Art 303: Gothic Art            

Spring 2006

 

Course Instructor:

Dr. Heather Holian       email: hlholian@uncg.edu

Office: Cone 229          office phone: 334-5884

Office Hours: M 9:30-10:30, W from 4:00-5:00,          

            and by appointment

 

Required Textbooks:

1.      Whitney S. Stoddard, Art and Architecture in Medieval France. Icon Editions. New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1972.  ISBN: 0-06-430022-6

2.      John White, Art and Architecture in Italy 1250-1400. 3rd. Ed. New Haven: Yale University

Press, 1993. ISBN: 0-300-05585-4

 

These texts are available at the UNCG Bookstore. There is also a copy of Stoddard’s text on closed reserve at Jackson Library for this course (the title is slightly different though, so look for his name). A copy of White’s text is located in the Reference Room of the Jackson Library, and is therefore available for use within the building (call# N6915.W45 1993) Most of the assigned readings for this course will come from these texts, as will many of the exam images, therefore access to these books is crucial for success in this course. Remaining readings will come from books on reserve or postings on e-reserve, accessible through Blackboard.

 

Course Description:

This course will focus upon the artistic production of France and Italy during the Gothic Period (1130-1450), and specifically the religious architecture, and ancillary works created for these sacred spaces. The semester will be divided in half, with the first dedicated to France, and the second to Italy, which will function as a counterpoint to the “French style” that virtually dominated European art production during the centuries in question. Each structure and work of art will also be discussed within the cultural, social, and political environment to which it is inextricably connected, providing a deeper understanding of the work’s important place within its culture. Attention will also be given to patrons of the arts, the role, training, and status of the Gothic artist, as well as the methods and materials they employed.

 

Student Learning Outcomes:

At the conclusion of this course a successful student will be capable of—

1.      discussing the major architectural and artistic monuments of French and Italian Gothic art, and identifying the characteristics of these styles.

2.   comparing and contrasting works of art verbally and through written words.

3.      thinking critically about art.

 

AND, will have an understanding of the interconnectedness between Gothic art and its cultural environment.

 

Course Requirements:

1.      Attend lectures. Some of the material discussed in class can not be found in the course textbook, yet it will be included on exams, therefore, regular attendance is essential to success in the course. Attendance will count towards the final grade for the course.

 

2.      Read assigned readings and come prepared to contribute to any class discussions.

 

3.      Complete the required assignments.

 

4.      Take and pass all three exams.

 

5.      Take one architecture quiz, and four of five remaining brief quizzes

 

6.      Complete one video assignment.

 

Grades:

Grades will be composed of the following components:

 

Two exams                                                                   200 (100 points each x 2)

            Final exam                                                                    125

            Brief Quizzes                                                                60 (15 points each x 4)

            Architecture quiz                                                           35

            Video viewing assignment                                             35

            Attendance                                                                   75                               

            Major-specific assignments (see below)                        130                 

                                                                                                __________

            Total:                                                                            660 points

 

            Art History Majors

            One short research paper (5-6 pages)                           130

 

            All other Majors*

            Two written analyses of reading                                    130 (65 points each x 2)

           

*Please note that any student who is not an art history major, but who wishes instead to complete the research paper may do so with the advance permission of Dr. Holian. This permission must be sought BEFORE Week 4 of the semester has concluded. See below for description of assignments.

Final grades will be assigned according to the following grading system:

 

100-97=A+, 96-93=A, 92-90=A-, 89-87=B+, 86-83=B, 82-80=B-, 79-77=C+, 76-73=C,

72-70=C-, 69-67=D+, 66-63=D, 62-60=D-, 59 and below is an F.

Classroom Etiquette:

Remember to turn off all cell phones and pagers before lectures begin as a courtesy to those around you, as well as the instructor. CD players and tape recorders are also not allowed.

 

Please be punctual for class and remain seated for the duration of class time. Class will begin promptly at 3:00 and will end no later than 3:50. Latecomers are asked not to enter the classroom after 3:05, as tardy students distract others as well as the instructor. In addition, as a courtesy to your colleagues and Dr. Holian, please do not get up in the middle of lecture to use the restroom, etc. These personal needs should be taken care of before our short 50 minute lecture. Please also refrain from packing up early and preparing to leave, as this is also distracting to others.

 

Since art history classes are taught with the lights turned down you may be tempted to sleep. Please do not do that in class. Nor should you be reading the newspaper or other material not relating to class. Instead, come prepared, take notes and be ready to engage in the course material

 

Please also note, food and drink are not permitted in Cone 103.

