NORTHERN RENAISSANCE ART
Dr. Andrea Pearson
[email protected]
ARTH 496/696; Spring 2014
W 2:35-5:15pm
Office: Katzen 221
Phone: x3428
Hours: MTH 10:15-11:30am and 1:00-2:30pm, or by appt.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
COURSE DESCRIPTION and GOALS:
This seminar-style course engages with key themes in the scholarship on Northern Renaissance art (c. 14001550). Among our topics are: artistic practices and emerging workshop technologies; the built environment;
devotional art; patronage in court, urban, and monastic contexts; the rise of new genres of representation,
such as portraiture and landscape, and of new media, such as printmaking; and the relationship of the arts
to gender, sexuality, and race. Most of the readings for the course were published relatively recently, so
that by the end of the semester you will develop an understanding of current intellectual trends in the field.
Additionally, the course will hone your ability to think analytically about scholarship and enable to you
refine your skills as a researcher and writer, as exemplified by your project due at the end of the semester.
Verbal skills will be enhanced through weekly discussions and by presenting your research formally to the
class.
The course is a 400/600 hybrid for advanced undergraduates and graduate students. Students taking such
courses normally have significant experience with art history, yet not everyone will have completed a
dedicated course on northern Renaissance art. With this in mind, I have organized our themes around a
textbook: Jeffrey Chipps Smith’s The Northern Renaissance. As you’ll see from the schedule below, prior to
each class meeting you will read a chapter or two in this text, which will build a visual and contextual
foundation for the scholarly readings assigned for the week. Selected artists, images, and other material
from the book will be introduced as well when, at the end of each class period, I discuss the readings for the
next meeting. These two resources – Smith’s text and my presentations – will bridge the distance between
the visual and contextual material and the scholarship that analyzes it.
As we move forward with the readings, please keep in mind that all writing about art reveals particular
scholars’ individual viewpoints, interpretations, and agendas, as do my choices in selecting the readings for
this course. The "history" we learn is not ever just a given set of facts; it is always mediated by those who
write it. It is therefore important to think critically about what you hear and read. I am excited about
discussing these issues with you. Let’s work together to make our classroom vibrant and productive!
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of the course, engaged students will have:
1. Developed an understanding of current scholarly interests in the field of northern Renaissance art
2. Built an awareness of the relationship of these issues to various social, religious, and political
contexts of the period
3. Enhanced their ability to think deeply and critically about specialized scholarly writings
4. Honed research and analytical skills through classroom discussions and through the completion of a
major research project
5. Strengthened communication skills by: a.) Writing response papers and a research essay and b.)
Discussing scholarly articles and presenting research projects to the class
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GENERAL GUIDELINES and REQUIREMENTS:
Electronics Policy: Our classroom is a cell phone-free space! Please remember to turn off your phone
before class. Computers are for note-taking only – no email, web surfing, etc., unless directed by me. Please
respect your peers and your professor: if computers becomes disruptive, they will be banned.
Course Communication: Blackboard is the web-based course system used by most professors at American
University. From our class Blackboard site you can access the syllabus, handouts, required readings etc. To
reach our Blackboard site, go to https://blackboard.american.edu and log in with your AU ID and password.
You will be automatically registered on the Blackboard class email list using your AU email address. If this is
not the address you normally check, be sure to forward your AU email to your other account (Yahoo,
Hotmail, AOL, etc). Go to www.american.edu, click on my.american.edu, then look in the Technology
section for forwarding instructions.
This is a Green Teaching Certified Course: The Center for Teaching, Research and Learning and Eco-Sense
piloted a Green Teaching Certificate during the 2008-09 academic year. This is part of an attempt to reward
faculty members who are green teachers, while giving green courses a familiar face among students. The
Green Teaching Certificate is based on a system of self-reporting. Faculty members at American University
can qualify for a Green Teaching Certificate by answering a number of questions about their efforts to make
their courses more sustainable. Upon evaluation, qualified courses will be rewarded with a seal
representing one of five different levels of the Green Teaching Certificate, which can be put on syllabi and
Blackboard pages to market courses as green. Let's keep our course as green as possible!
Required Text and Suggested Resources: All students will read Jeffrey Chipps Smith’s book, The Northern
Renaissance according to the schedule below. Additional foundational resources are available via BB or the
Library:
Posted to BB
 The course bibliography
 Two lectures on the state of the field presented at a meeting of the Historians of Netherlandish
Art held in Antwerp in 2002. You may wish to peruse these at the start of the semester:
 Martha Wolff, “The State of Research in Fifteenth-Century Netherlandish Art," unpublished
manuscript.
 Larry Silver, “Arts and Minds: Scholarship on Early Modern Art History," Renaissance
Quarterly 59/2 (2006): pp. 351-373.
 Two files with guidelines for writing in art history (see the books listed below as well).
Textbooks that complement Smith’s
 Craig Harbison, The Art of the Northern Renaissance. London: Lawrence King, 2012.
 James Snyder (revised by Larry Silver and Henry Luttikhuizen), Northern Renaissance Art:
Painting, Sculpture, and the Graphic Arts from 1350-1575. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice
Hall 2005.
 Susie Nash, Northern Renaissance Art. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Books that help with writing
 Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, and Joseph M. Williams, The Craft of Research, 3rd ed.
Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2008.
 William Strunk and E.B. White, The Elements of Style, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson,
