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Renaissances North and South: Italy and the Netherlands

Module description

Traditionally the art of Early Modern Italy and the Netherlands (mostly modern-day Belgium) are considered separately but, as this module shows, much is to be gained by considering them together. It examines art in these regions in the fifteenth century, a period usually described as the ‘Early Renaissance’. On this module you will look at developments, especially in Florence, initiated by the ‘founders’, according to Giorgio Vasari (Lives, 1550; 1568), of the Renaissance, such as Donatello, Ghiberti and Masaccio, alongside comparable innovations that occurred at around the same time in the Netherlands in the works of Robert Campin, Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and others, whose accomplishments were virtually overlooked by Vasari. The module considers the art of these regions in parallel, exploring differences as well as commonalities and, crucially, how these came about. 

Module aims - intentions of the module

Focussing on the visual evidence, alongside primary literary evidence (in translation) and wider secondary scholarship, this module aims to equip you with the knowledge and analytical skills required to interrogate and explain the sometimes distinctive, sometimes comparable, art and visual cultures of Italy and the Netherlands in the 1400s. It is structured thematically, introducing you to a range of ‘types’ of art, and exploring their visual characteristics and properties, underlying theoretical/conceptual standpoints, as well as matters of patronage, display, audience(s) and function(s). As well as discussing many individual works, the module will also be exploring the specific connections between Northern and Italian art, as well as varying conceptions of nature and ‘realism’, of ‘Renaissance’ and classical revival; and it will consider, too, the most characteristic forms of art in these localities, such as altarpieces and portraits, as well as their differing settings and functions, and systems of patronage which led to their creation. Each week addresses a specific theme (e.g. ‘nature’, ‘realism’, religious art, portraits and portraiture, etc) and in all these respects requires you to critically engage with new and ongoing research; and a key, recurring aim will be to hone your skills in visual description and analysis, especially your ability to compare and contrast. You will draw heavily on growing scholarship on Renaissance art in both these regions, as well as research on cross-cultural exchange, addressing both causes and effects, in this period. Ultimately, you will consolidate and develop your ability to analyse and understand a range of artworks and cultural artefacts, from the well- to the lesser-known, produced in the two regions.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. Demonstrate an understanding of the history and visual culture of Early Renaissance Italy and the Netherlands
• 2. Demonstrate knowledge of recent scholarly debates and issues that underlie the study of the Early Renaissance in the two regions

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. Recognise and understand art-historical terminology and concepts
• 4. With guidance, find your around the relevant subject areas of the University Library and access and use learning resources specified by the course tutor

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. Assimilate, select and organise material in order to produce a written or oral argument
• 6. Develop skills in independent research and thinking

Syllabus plan

The course is structured thematically, so as to enable a thorough and in-depth understanding of art in the two regions and to expose commonalities and differences. Lectures focus on key themes and types of art, with follow-up discussion in seminars. Key themes include (but are not limited to): buildings, settings and spaces of art; ‘Gothic’ and ‘Renaissance’ sculpture; classical ‘revival’; prayer and devotion; portraits and portraiture; nature as a theoretical ideal.

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Re-assessment notes

Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.

Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to redo the assessment(s) as defined above. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

-        Christiansen et al. (eds), The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini, exh. cat. (Metropolitan Museum of Art New York), 2011, pp 2-25 

-        Harbison, ‘Visions and Meditations in Early Flemish Painting,’ Simiolus: Netherlands Quarterly for the History of Art 15 (1985), pp 87-118  

-        Molho, ‘The Brancacci Chapel: Studies in Its Iconography and History,’ Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes 40 (1977), 50-98 + 322. 

-        Nash, Northern Renaissance Art, Oxford, 2008

-        Nichols, Renaissance Art: A Beginner’s Guide, Oxford, 2010

-        Partridge, Art of Renaissance Florence, 1400-1600, Berkeley, 2009

      Rubinstein, Renaissance Artists and Antique Sculpture, London and New York, 1986, 31-42  

-        Steyaert, ‘The Ghent Altarpiece: new thoughts on its original display,’ The Burlington Magazine 157 (Feb., 2015), pp 74-84

-        Taylor-Mitchell, ‘Guild Commissions at Orsanmichele: Some Relationships Between Interior and Exterior Imagery in the Trecento and Quattrocento,’ Explorations in Renaissance Culture 20 (Jan., 1994), pp 61-88 

-        Williamson, ‘Altarpieces, Liturgy, and Devotion,’ Speculum 79 (Apr., 2004), pp 341-406 

Key words search

Renaissance; Art; Italy; Netherlands