 

Course Materials on Blackboard:

Information for this course will be posted on Blackboard, including lists of terms given in lecture, all assignments, e-reserve readings, exam study guides, a copy of the syllabus, and all required images not reproduced in the textbook. The site will be updated as the semester progresses to correspond with lecture. Obviously the site should not be considered a substitute for attending class, but you will find that printing out the terms, or copying them down before lecture, and bringing them with you, will make note-taking easier. These terms are provided on Blackboard not only as a study aid, but also as a way of saving valuable class time, and will therefore not be spelled again in lecture. These terms are provided on Blackboard not only as a study aid, but also as a way of saving valuable class time, and will therefore not be spelled again in lecture.

 

Address to access Blackboard: http:blackboard.uncg.edu

Items to keep in mind when accessing Blackboard—

1. You will need to know your Novell password. This is the password used to log into campus computer labs. You do not have to access Blackboard only from a campus lab, but you will need the Novell password to get onto the page, regardless of your computer’s location.

            2. Use Internet Explorer when accessing Blackboard. Problems occur with Netscape.

            3. You will need Microsoft Word on your computer to view items posted on Blackboard. If your computer does not have Word, you may download a free viewer for Word on the Blackboard page. Go under “Student Resources,” and then click on “hardware and software.”

            4. Any e-communication you may want to do within the Blackboard system can only be sent to UNCG email addresses.

 

 

Academic Honor Code:

Students are required to sign the Academic Integrity Policy on each exam. Please refer to the UNCG Undergraduate Bulletin.

 

Test Format:

All exams are “closed book.” All three exams will contain some fill-in-the-blank, definitions, and short answer questions. Each exam will also contain at least one slightly longer essay question. Some of these questions will be illustrated by slides taken from the exam review sheet. In these cases, the slide identification will also be necessary for full points.

 

The final exam will follow the same format and will not be cumulative except for one essay question dealing a broad course issue (worth 25 points). Possible topics for this essay will be provided along with the final exam review sheet. One of the possible topics will appear on the final exam. Each student will be able to prepare one 8” x 11” sheet of paper (front and back) with handwritten or typed notes to bring to the exam to aid in the writing of the cumulative essay portion of the final exam. These notes will then be turned in with the final exam. These notes should be your own work. Cumulative essays written from identical notes will result in a grade of zero for each of the involved parties.

 

Exam 1 and 2 will take approximately 45 minutes to complete, while Exam 3 will take longer. Students will be given the full 3 hours allotted for the final to complete Exam 3, however, the exam will take most students approximately 90 minutes to finish. Material for all three exams will be taken from lectures and assigned readings. Review sheets will be posted on Blackboard one week prior to the exam.

 

All exams should be written in a blue book with a blue or black pen, no pencil please. Blue books are available at the UNCG Bookstore, as well as Addams Bookstore on Tate Street, and you should come prepared with at least one blank blue book for each of the four exams.

 

Mandatory “Progress Meetings” with Dr. Holian:

Students who receive a failing grade on EXAM 1 will be required to meet with Dr. Holian during the week following the return of the graded exam. Failure to do so will result in a deduction of 20 points from the student’s earned grade on EXAM 2. Sign-up sheets for meeting times will be available in class. It is the student’s responsibility to make the appointment and attend the meeting. The only acceptable, documented excuses for missing appointments are those accepted for missed exams (see below).

 

These meetings are in place to aid struggling students early in the semester with study skills, note-taking, attendance problems, or other issues preventing a student from performing in the course.

 

Architecture Quiz:

During the first ten minutes of class on January 30, students will be given a quiz on the basic architectural terminology relating to a Gothic Cathedral. The quiz will involve the identification of various parts of the interior and exterior of a cathedral, as identified on handouts provided by Dr. Holian during the first week of class. The quiz will consist of the same diagrams reproduced in these handouts, minus the identifying terms. The student will then provide the missing terms. Not every identified element on the original handouts will be required for the quiz. Dr. Holian will give a list of required terms to aid in preparation for the quiz.

 

Quizzes:

Five short, 5-8 minute quizzes will be given throughout the semester. These will be “closed-book” quizzes, which will test each student’s understanding of important course-related terms and simple concepts related to works discussed in lecture or the reading. Terms tested on these quizzes will come from the lecture term sheets available on Blackboard and may also test knowledge of course reading. The format of these quizzes will vary and may include fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice or definitions.

 

Quiz dates:

Jan. 27                         Quiz #1                                    April 10                        Quiz #4

Feb. 20                        Quiz #2                                    May 2                          Quiz #5

March 15                     Quiz #3                                   

 

Make-up quizzes will be given with a valid excuse (namely a documented illness or family emergency). Dr. Holian must be notified within 24 hours of the missed quiz by email or office phone. The lowest quiz grade for each student will be automatically dropped when final grades are calculated.