2000.
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Attendance and Tardiness: Regular attendance is crucial to your success in this course, especially since a
week’s worth of material is covered in one meeting. Therefore, all absences must be documented verifiably
in writing and must pertain to a sudden family emergency, serious health issue, or University-sanctioned
activity such as a conference. Examples of acceptable documentation include a note from a doctor for your
illness or from a parent or guardian for a family emergency. Work due during a class period in which you
were legitimately absent must be turned in for credit, on a schedule we develop together once the crisis or
event ends: you must contact me to develop that schedule. Once the work is turned in, documented
absences will be marked as excused. Each undocumented absence or failure to turn in required work for a
documented absence will result in a reduction of the course grade by 1/3 of a letter (for example, a B would
be reduced to a B-). For every two late arrivals to class, your course grade will be reduced by 1/3 of a letter.
Participation: Participation is crucial to success in this course. Preparation of specialized readings will
represent a distinct grade percentage tied to class discussions. Read carefully, prepare the required
responses described below, and be prepared to share your thoughts. I also hope you will participate
generally by responding to my prompts and by asking questions. Let’s work together to make our classroom
vibrant and productive!
Readings, Response Papers, and Discussions: Students will prepare a series of response papers keyed to
the weekly readings. Each paper must be ½ to 1 page in length, single-spaced. The papers require you to
respond critically to the readings. You will:
1. Identify the thesis
2. Summarize the evidence
3. Evaluate the selection in terms of strength of thesis, evidentiary sufficiency, and
organization and clarity (you may choose categories as appropriate)
4. Discuss issues that particularly challenged or surprised you
The responses require you to read not only for information but also as a means to improve your own
research, creative and critical thinking, and ability to communicate effectively in writing. Evaluating
published papers in terms of thesis, structure, evidence, and clarity is key to this process.
Response papers are due via Blackboard by the beginning of the corresponding discussion period indicated
on the calendar below unless you provide written documentation for tardiness or absence: you may not
complete a response paper during the class discussion or after the fact and expect to receive credit for it.
DO NOT submit attachments. Instead, copy and paste your text into the Submission box in BB provided for
that purpose. To find that, go to Content, then to a folder called Response Papers, and then to the
appropriate category – Response 1, Response 2, etc. Click on the category heading and the Submission box
will pop open.
Response papers will not be graded, but each late or missing paper will lower your discussion grade by 1/3
of a letter (a B to a B-, for example). Any response paper that does not meet expectations of quality or
length will be credited as missing and the discussion grade lowered accordingly. I will notify you if your
papers do not meet the criteria.
All graduate students, and undergrads who wish to challenge themselves more deeply (from here on called
"advanced undergrads"), will prepare and be ready to discuss additional readings for most class periods,
and each grad will be assigned at least one additional reading during the semester to present individually to
the class for discussion. The grad presentations should achieve what a response paper would, as per the
criteria listed above, although more summary will be necessary since the rest of the class will not have read
that selection. For weeks when you are presenting a separate article, you must read the grad selections and
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participate in the discussions but response papers for those selections are not required (you must turn in
the one assigned to all students, however).
Evaluation. Your grade for this part of the course will be determined both by the number of response
papers turned in, as described above, and mostly by participation. Participation will be evaluated by the
level and quality of engagement, and, for the grad students, the presentation of a reading to the class. You
cannot earn better than a B- for this part of the course if you hand in all papers on time but never or
seldom participate.
Research Project: Each student will complete a research-driven writing assignment as per the guidelines
provided below. You may confer about the paper with me at any time. Paper deadlines are subject to
revision only in case of a documented health crisis or family emergency. For any other reason, including
technology failures, papers will receive a 1/3-letter grade markdown per day late, starting immediately after I
call for them on the due date. Research topics and a preliminary annotated bibliography of at least 5 sources
for undergrads and 10 for grads will be turned in for approval, as described below.
Presentations and Synopses: Presentations are an important part of an art historian's professional life; you
will be giving presentations in all types of settings, and the more you practice the better off you'll be.
Therefore, all students will present their research projects to the class. Additionally, all students will write
and turn in synopses―summaries of the presentations―due as indicated below. This requirement will
motivate you to pay attention as a basis for engaging with your peers during Q&A.
Make-up Presentations: Make-up presentations will be permitted only in the case of an unexpected family
emergency or serious illness which must be verifiably documented in writing in ways described above
under "Attendance." These presentations will take place during the final exam period for the course. All
students are required to attend and turn in synopses for make-up presentations.
Policy on Incompletes: Incompletes are possible for this course only with a last-minute severe illness or
family emergency. All other requirements for the course to that point must have been met. The
circumstances justifying the incomplete must be documented in writing as described above. To avoid
scheduling problems that might prompt you to request an incomplete, plan your semester’s calendar from
the start so that you can finish your work on time. It is important to establish such habits now, so that you
