. The burden of proof is on the student. If the state of plagiarism cannot be disproved, the student will be given a grade of F for the course and administrative action will be taken.

Grading: My grading system works as follows. Please consider these numbers indisputable. Refer to the MCA Student Handbook for an understanding of grading policy. MCA policy on plagiarism can be found on page 66 of the Student Handbook.

A 93 and above
A- 90-92
B+ 88-89
B 83-87
B- 80-82
C+ 78-79
C 73-77
C- 70-72
D 65-69
F Below 65

Grade Breakdown:
Exam 1: 25%
Exam 2: 25%
Exam 3: 25%
Research Assignment: 25%
n.b.: attendance and lateness will be factored into the final grade

Classroom Conduct: Students are expected to conduct themselves in an appropriately professional manner. Anything otherwise is disrespectful to yourselves, your peers, your faculty, and the educational endeavor.

1. Conversing is unacceptable. It is both distracting to those seated nearby and disruptive to the professor. You will be warned. You will then be asked to leave. If you are asked to leave, you will be marked as absent and penalized accordingly.

2. Cell phone/PDA/PSP/DS/etc. use is prohibited. Claiming the cell phone as your only personal timepiece is not substantial. Texting is forbidden. If your phone rings, the professor reserves the right to answer the call, take the phone, or any other measures deemed appropriate by the professor. Those who do not abide will be warned, then asked to leave, with the aforementioned attendance penalty.

3. Those who take notes on computers are expected to be taking notes, not surfing the internet or any other activities than those immediately associated with the lecture. Those who are caught doing otherwise will be warned, then asked to leave, with the aforementioned attendance penalty.

4. Eating in class is forbidden. Drinking is acceptable, though only if students consider such as a privilege. Policing your own area and disposing of your own trash is expected. If litter and/or filth becomes a problem, drinking will be forbidden.

5. Students may make audio recordings of class lectures for study use only. Any recordings made are to be used for the purposes of class members only. Other uses are forbidden, and will be met with disciplinary action.

6. Drawing in class is offensive. Your purpose is to listen and take notes, not sketch or plan projects for other classes. Of course, making sketches of the works discussed in class for study purposes is understandable, though course ppts are available on the server.

7. Please do not get up and leave class except when absolutely necessary. Absolutely necessary constitutes emergencies and use of the facilities. Garbage and/or other incidental needs should be held until the end of class. There is no need to ask permission to leave.

Safety: This class will follow the standards detailed in the "EPA Material Handling Protocols - September 2007," as issued by MCA.

Course Schedule w/ Readings
All page numbers are from Harris, 2nd ed.

Week 1
M 19 JAN: NO CLASS: Martin Luther King Jr. Day

W 21 JAN: Syllabus + Library + On-Line Resources

Week 2
M 26 JAN: Mannerism, the Counter-Reformation, and Italian art in the late-16th century (xii-xxiii, 1-6)

W 28 JAN: The Carracci in Bologna (7-20)

Week 3
M 2 FEB: The Carracci in Rome (20-33)

W 4 FEB: Caravaggio’s early works (33-49) (200-word proposal due)

Week 4
M 9 FEB: Caravaggio’s religious works (reread 33-49)

W 11 FEB: The Gentileschi and International Caravaggism (50-56, 270-81, 327-31)

Week 5
M 16 FEB: Roman Baroque Classicism: Domenichino, Reni, Poussin, Claude (56-72, 285-315)

W 18 FEB: Roman Baroque ceilings: Reni, Guercino, Lanfranco, Cortona, Baciccio, Pozzo (72-77, 113-25, 127-134)

Week 6
M 23 FEB: Exam I

W 25 FEB: NO CLASS—CAA

Week 7
M 2 MAR: Bernini as sculptor (84-98) (revised proposal due)

W 4 MAR: Bernini the architect, Borromini (78-84, 98-113)

Week 8
M 9 MAR: NO CLASS—SPRING BREAK

W 11 MAR: NO CLASS—SPRING BREAK

Week 9
M 16 MAR: Rubens (143-74)

W 18 MAR: Rubens continued, Van Dyck, Jordaens (174-90)

Week 10
M 23 MAR: Flemish painting overflow

W 25 MAR: France (251-270, 315-21) (preliminary bibliography due)

Week 11

M 30 MAR: England (401-02, 410-15)

W 1 APR: Spanish painting (199-200, 207-40)

Week 12
M 6 APR: Spanish painting continued (240-49)

W 8 APR: Exam II

Week 13
M 13 APR: Dutch (and Flemish) Art: Allegory and/or Realism? (190-97, 323-27, 339-44, 391-99)

W 15 APR: Hals & Rembrandt (331-39, 345-68)

Week 14
M 20 APR: Rembrandt & Dutch religious painting (reread 345-68)

W 22 APR: Dutch Genre Painting: Leyster, Dou, Steen, Vermeer (368-91)
(final annotated bibliography due)

Week 15
M 27 APR: Vermeer continued (reread 379-91)

W 29 APR: Exam III

Week 16
M 4 MAY: last day of class