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CATH-149 The Politics of Christian Art
Fall only
Students will consider whether the traditional understanding of Christian art as fundamentally visual pedagogy, i.e. a fusion of narrative art and visual symbols working in unison to teach the faith, is in fact the full picture of Christian art. During this course through lectures, museum visits, and field trips, we will consider “the politics of Christian art,” that is the transformations and symbological evolutions that result from new styles of governance or society, i.e., the imaging of Christ as Emperor following the declarations of Christianity as the religion of the Roman Imperium; or from the promulgation of official Church doctrines, i.e., the evolution of the Virgin Mary from simple maiden into the Theotokos as a result of the decrees of the Council of Ephesus. This new style of “reading” Christian art will provide insights not only in the visual culture of Christianity but of the interconnections between art, culture, politics, and religion throughout the history of western Christianity. Course lectures/discussions will begin with a consideration of the symbological values present in Simone Martini’s innovative depiction of The Annunciation. Class lectures and discussions will concentrate on “the politics of Christian art” through a chronological survey of Christian art from the 2nd/3rd-century catacombs and sarcophagi in Rome to the 5th/6th-century mosaics in Ravenna to Medieval manuscripts and cathedral architecture to such Florentine Renaissance masterpieces as Donatello’s sculptures of David and Judith, Michelangelo’s sculptures for the Medici Chapel Tombs. Special sessions will be devoted to Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper and Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel frescoes. A comparative study of Cristofano Allori’s, Caravaggio’s, and Artemisia Gentileschi’s paintings on the theme of Judith and Holofernes, and Donatello’s, Michelangelo’s and Bernini’s sculptures of David will provide points of discussion for the evolution of images in Christian art and culture. Final class sessions will be given over to Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s triumphant vision of Roman Catholicism in the Vatican, Rembrandt’s biblical paintings and prints, and the 20th-century debate over “Christian art.”
COURSE REQUIREMENTS: Students are required to attend class sessions at which attendance will be taken in accordance with university policy.. Grades for this course will be based upon an "average" of the exam grades discussions, and attendance. Students may enroll in this course for their Humanities & Writing II requirement. All students are required to submit a series of 3-to-5 page “position” papers as assigned by the professor by 11 October. These position papers will develop into a 10-to-15-page research rationale/methodology for the theme of this course—the interdisciplinary study of Christian art—plus an annotated bibliography. The abstract, outline, and preliminary bibliography for the “researched rationale/methodology” will be due no later than 15 October. Final papers are on the first day of the exam period.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
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