2011-2012 Academic Year

Ancient and Medieval Art (20012)

Degree/study: Degree in Humanities
Year: 1st
Term: 2nd
Number of ECTS credits: 6
Hours of student dedication: 150
Teaching language or languages: Catalan
Teaching Staff: Francesc-Xavier Mingorance Ricart and Josep M. Palau i Baduell

  

1. Presentation of the subject

This course presents the main artistic manifestations of the West from the time of the great Middle East empires to the end of the Middle Age.

We seek to gain a panoramic view of the great art periods without losing sight of the historical and cultural context in which they occurred and of the impact they had in posterior eras.

The previous knowledge is assumed to be that acquired at the end of the Batxillerat: being able to outline the relation between the formal characteristics of the different ancient and medieval art styles and the historical time and cultural context that gave rise to them.

This basic referential knowledge is enriched by the contents and methodological procedures acquired during the first and second terms with the subjects in the Humanities curriculum (Prehistory, Classic Culture and Western Tradition and Fundamentals of Art History and Theory), as well as with the subjects given in the third term (Ancient History and Ancient and Medieval Thought). Its relation with these subjects is of a different nature (sharing a studying period, general competences and methodological principles). However, these subjects are not considered to be essential prerequisites in order to achieve the set goals, but to complement each other.

2. Competences to be attained

General competences

Specific competences

Instrumental skills

1.      Analysis and synthesis skills.

2.      Organisation and planning skills.

3.      Oral and written communication in one's own language.

4.      Knowledge of a foreign language.

5.      Documental research and reference sources.

6.      Interrelation of concrete knowledge with theoretical knowledge.

7.      Understanding the interrelation between Literature, History, Art, and Thought.

Interpersonal skills

8.      Recognition of diversity and multiculturality.

9.      Analytical reasoning.

10.  Knowledge of other cultures and habits.

11.  Skills in rigorous, hard work.

12.  Continuous training skills.

13.  Skills in being constantly curious.

1.      Being able to situate art movements within its originating social and cultural context.

2.      Establishing the appropriate relations between written cultural and visual culture in the different studied eras.

3.      Achieving objective criteria for the interpreting and evaluation of works of art, generally speaking, and of those belonging to Ancient and Medieval Art, in particular.

4.      Recognising the most common iconographic attributes in the Ancient and Medieval Art representations.

5.      Recognising the technical and conceptual constraints determining the adoption of certain artistic forms to the detriment of others.

6.      Identifying the survival of certain stylistic forms and characteristics and being able to link them to coding, transmission and vulgarisation processes.

7.      Acquiring the visual habits essential for the study of works of art from different eras.

  

3. Contents

Content block 1: The Ancient World

  • Unit 1: Middle East Art.
  • Unit 2: Egyptian Art.

Content block 2: Classical World

  • Unit 3: 3.1. Aegean Art. 3.2. Greek and Hellenistic Art.
  • Unit 4: 4.1. Iberian Art. 4.2. Etruscan and Roman Art.

Content block 3: The first manifestations of Medieval Art

  • Unit 5: Art by the first Christians.
  • Unit 6: Byzantian Art.
  • Unit 7: Islamic Art.

Content block 4: The Middle Age

  • Unit 8: Pre-Romanesque Art
  • Unit 9: Romanesque Art
  • Unit 10: Gothic Art

  

*The full version with the sections 4. Assessment, 5. Bibliography and teaching resources, 6. Methodology, and 7. Planning of activities is available in the original version.