don’t find yourself in trouble later in the professional workplace. This policy helps with that objective. Your
future colleagues will thank me for it!
Grade Weights and Major Due Dates:
A project proposal, presentation and synopses, and research paper must be completed to pass the course!
Response papers and discussions
Project proposal with annotated bibl.
Presentation
Synopses of presentations
Research paper
30%
10%
25%
5%
30%
Throughout the semester
Feb. 19
Apr. 16, 23, 30
Apr. 30
Apr. 30
Policy on the Calculation of Course Grades: Letter grades (A, A-, B+, B, B-, etc.) will be assigned according
to the criteria below. As per AU policy, grades are not negotiable.
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Explanation of Grading Standards:
A = goes beyond basic requirements of assignment or exam, excellent understanding of the
topic/question, an insightful and thoughtful response to the material covered and the readings,
persuasive and logical argumentation, and, for papers, no typographical or grammatical errors
B = completes requirements of assignment efficiently, demonstrates competent understanding of the
topic/question, adequate grasp of information and readings, logical argument, possibly a few
organizational problems or grammatical errors, but shows overall coherence in discussion and, for
papers, has few or no problems with grammar or typing
C = meets minimum requirements of the assignment but reveals superficial preparation through
problems with factual information (omissions or errors), little or poor responses to readings, and logical
argument, and may have grammatical and/or typographical errors
D = inadequate work, does not follow directions or refer to readings, poor use of resources, serious
writing problems
F = completely unacceptable in terms of assignment guidelines and information provided
Academic Support and Disability Services: If you experience difficulty in this course for any reason, please
don’t hesitate to consult with me. In addition, a wide range of services are available to support you in your
efforts to meet the course requirements.
1. Academic Support and Access Center (x3360, MGC 243) offers study skills workshops, individual
instruction, tutor referrals, and services for students with learning disabilities. Writing support is
available in the ASC Writing Lab or in the Writing Center – see below.
2. Counseling Center (x3500, MGC 214) offers counseling and consultations regarding personal
concerns, self-help information, and connections to off-campus mental health resources.
If you have a disability and might require accommodations in this course, please notify me and provide
ASAC documentation early in the semester so that we can address your needs.
Writing Center: The Writing Center, in Battelle-Tompkins 228, is a place where American University
students meet with other AU students to talk about writing. You may seek help from the Writing Center
when preparing the papers required for this course. Check the hours of operation on the website
(www.american.edu/cas/writing) and call 202-885-2991 for an appointment.
Reminder of the Academic Integrity Code: All students should be aware that American University has an
Academic Integrity Code that forbids both cheating and plagiarism. When you register for courses at AU,
you accept these rules. Cheating includes obtaining assistance on exams or turning in papers that are not
your own. Plagiarism includes quoting someone's exact words or reproducing another’s ideas without
proper citation. If you are quoting, you must cite the author and source, with page number(s). If you are
not quoting, you still may not “borrow” either the exact phrases (even two or three words) or the opinions
(other than general facts) from your source. You must change the author’s phrases into your own words,
and you must acknowledge any idea that is not your own by citing the author and source just as you do for
a quote. When taking notes, be careful to differentiate clearly what you copy from your own ideas. If you
need help, consult one of the manuals on style available in the Library or go to the campus Writing Center. I
take academic dishonesty and plagiarism very seriously. If you turn in a plagiarized paper, the case will be
reported for disciplinary action. Please do not put me in this position!
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS:
In the event of a declared pandemic (influenza or other communicable disease), American University will
implement a plan for meeting the needs of all members of the university community. Should the university
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be required to close for a period of time, we are committed to ensuring that all aspects of our educational
programs will be delivered to our students. These may include altering and extending the duration of the
traditional term schedule to complete essential instruction in the traditional format and/or use of distance
instructional methods. Specific strategies will vary from class to class, depending on the format of the
course and the timing of the emergency. Faculty will communicate class-specific information to students via
AU e-mail and Blackboard, while students must inform their faculty immediately of any absence due to
illness.
Students are responsible for checking their AU e-mail regularly and keeping themselves informed of
emergencies. In the event of a declared pandemic or other emergency, students should refer to the AU
Web site (www.prepared.american.edu) and the AU information line at (202) 885-1100 for general
university-wide information, as well as contact their faculty and/or respective dean’s office for course and
school/ college-specific information.
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COURSE SECHEDULE AND READINGS:
The following schedule maps our subjects and corresponding required readings for each class meeting,
along with other due dates. Note: The schedule and requirements are subject to change. Due dates will
remain the same, however, unless extremely unusual and unavoidable developments arise (snow day, etc.).
The readings are posted to Blackboard under E-Reserves, with the exception of the textbook.
Jan. 15
Introduction
Course objectives, structure, and requirements; key issues and approaches
Introduction to the next class period
Grads only: organization of discussion assignments for the semester
Jan. 22
The Beholder’s Eye: Art, Artists, and the Marketplace
All students
Read Smith, “Introduction,” pp. 4-12 and Chapter 1, “The Beholder’s Eye,” pp. 13-32.
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Ewing, Dan. "Marketing Art in Antwerp, 1450-1560: Our Lady's Pand." The Art
Bulletin 72, no. 4 (1990): 558-584.

