AH10260 An Introduction to European Art 1: Antiquity to High Renaissance

Academic Year 2024/2025

This course introduces students to the history of European painting, sculpture and architecture, from the classical worlds of ancient Greece in the fifth century BC, to the Florentine High Renaissance of the early sixteenth century. In between, it will engage with the art and architecture of the Roman and Byzantine empires, the Middle Ages, and the course terminates with High Renaissance art in Florence in the early years of the sixteenth century – the era of Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo. Topics investigated, summarized and challenged include: classical ideals of harmony, beauty and proportion; the rise of the Roman Empire; developments in early Christian, Byzantine and Medieval art and architecture and the flowering of the Renaissance in Italy, Germany and the Low Countries. It will also address the rise in the professional, social and critical status of the artist in Renaissance Europe. The latter period is traditionally understood in terms of a ‘rebirth’ in the arts driven by a revived interest in the art and culture of classical antiquity, thus bringing the module full circle. Classes offer mixture of lectures, tutorials and museum and gallery site visits.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this module students should be able to
- identify key moments in the development of classical, byzantine, and medieval art and architecture
- demonstrate an ability to demonstrate how classical influences can be traced to later periods in the early middle ages within the realms of the history of art and architecture
- examine influences can be traced to later periods.

Students should have a familiarity and understanding of critical/theoretical sources relevant to the course.

Indicative Module Content:

This module would work particularly well in combination with its sister module AH10160 Art History in the Making (autumn 2024) and. Together with the sequel module AH10270 European Art 2 and AH10150 The Modern World (both spring 2025), these four courses combine to offer first year students an overall foundation in the history of Western Art from antiquity to the modern era. See: https://www.ucd.ie/arthistory/study/undergraduateprogrammes/

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

22
Small Group

8
Specified Learning Activities

35
Autonomous Student Learning

35
Total

100
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Lectures will ordinarily take place twice a week and will be supplemented by weekly tutorials and/ or field trips. Tutorials will focus on issues that arise from lectures and will give students an opportunity to interact with a tutor in a small-group setting. Assessment will be by means of an essay or written assignment and a final end-of-trimester exam. The latter will assess factual knowledge of art works and buildings as well as wider contextual understanding of the society and conditions that produced them. The School places a lot of emphasis on first-hand contact with works of art and consequently some tutorials will probably take place in the UCD Classics Museum, the National Museum, National Gallery of Ireland, with students also encouraged to visit the collections individually in order to apply what they have learned in class to works of experienced at first hand. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Incompatibles:
AH10120 - The Art of Renaissance


 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Participation in Learning Activities: This is based on participation in the course’s fortnightly tutorials and other classes and forms of engagement. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 10, Week 11, Week 12 Graded No

10

 No
Assignment(Including Essay): A mid-term essay - the deadline for this will be confirmed at the start of the module. Week 9 Graded No

30

 No
Exam (In-person): An end of term 2hr written exam. End of trimester
Duration:
2 hr(s)
 Graded No

60

 No

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Spring Yes - 2 Hour
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Feedback will be via essay returned to the students in person or electronically, and by appointment with the course lecturer and / or tutor.