 

Policy Regarding Missed Exams (or Quiz):

Make-up exams will not be given. Should you miss Exam 1 or Exam 2 due to illness or family emergency you must notify Dr. Holian within 24 hours of the missed exam, and produce documentation of your illness or personal emergency. If you must miss an exam for one of these documented reasons, your final grade will be averaged minus the points of the missed exam. Should you miss both exams you will receive a grade of zero for the second missed exam. The final is required of all students (see the Undergraduate Bulletin under “Grading Policies and Grades”).

 

Make-up quizzes will only be given if a student’s absence was for one of the documented reasons noted above, and if Dr. Holian was notified within the required 24 hour window. Make-up quizzes must be taken within a week of the original, missed quiz.

 

Video Viewing Assignment:

As part of the course requirements, each student must view “Cathedral: Story of its Construction” during Weeks 2 or 3 and answer the accompanying questions, which will be available on Blackboard by January 17. The 58-minute video will be on reserve at the Teaching and Learning Center under Dr. Holian. The video cannot be checked out of TLC and therefore must be watched on the premises. However, the film will also be shown once, on Friday, January 27, from 4-5 in our classroom. The completed assignment will be due at the beginning of class on February 1. *IF, and only if, a student has recently viewed “Cathedral: Story of its Construction,” and does not wish to view the film again, this student may watch “French Gothic Architecture: The Cathedrals,” which will also be on reserve for the course at TLC. An alternative assignment of equal length will be available for these students and the same due date applies.

 

Art History Research Paper Assignment:

A five to six page, double-spaced paper in 12-point font, with one-inch margins (on all sides), will be due at the beginning of class on April 21. This paper assignment will be posted on Blackboard during the fifth week of the semester, including information on proper source citation for this paper.

 

During Week 11 (March 20-24) all students writing research papers must meet with Dr. Holian to discuss the progress of their projects. Preparation for and attendance of this meeting will count towards five points of the total paper grade of 130. It is strongly encouraged, although not required, that students meet with Dr. Holian regarding their papers more than once. Anyone seeking feedback on a rough draft must have that draft turned in by April 7.

 

Guided Written Analysis of Two Readings:

During Week 5 and Week 11 guidelines and a list of questions and/or issues to consider when reading the articles listed below will be posted on Blackboard, along with the article’s text. There is no page requirement for these typed analyses, but rather a content requirement, that is to say that these should be thoughtful, articulate, thorough and well-reasoned analyses based upon the questions and issues provided. Discussion with other colleagues in the course regarding these readings is encouraged, although each student must write his/her own, original analysis. Identical or nearly identical papers will result in a grade of zero for each of the guilty parties.

 

Assignment #1 Posted on Wednesday, February 8—Topic—The Building of a the Gothic Cathedral

Reading: To be announced

 

**DUE at the beginning of lecture Monday, February 27

 

Assignment #2 Posted on Monday, March 20—Topic—Giotto at Assisi, or someone else?

Reading: B. Cole, Giotto and Florentine Painting, 1280-1375, pp. 146-160 (e-reserve)

Additional reading to be announced.

 

**DUE at the beginning of lecture Monday, April 3

 

Policy on Late Assignments:

Late assignments will be deducted the number of points equaling half of a letter grade for each day they are late. No exceptions. Late assignments may be turned into Dr. Holian’s mailbox in the Art Department’s main office, McIver, Room 158-A. **Make sure they are dated by the secretary before placing them in Dr. Holian’s box. This is your responsibility. The secretary will not date it automatically.

 


303 Gothic Art

Lecture Topics and Schedule of Required Readings

 

PLEASE NOTE: Readings should be completed prior to class meetings

 

Week 1

 

JAN. 9                         Introduction to Course

 

JAN. 11                       The Origins of the Basilican Plan Church

                                    Reading: On reserve for the course at the library: R. Krautheimer, Early

Christian and Byzantine Architecture, pp. 39-43, bottom of p. 46-top of 2nd column on p. 49, and 55-58

 

JAN. 13                       The Romanesque roots of the Gothic Style

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 3-11, 31-top of 47, 15-top of 16, and on reserve at

the library: M. Stokstad, Medieval Art, 2nd ed., pp. 222-25

 

 

Week 2

 

JAN. 16                       NO CLASSES—Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

 

JAN. 18                       The Romanesque roots of the Gothic Style continued

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 18-19, 52, 21-29

 

JAN. 20                       The Beginnings of Gothic: Abbot Suger and Saint-Denis

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 93-111, and available on reserve, or through the

library’s website as an e-book R. Scott, The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral, pp. 11-16, 76-90

 

 

Week 3

 

JAN. 23                       Finish Abbot Suger and Saint-Denis

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 375-78, on reserve or e-book Scott, 47-64

 

JAN. 25                       Early Gothic: Sens and Noyon Cathedrals

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 113-119, 121-127, on reserve or e-book

Scott, 65-75

           