Stewart, Alison G. “Sebald Beham: Entrepreneur, Printmaker, Painter.” JHNA.
Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 4, no. 2 (2012): 1-13.
Grads and advanced undergrads
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Jonckheere, Koenraad. “Nudity on the Market: Some Thoughts on the Market and
Innovations in Sixteenth-Century Antwerp.” In Aemulatio. Imitation, Emulation and
Invention in Netherlandish Art from 1500 to 1800. Essays in Honor of Eric Jan
Sluijter, ed. Anton W.A. Boschloo, Jacquelyn N. Courté, Stephanie S. Dickey and
Nicolette C. Sluijter-Seijffert, pp. 25-36. Zwoll: Waanders, 2011.

Dewilde, Brecht. "On Noble Artists and Poor Craftsmen: Networking Painters in
Renaissance Bruges." In Family Ties: Art Production and Kinship Patterns in the
Early Modern Low Countries, ed. Koenraad Brosens, Leen Kelchtermans, and
Katlijne Van der Stighelen, pp. 85-101. Turnhout: Brepols, 2012.
Assigned grads
Present and help lead a discussion on:

Powell, Amy. “The Errant Image: Rogier van der Weyden’s Deposition from the
Cross and its Copies.” Art History 29, no. 4 (2006): 540-562.

Dijkstra, Jeltje. “The Brussels and the Merode Annunciation Reconsidered.” In
Robert Campin: New Directions in Scholarship, ed. Susan Foister and Suzie Nash, pp.
95-104. Turnhout: Brepols, 1996.
Dr. Pearson: Introduction to the next class period
8
Jan. 29
An Emerging Reality: Court Art and the Ars Nova
All students
Read Smith, Chapter 2, “An Emerging Reality,” pp. 33-66.
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Nash, Susie. “Claus Sluter’s ‘Well of Moses’ for the Chartreuse de Champmol
Reconsidered,” The Burlington Magazine Part I, 147 (2005): 798-809; Part II, 148
(2006): 456-467; Part III, 150 (2008): 724-741. Posted to BB in three separate entries.

Lindquist, Sherry C.M. “Visual Meaning and Audience at the Chartreuse de
Champmol: A Reply to Susie Nash’s Reconsideration of Claus Sluter’s ‘Well of
Moses’.” Different Visions: A Journal of New Perspectives on Medieval Art. Online: 3
(Sept. 2011).
Grads and advanced undergrads
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Helfenstein, Eva. "The Burgundian Court Goblet: On the Function and Status of
Precious Vessels at the Court of Burgundy." In Staging the Court of Burgundy:
Proceedings of the Conference “The Splendour of Burgundy”, ed. Anne van
Oosterwijk, pp. 159-166. Turnhout: Brepols, 2013.

