Learn how to visually analyse and materially assess 5 genuine prints, drawings and watercolours on paper from the 17th to the 20th centuries. Gain an ability to visually analyse a work of art, its material composition and historical context.
- Classical myth in a copperplate print after Polidoro da Caravaggio - We will examine a 17th century print after the 16th century Italian artist Polidoro da Caravaggio, both in terms of the printmaking process and the artists depiction of classical mythology. We will also discuss the value of prints to art historians, when original works are damaged or lost to time.
- An Academie nude in the circle of Carl Van Loo - We will examine a large eighteenth century academy nude drawing from the circle of Carl Van Loo. This will include its use of sanguine red chalk. We will also discuss the drawings support. The laid paper made from linen pulp that defined paper making in Europe, between the 12th and into the 19th centuries. We will further examine the drawing in the broader context of how the nude was central to an art education in the European Art Academies of the eighteenth century.
- Victorian watercolourists - The Victorian era was the golden age for the medium of watercolour in Britain. We will examine a watercolour by the English artist William Roxby Beverly, to see what it can tell us about the prevalence of the medium in this period and the centrality of the genre of landscape as its subject matter.
- The stylistic evolution of 19th and 20th century Japanese woodblock prints - How did Japanese woodblock printmaking evolve from the ukiyo-e prints of the 19th century to an adoption and integration of European aesthetics in the early decades of the 20th century? We will examine this question in relation to a print from both periods.
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Visually analyse a variety of works of art in different mediums.
- Critically analyse the material composition of a work of art on paper.
- Place a work of art on paper within its broader art historical context.