JAN. 27                       Second Generation, Early Gothic: Laon and Paris Cathedrals

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 129-135, 137-145

                                    **QUIZ 1       

 

Week 4

 

JAN. 30                       **Architecture Quiz** during first 10 minutes of class

                                    Early Gothic Sculpture and Stained Glass at Chartres

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 153-164

                                               

 

FEB. 1                         High Gothic: Cathedral of Notre Dame, Chartres

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 167-171, 173-190

 

FEB. 3                         Art of Chartres: Sculpture and Stained Glass

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 253-255, 266-270

 

 

Week 5

 

FEB.6                          Finish Chartres, High Gothic Cathedral of Reims

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 197-209

 

FEB. 8                         High Gothic: Art and Architecture of Amiens

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 211-221, 255-bottom of 260

 

FEB. 10                       High Gothic: Cathedral of Bourges

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 223-233

                                   

 

Week 6

 

FEB. 13                       EXAM 1

 

FEB. 15                       The Doomed Cathedral at Beauvais

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 235-241

 

FEB. 17                       Rayonnant: St. Denis and the Sainte-Chapelle

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 279-295

 

 

Week 7

 

FEB. 20                       Finish the Sainte-Chapelle, St.-Urbain at Troyes, St.-Ouen at Rouen

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 295-top of 298, 307-310

                                    **QUIZ 2

 

FEB. 22                       High Gothic and Rayonnant facades

                                    Reading: On reserve, C. Wilson, Gothic Cathedral, pp. 129-140

                                   

FEB. 24                       Art of the Rayonnant Period: Sculpture, Painting and Stained Glass

                                    Reading: On reserve, M. Stokstad, Medieval Art, pp. 281-85,

304-top of 310            

 

 

Week 8

 

FEB. 27                       Flamboyant Architecture

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 311-top of 320

 

MAR.1                        Sculpture of the Late Gothic Period

                                    Reading: Stoddard, pp. 335-353

 

MAR. 3                       Rome and the Romanesque in Italian Architecture

                                    Reading: On reserve in the library, J. Snyder, Medieval Art: Painting,

Sculpture, Architecture: 4th-14th Century, pp. 319-333

 

 

Week 9

 

MAR. 6-

MAR. 10                     NO CLASS—Spring Break

 

 

Week 10

 

MAR. 13                     Finish Romanesque Italian Architecture

                                    Reading: Review reading assignment from March 4th

 

MAR. 15                     The Franciscans and the Architecture of S. Francesco, Assisi

                                    Reading: White, pp. 19-24

                                    **QUIZ 3

 

MAR. 17                     The Mendicant Orders in Florence: S. Maria Novella, S. Croce, Begin

Cathedral of Siena

                                    Reading: White, pp. 27-34

 

 

Week 11

 

MAR. 20                     EXAM 2

 

MAR. 22                     The “Gothic” Cathedrals of Siena, Orvieto and Florence

                                    Reading: White, pp. 45-51       

 

MAR. 24                     The Badia, Camposanto of Pisa, and the Cathedral of Arezzo,

                                                Introduction to Sculpture

                                    Reading: White, pp. 51-58, 73

 

Week 12

 

MAR. 27                     Italian Gothic Sculpture: Nicola Pisano and Arnolfo di Cambio

                                    Reading: White, pp. 74-top of 88, 93-96

 

MAR. 29                     Italian Gothic Sculpture continued: Arnolfo di Cambio, Giovanni

Pisano, Begin Painting                      

Reading: White, pp. 107-top of 122, 133-top 139, 143-146

 

MAR. 31                     Pietro Cavallini, Late Duecento Painting in Florence

                                    Reading: White, pp. 148-top of 152, 155-161, 163-top of 170

 

Week 13

 

APRIL 3                      Painting: Guido da Siena, Begin Cimabue

                                    Reading: White, bottom of p. 170-78   

                                    **Second Analysis Paper due for Non-Majors**

                                   

APRIL 5                      Cimabue in Assisi and Florence

                                    Reading: White, bottom of 178-top of 184, 186-190

 

APRIL 7                      Frescoes of the Upper Church of S. Francesco, Assisi

                                    Reading: White, pp. 199-224

 

Week 14

                                   

APRIL 10                    Finish Assisi frescoes, Duccio’s Ruccellai Madonna and Maestà

                                    Reading: White, pp. 287-308

                                    **QUIZ #4

 

APRIL 12                    NO CLASS—Bowles Inauguration

 

APRIL 14                    NO CLASS—Spring Holiday

 

 

Week 15

 

APRIL 17                    Giotto and the Arena Chapel

                                    Reading: White, pp. 309-top of 334, supplemental reading, on reserve, B.

Cole, Giotto and Florentine Painting, Chapter 4, pp. 63-95

 

APRIL 19                    Giotto in Florence