Eichberger, Dagmar. "A Noble Residence for a Female Regent: Margaret of Austria
and the 'Court of Savoy' in Mechelen." In Architecture and the Politics of Gender in
Early Modern Europe, ed. Helen Hills, pp. 25-46. Aldershot, Hampshire, Eng.;
Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2003.
Assigned grads
Present and help lead a discussion on

Belozerskaya, Marina. "Perceiving Value: The Hierarchy of the Arts and their Uses."
Chapter 3 in Rethinking the Renaissance: Burgundian Arts Across Europe, pp. 76145. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge University Press, 2002.

Buettner, Brigitte. "Past Presents: New Year's Gifts at the Valois Courts, ca. 1400."
The Art Bulletin 83, no. 4 (2001): 598-625.
Dr. Pearson: Introduction to the next class period
Feb. 5
Pride of Place: Art in the Cities
All students
Read Smith, Chapter 3, “Pride of Place,” pp. 67-92.
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Rothstein, Bret. "Looking the Part: Ruminative Viewing and the Imagination of
Community in the Early Modern Low Countries." Art History 31, no. 1 (2008): 1-32.

Köhl, Sascha. “Princely Architecture: Town Halls in the Burgundian Netherlands.” In
Staging the Court of Burgundy: Proceedings of the Conference “The Splendour of
Burgundy”, ed. Anne van Oosterwijk, pp. 191-200. Turnhout: Brepols, 2013.
9
Grads and advanced undergrads
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Veldman, Ilja. “Lucas van Leyden: Painter of Civic Life.” The Low Countries. Arts and
Society in Flanders and the Netherlands 19 (2011): 210-217.

Porras, Stephanie. "Producing the Vernacular: Antwerp, Cultural Archaeology and
the Bruegelian Peasant." JHNA. Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 3, no. 1
(2011): 1-13.
Assigned grads
Present and help lead a discussion on:

Lane, Barbara. "Hospital Altarpieces," Chap. 9 in Hans Memling: Master Painter in
Fifteenth-Century Bruges, pp. 175-195. Turnhout: Brepols/Harvey Miller, 2009.

Jacobs, Lynn F. "The Triptych Unified: Memling, David, and Later Fifteenth-Century
Painters in Bruges," Chapter 5 in Opening Doors: The Early Netherlandish Triptych
Reinterpreted, pp. 151-188. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University
Press, 2012.
Dr. Pearson: Introduction to the next class period
Feb. 12
Dr. Pearson attending CAA. Class will not meet. Work independently on your project
proposal due next time.
Feb. 19
**Project proposal due**
Tangible Success: Early Portraits and Domestic Art and The Inner Gaze: Private Devotional
Art
All students
Read Smith, Chapter 4, “Tangible Success,” pp. 93-118 and Chapter 5, “The Inner Gaze,” pp.
119-146.
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Pearson, Andrea. “Nuns and Clerics: Ambiguous Authority in a Devotional Portrait
Diptych,” Chapter 4 in Envisioning Gender in Burgundian Devotional Art, 13501530: Experience, Authority, Resistance, pp. 136-161. Aldershot, Hampshire, Eng.,
and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2005.

Bailey, Meryl. “Savatrix Mundi: Representing Queen Elizabeth I as a Christ Type.”
Studies in Iconography 29 (2008): 176-215.
Grads and advanced undergrads
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss

Graham, Jenny. “Portrait of the Artist as a Posthumous Work in Progress: Van Eyck
and the Politics of Posterity.” The Low Countries. Arts and Society in Flanders and
the Netherlands 17 (2009): 247-254.

Scholten, Frits. "Joost van Cranevelt’s Prayer Nut." Simiolus 36, nos. 3-4 (2013): 123-141.
10
Assigned grads
Present and help lead a discussion on:

Rudy, Kathryn M. "Kissing Images, Unfurling Rolls, Measuring Wounds, Sewing
Badges and Carrying Talismans: Considering Some Harley Manuscripts through the
Physical Rituals they Reveal." Electronic British Library Journal (2011): Article 5, pp.
1-56.

