BA Art History and History

Year of entry: 2024

Course unit details:
Renaissance and Baroque Architecture 1450-1750

Course unit fact file
Unit code AHCP22121
Credit rating 20
Unit level Level 2
Teaching period(s) Semester 1
Offered by Art History and Cultural Practices
Available as a free choice unit? No

Aims

The course aims to provide students with a broad understanding of European classical architecture, from its reappearance during the Renaissance through its transformations in the 17th and early 18th century. Individual works will be presented and discussed as attempts to integrate considerations of purpose, patronage, site requirements, planning, construction, and style. Particular attention will be paid to the varying political circumstances and regional building traditions that shaped the new architecture

Knowledge and understanding

· be able to define the particular approaches to architecture associated with different phases of the early modern period and in different regional and national contexts.

· be able to discuss different historical interpretations of how, why, and where Renaissance and Baroque architecture developed as it did.

· be able to discuss the salient design features of individual projects in relation to specific constraints and requirements faced by the architect

Intellectual skills

· complete a research-intensive essay

· marshal appropriate evidence, frame arguments, write persuasively

· deliver a cogent, clear, and convincing presentation defending a specific point-of-view

Practical skills

· apply personal initiative to individual and collaborative tasks

· work in teams

· communicate effectively in an academic setting

Transferable skills and personal qualities

· attend closely to visual and written evidence

· communicate ideas in a logical and engaging manner

· present research and analysis using oral, written and visual media

Assessment methods

Method Weight
Written assignment (inc essay) 100%

Feedback methods

Written feedback on essays 1 and 2

Additional one-to-one feedback (during

consultation hour or by making an

appointment)

Recommended reading

 

· John Summerson, The Classical Language of Architecture

• Christof Luitpold Frommel, The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance

• Ludwig H. Heydenreich, Architecture in Italy: 1400-1500 • Wolfgang Lotz, Architecture in Italy: 1500-1600

• Frédérique Lemerle and Yves Pauwels, Baroque Architecture 1600-1750

• Rudolf Wittkower, Art and Architecture in Italy 1600-1750

• Robert Berger, A Royal Passion: Louis XIV as Patron of Architecture

• John Summerson, Architecture in Britain 1530-1830 • Anthony Blunt, Art and Architecture in France 1500-1700

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
Lectures 22
Seminars 11
Independent study hours
Independent study 167

Teaching staff

Staff member Role
Anthony Gerbino Unit coordinator

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