The Age of Cathedrals This course surveys art and architecture in Western Europe from the 12th to the 15th centuries. Our primary focus will be the church building in France where sculpture and painting were integrated with architecture to create a multi-media environment for communal and personal devotion. Discussion will explore the making, meaning, and social resonance of Gothic art: as a representation of spiritual beliefs, as a tool of political persuasion, and as a site that reveals the dynamic tensions within contemporary society. Course Requirements In addition to a mid-term test and a final examination that will cover the visual material presented in lecture and assigned readings, two papers (ca. 5 pages each) will also be required. Texts Abbot Suger, E, Panofsky, ed. Camille, M., Gothic Art: Glorious Visions Chartres Cathedral, R. Branner, ed. Stoddard, W.S., Art and Architecture in Medieval France Reading pack Links to: Reserve List Monuments Images of Cathedrals Extra Images for Final   Books are in paperback and are available at the Odyssey Bookshop in the Village Commons. *** Images and assignments will be posted on the course web site (pending successful construction). Office Hours Tuesday 1-2 and Thursday 2-3: 206 Art Building e-mail: mtdavis@mtholyoke phone: 538-2474 Lectures and Readings I: Saint Denis and the New Gothic Camille, Glorious Visions, introduction: 9-25 Abbot Suger, E. Panofsky, ed. W. Stoddard, Art and Architecture, chs. 8-9: 93-111 (look through part 1, "Romanesque France" for background) Revelations, chapter 21 (handout) II. The Royal Portals of Chartres Cathedral Stoddard, ch. 15: 153-164 Chartres Cathedral: 126-168 L. Spitzer, "The Cult of the Virgin and Gothic Sculpture: Evaluating Opposition in the Chartres West Facade Capital Frieze, Gesta, 33/2 (1994): 132-150 (reserve) W. Sauerlander, Gothic Sculpture in France, plates PAPER 1 Art and Rhetoric - Writing Exercise 1 Length: 4-5 pages, Due: October 9, 2000 (in class or before 5 p.m.) Read carefully De Administratione, De Consecratione, and De Ordinatio. III. Notre-Dame, Paris and the Quest for Size Camille, chapter 1: 27-68 Stoddard, chs. 10-14: 113-152 "Critics of the New Architecture," in Gothic Art, T. Frisch, ed., 30-33 (handout) C. Wright, "The Shape of the Liturgy. . ." (reserve) IV. Cunning Geometry: Gothic Design and Construction Plan Design S. Murray, "The Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Amiens: The Power of Change in Gothic" (video) and Columbia University Amiens website M. Davis, "Mechanics and Meaning" (website) Construction D. Macaulay, Cathedral (book and video) Chartres Cathedral: 102-3; 124-5 V. Gothic Architecture in England to 1230 Canterbury, Lincoln, Wells, Salisbury Gervase of Canterbury, "The New Architecture," in Gothic Art, T. Frisch, ed. 14-23 (reserve) P. Kidson, "Saint Hugh's Choir," (reserve) VI. Chartres as an Image of Society Camille: 70-99 Chartres Cathedral: 69-102; 104-14; 120-2 Stoddard, chs. 16-17: 167-90; 253-7 Augustine, The City of God (excerpt, handout) Transept Sculpture Chartres Cathedral: 186-206 Sauerlander, French Gothic Sculpture, plates MID-TERM TEST VII. Opulence or Austerity in the 13th Century Bourges, Reims, Amiens, Beauvais Franciscans and Dominicans Stoddard, ch. 18-23: 191-251 William Durand, "The Symbolism of Churches and Church Ornaments," Gothic Art, 1140-c.1450, 33-7 (handout) S. Murray, "Architecture of Transcendence," (video) revisit the Columbia University Amiens web site VIII. Art and Politics France: the Reign of Louis IX (1226-1270) Architecture Stoddard, chs. 25, 26: 279-310 Jean de Jandun, "In Praise of Paris," (packet) Sculpture and Statecraft D. Sadler, "The King as Subject, the King as Author," (reserve) W. Sauerlander, French Gothic Sculpture, plates for Reims Cathedral The Empire C. Wilson, "Germany," The Gothic Cathedral, 144-156 (reserve) P. Williamson, Gothic Sculpture (reserve) Italy: Siena Good and Bad Government frescoes N. Rubinstein, "Political Ideas..." Journal of the Warburg and Courtuald Institutes, 21 (1958), 179-189 (reserve) IX. The Virgin Camille: 102-131 "The Assumption of the Virgin," The Golden Legend (reserve) J. E. Keller, "The Cantigas de Santa Maria," Alfonso X, El Sabio (reserve) Cantigas program in special projects lab, Dwight PAPER 2 X. Art and Piety Camille: 162-83 Pistoia pulpit (Giovanni Pisano) M. Ayrton, Giovanni Pisano, 121-31 (reserve) Arena Chapel, Padua (Giotto) G. Vasari, "Cimabue" and "Giotto," from The Lives of the Most Eminent Painters (reserve) look through illustrations of G. Basile, Giotto: the Arena Chapel frescoes (reserve) The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux (Jean Pucelle) The Hours of Jeanne d'Evreux (look through) M. Caviness, "Patron or Matron...?" Speculum, 68 (1993), 333-62 (reserve) XI. Medieval Cities Florence: M. Trachtenberg, Dominion of the Eye: 262-73 (reserve) Paris: Jean of Jandun, "In Praise of Paris" (reserve) Other Art Courses | Reserve List | Monuments | Images of Cathedrals