Colenbrander, Herman Th. “’In Promises Anyone Can be Rich!:’ Jan van Eyck’s
Arnolfini Double Portrait: A ‘Morgengave.’” Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 68
(2005): 413-424.
Dr. Pearson: Introduction to the next class period
Feb. 26
The Well-Dressed Church: The Materialization of Faith
All students
Read Smith, Chapter 6, “The Well-Dressed Church,” pp. 147-196.
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Ridderbos, Bernhard. "Creating Frameworks: The Social Function of the Ghent
Altarpiece." In Vision in Text and Image: The Cultural Turn in the Study of Arts, ed.
Herman W. Hoen and Mary G. Kemperink, pp. 33-52. Leuven: Peeters, 2008.

Bennett, Judith M. "Two Women and their Monumental Brass." Journal of the
British Archeological Association 161 (2008): 163-184.
Grads and advanced undergrads
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Neuchterlein, Jeanne. “Hans Memling’s St. Ursula Shrine: The Subject as Object of
Pilgrimage.” In Art and Architecture of Late Medieval Pilgrimage in Northern Europe
and the British Isles, ed. Sarah Blick and Rita Tekippe, I: pp. 51-75. Leiden and
Boston: Brill, 2005.

Weigert, Laura. "Theatricality in Tapestries and Mystery Plays and its Afterlife in
Painting." Art History 33, no. 2 (2010): 224-235.
Assigned grads
Present and help lead a discussion on:

Merback, Mitchell B. "Fount of Mercy, City of Blood: Cultic Anti-Judaism and the
Pulkau Passion Altarpiece." The Art Bulletin 87, no 4 (2005): 589-642.

Kavaler, Ethan Matt. "Jan Gossart as Architect." In Man, Myth, and Sensual
Pleasures: Jan Gossart’s Renaissance, ed. Maryan Ainsworth, pp. 30-43. New
Haven: Yale University Press, 2010.
Dr. Pearson: Introduction to the next class period
11
Mar. 5
Dancing with Death: The Art of Dying Well
All students
Read Smith, Chapter 7, “Dancing with Death,” pp. 197-238.
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Baert, Barbara. “The Gaze of Death: The Head of Saint John the Baptist on a Platter
between North and South.” Arte Cristiana, no. 870-872 (May-October 2012): 215223.

Gibson, Walter S. "Invented in Hell: Bosch’s Tree-Man," in Invention: Northern
Renaissance Studies in Honor of Molly Faries, ed. Julian Chapuis, pp. 163-173.
Turnhout: Brepols, 2008.
Grads and advanced undergrads
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss
 Helt, J.S.W. "Memento Mori: Death, Widowhood, and Remembering in Early
Modern England.” In Widowhood and Visual Culture in Early Modern Europe, ed.
Allison Levy, pp. 39-53.

Gertsman, Elina. “The Gap of Death: Passive Violence in the Encounter between the
Three Dead and the Three Living.” In Beholding Violence in Medieval and Early
Modern Europe, ed. Allie Terry-Fritsch; Erin Felicia Labbie, pp. 85-104. Farnham,
Surrey, Eng., and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2012.
Assigned grads
Present and help lead a discussion on

Silver, Larry. “Ungrateful Dead: Bruegel’s Triumph of Death Re-Examined.” In
Excavating the Medieval Image: Manuscripts, Artists, Audiences. Essays in Honor of
Sandra Hindman, ed. David S. Areford and Nina A. Rowe, pp. 265-283. Aldershot
and Burlington: Ashgate, 2004.

Dixon, Laurinda S. "Privileged Piety: Melancholia and the Herbal Tradition." JHNA.
Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 1, no. 2 (2009): 1-14.
Dr. Pearson: Introduction to the next class period
Mar. 12
Spring Break!
Mar. 19
Mass Communication: Prints and Printmaking and Reading Pictures: The Reformation’s
Challenge
All students
Read Smith, Chapter 8, “Mass Communication,” pp. 239-272 and Chapter 11, “Reading
Pictures,” pp. 351-380.
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Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Smith, Charlotte Colding. “’Depicted with Extraordinary Skill’: Ottoman Dress in
Sixteenth-Century German Printed Costume Books.” Textile History 44, no. 1
(2013): 25-50.

Roper, Lyndal. "Venus in Wittenberg: Cranach, Luther, and Sensuality." In Ideas and
Cultural Margins in Early Modern Germany. Essays in Honor of H.C. Erik Midelfort,
ed. Marjorie Elizabeth Plummer and Robin B. Barnes, pp. 81-98. Farnham, Surrey,
Eng., and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2009.
Grads and advanced undergrads
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Weekes, Ursula. "Convents as Patrons and Producers of Woodcuts in the Low
Countries around 1500." In The Woodcut in Fifteenth-Century Europe, ed. Peter
Parshall, pp. 258-275. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art; New Haven: Yale
University Press, 2009.

