ART-411-20, Expl/West Art: Handmade Book (FA13)
INSTRUCTOR: Firmani, Domenico
SCHEDULE/DAY/TIME: T1/Thursday/06:00-08:45PM, 09/05/2013-11/17/2013
CONTENT:
An examination of illustrated books and their production in Western Europe before the advent of the printing press in the mid-fifteenth century. Focus will be on the types of manuscripts made, the materials employed, the make-up and organization of the scriptoria or secular workshops, and how the books were decorated. Emphasis will be on the decorative forms utilized by the miniaturists. This is a “web-enhanced” course; the lectures in PowerPoint will be posted on Joule for your use in class, and study for testing.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
1. Develop a general understanding of illuminated manuscripts as an art form of the Middle Ages and Renaissance.
2. Learn how manuscripts were made and who produced them. Understand the materials used in this production.
3. Study the types of decoration applied to the pages of the texts.
4. Learn how the books were utilized in religious and secular applications.
METHODS:
1. Class room slide lectures on basic concepts. Student participation.
2. Reading assignments.
3. Possible trip to view manuscripts firsthand.
REQUIREMENTS AND ASSIGNMENTS:
1. Readings in assigned text.
2. Formal Analysis by student of manuscript reproduced in text. 5%
3. Research paper. 45%
4. Quiz and final exam. 5% & 45%
REQUIRED TEXTS:
-Clemens, Raymond. Introduction to Manuscript Studies. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2007.
-Brown, Michelle. Understanding Manuscripts: A Guide to Technical Terms, Mailbu, CA: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 1994.
RECOMMENDED READINGS OR MATERIALS:
Sayre, Henry. Writing About Art. 6th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009.
RECOMMENDED READINGS AND/OR ASSIGNMENTS PRIOR TO THE FIRST CLASS:
Clemens Chapters 1-4. Peruse Brown for technical terms.