Schmidt, Peter. "The Multiple Image: The Beginnings of Printmaking, Between Old
Theories and New Approaches." In Origins of European Printmaking: FifteenthCentury Woodcuts and their Public, ed. Peter Parshall and Rainer Schoch, pp. 37-56.
Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, in association with Yale University Press,
2005.
Assigned grads
Present and help lead a discussion on:

Woollett, Anne T. “Michiel Coxcie and the Revitalization of Religious Painting in the
Southern Netherlands after 1566.” In Art after Iconoclasm. Painting in the
Netherlands between 1566 and 1585, ed. Koenraad Jonckheere and Ruben
Suykerbuyk, pp. 75-94. Turnhout: Brepols, 2012.

Areford, David S. "Print Trouble: Notes on a Medium In Between." In From Minor to
Major: The Minor Arts in Medieval Art History, ed. Colum Hourihane, pp. 228-254.
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University in association with Pennsylvania State
University Press, 2012.
Dr. Pearson: Introduction to the next class period
Mar. 26
Beyond Mere Craft: The Knowledgeable Artist
All students
Read Chapter 9, “Beyond Mere Craft,” pp. 273-308.
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss

Parshall, Peter. "Graphic Knowledge: Albrecht Dürer and the Imagination." The Art
Bulletin 95, no. 3 (2013): 393-410.
Other activities to be announced
Dr. Pearson: Introduction to the next class period
13
Apr. 2
Dr. Pearson attending a professional conference. Class will not meet. Work independently
on your research projects and presentations.
Apr. 9
Theater of the World: Exploring Nature and Human Nature
All students
Read Smith, Chapter 10, “Theater of the World,” pp. 309-350.
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Onuf, Alexandra. "Local Terrains: Imaging the Vernacular Landscape in SixteenthCentury Antwerp." In The Transformation of Vernacular Expression in Early Modern
Arts, ed. Joost Keizer and Todd M. Richardson, pp. 229-270. Leiden: Brill, 2011.

Hults, Linda C. "Inventing the Witch in the European Heartland: Dürer and
Baldung," Chapter 3 in The Witch as Muse: Art, Gender, and Power in Early Modern
Europe, pp. 57-107. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005.
Grads and advanced undergrads
Turn in response papers for and be prepared to discuss:

Dakker, Boudewijn. "Bosch, Patinir and Bles: Worlds of Allegory," Chap. 6 in
Landscape and Religion from Van Eyck to Rembrandt, trans. Diane Webb, 91-114.
Aldershot, Hampshire, Eng., and Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2012.

Magin, Christine and Falk Eisermann. "Two Anti-Jewish Broadsides from the Late
Fifteenth Century." In The Woodcut in Fifteenth-Century Europe, ed. Peter Parshall,
pp. 190-203. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art; New Haven: Yale University
Press, 2009.
Assigned grads
Present and help lead a discussion on:

Sullivan, Margaret. “Bruegel the Elder, Pieter Aertsen, and the Beginning of Genre.”
The Art Bulletin 93, no. 2 (2011): 127-149.

Houghton, Charlotte. "This Was Tomorrow: Peter Aertsen's Meat Stall as
Contemporary Art." The Art Bulletin 86, no. 2 (2004): 277-300.
Apr. 16
**Presentations**
Apr. 23
**Presentations**
Apr. 30
**Presentations**
**Papers due in hard copy**
**Synopses due in hard copy or by email**
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RESEARCH PROJECT and PRESENTATIONS:
Your research paper may focus on any issue, artist, or image(s) that interests you, as long as the topic
relates to the theme of the course. I hope you will find an intriguing, focused subject that motivates
excellence.
Format and Length of the Essay: For undergraduates, the final version of the paper must be 6-8 doublespaced pages in a 12-point font, with 1-inch margins on all sides, plus separate pages for endnotes, a
bibliography, and captioned illustrations. Graduate students will write a 12-14 page paper with the same
font, margin, endnote, bibliographic, and illustration requirements. The essay must have an introduction
ending in a thesis, a main body that provides support for the thesis, and a conclusion that summarizes the
most important points. Use endnotes for documentation and attach a bibliography and images (see below).
Use the Chicago Manual of Style to format the endnotes and bibliography.
To be sure that you take advantage of the guidance I am here to provide, all topics and bibliographies
(annotated for grads), must be approved by me in the form of a proposal (see below). You may not
change your topic after its approval without consulting with me. There is no opportunity to rewrite your
paper for a better grade after the fact: do your best work from the start.
For this course, the research project consists of three major steps:
1. Choosing a topic and sources: Start by considering the artists, works, and subjects that most
interest you. Because we are still in the early part of the course, look ahead at the course
schedule below to see if something we haven’t addressed yet captures your attention. Explore
these possibilities further via Library catalogue and database searches to find appropriate
scholarly, peer reviewed sources. Beware: Your sources must be peer reviewed. If you don't
know how to find scholarly sources pertaining to this course, you must see me right away: not
all bibliography you find on a particular subject will fall into this category. You may not use
websites or blogs without prior approval by me. No Wikipedia allowed! Use Oxford Art Online,
available through the Library's database webpage, for factual information if necessary. This
does not count as one of the five or ten sources.
As you search for a topic, cast a relatively wide net at first so that you don’t box yourself in.
Gradually narrow your focus until you are ready to write a project proposal.
2. The project proposal: The proposal consists of a synopsis of your subject (normally two
paragraphs in length) and an annotated bibliography of the key scholarly sources you plan to
use: at least five for undergraduates and ten for graduate students. An annotation is a brief
summary of a source’s content, about 250 words in length, with attention to the thesis and
evidence. This process advances your project by asking you to think about its application to it.
3. Organizing and writing the paper. Your essay must be structured around a thesis, a debatable
statement you wish to argue, which is to be supported by convincing evidence presented in a
carefully reasoned way. The goal of your paper is to compel the reader to agree with you by
developing strong evidence, thoughtfully and deeply considered. Organization is important: I
suggest starting with an outline. It is probable that you'll need to produce several drafts, each
one more fully refined, before you're done. Be sure to check for errors in typing, grammatical,
punctuation, etc., since these will negatively impact your grade.
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In order to avoid plagiarism (see above) you must use endnotes to credit authors whose ideas you use in
your paper, and you must include a separate bibliography of the sources formatted to the Chicago Manual
of Style.
Please include in your paper reproductions of the works you discuss, each labeled by a consecutive figure
number and identified with a caption, a feature you may have noticed in the published articles you’ve read.
Presentations and Synopses: For the course capstone, you will present your research paper to the class.
Graduate students choosing the presentation option will present their projects in 20 minutes each with an
additional 10-15 minutes for questions. Undergrads have 10 minutes with an additional 5-10 minutes for
questions. Each student should prepare a PowerPoint file for this purpose. Presentations are an important
part of an art historian's professional life. You will be giving presentations in all types of settings, and the
more you practice the better off you'll be.
All students will be required to pay attention to the presentations by writing synopses―summaries of the
presentations―due as indicated in the course calendar.
Make-up Presentations: Make-up presentations will be permitted only in the case of an unexpected family
emergency or serious illness which must be verifiably documented in writing in ways described above.
These presentations will take place during the final exam period for the course. All students are required to
attend and turn in synopses for make-up presentations.
Evaluation: Papers and presentations will be evaluated according to the appropriate rubric below. Turning
your paper in late is permitted only in case of a documented health crisis or family emergency. For any other
reason, including technology failures, papers will receive a 1/3-letter grade markdown per day late, starting
immediately after the due-date class period.
Please review the Academic Integrity Code above and contact me with questions before handing in your
paper ― emphasis on ***before***!
Grading Rubric for the Paper:
Excellent - A
CHOICE OF SUBJECT AND FOCUS
addresses topic that is appropriate in depth
and complexity
connects topic to appropriate historical and
cultural contexts
EVIDENCE OF RESEARCH SKILLS
develops in-depth bibliography, including
primary sources if appropriate
locates appropriate images to demonstrate
argument
EVIDENCE OF CRITICAL THINKING
Good - B
Fair - C
Poor - D
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paper opens with argumentative thesis
statement
demonstrates ability to apply appropriate art
historical approaches
uses quotations selectively and integrates
them correctly into text
includes discussion of visual qualities of
artworks to support analysis
ORGANIZATION AND WRITING
argument is organized in logical way and
makes series of points that develop analysis
paper is well written with few grammar
mistakes, spelling errors, or typos
uses citation format correctly for footnotes
and bibliography
illustrations are identified correctly as Figure
1, etc. and with correct data
Grading Rubric for the Presentation:
Excellent - A
Thesis: clear and sufficiently argumentative
Intellectual rigor: substantive
Evidence: demonstrates the thesis
Organization: coherent
Delivery: engaging and intelligible
Images: appropriately applied to the content
PowerPoint: professionally executed
Timing: adheres to 20 minutes
Good - B
Fair - C
Poor - D