History of British Art for macrostudies A

obligatory courses

The course presents an overview of British art of the 19th and 20th c. The discussion of the 19th c. art begins with an analysis of The Norwich School of Artists and The Romantic Movement. The art of the second half of the 19th c. is examined on the example of works by The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, while the artistic developments at the end of the 19th c. are illustrated with artworks produced by members of The Newlyn School and The New English Art Club. Then the course proceeds to discussion of British Post-Impressionism and Vorticism. The art of the interwar period is examined on the example of paintings by representatives of The Seven and Five Society and sculptures by Henry Moore, Frank Dobson i Barbara Hepworth. The discussion of the post World War II art begins with a presentation of artworks by Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud and ends with an analysis of the new 'conceptual' movement.

The course aims at presenting an overview of British art from the beginning of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century. The discussion of the early 19th century art begins with an analysis of the Norwich School of Artists on the example of landscape paintings by John Crome and John Cotman, as well as on the example of paintings by other artists who were members of the Norwich Society of Artists, founded in 1803. Then the course proceeds to the presentation of artists of the so-called Romantic Movement, such as David Cox and J.M.W. Turner, who were at the height of popularity when Victoria ascended the throne. Because during Victoria's reign the Royal Academy of Arts was at the centre of the art world, the course explains the role of the Academy and presents an overview of some themes that were most frequently chosen by the Royal Academicians. There are examined history and landscape paintings by Andrew Carrick Gow, Charles Landseer, James Clarke Hook, as well as paintings that explore mythological and Oriental themes by such representatives of the group as Lawrence Alma-Tadema i John Frederic Lewis. The discussion of art in the second half of the 19th century focuses on presentation of works produced by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and on the analysis of works by such artists as Dante Gabriel Rosetti, John Everett Millais, William Holman Hunt. The discussion of the later Victorian painting concentrates on examining works by artists associated with the Aesthetic Movement, who sought to distance themselves from narrative and moralistic artworks produced by the Academicians and the Pre-Raphaelites. On the example of paintings by the the chief representative of the Aesthetic Movement, James McNeill Whistler, the course introduces the main elements of "art for art's sake" style such as avoiding details and concentrating on shape and colour. The discussion of British art of the 1870s emphasises characteristic features of the Classical Revival on the example of selected artworks by representatives of the movement such as Frederic Leighton and George Frederic Watts and introduces realistic paintings by Luke Fildes, Frank Holl, William Orchardson and James Tissot. The artistic developments in the 1880s and 1890s are discussed in the context of dissatisfaction with the Academy expressed by some artists who under the influence of French art began to paint agricultural labourers and the English countryside. The course examines selected works by members of the so-called Newlyn School and the New English Art Club, such as Stanhope Forbes and George Clausen. The analysis of British Post-Impressionism (Duncan Grant, Vanessa Bell) and Vorticism (Jacob Epstein, Wyndham Lewis) introduces the art of the 20th century. The artistic trends of the interwar period are illustrated with landscape painting by members of The Seven and Five Society and with new sculpture that breaks with classical tradition and show Mexican (Henry Moore) and African (Frank Dobson, Barbara Hepworth) influences, while the discussion of the post World War II art begins with a presentation of artworks by Francis Bacon and Lucian Freud. The art of 1950s, which saw new developments in sculpture and painting, is discussed on the example of sculptures by artists who rejected Moore's monumentalism such as Lynn Chadwick, Kenneth Armitage and Reg Butler, and on the example of abstract paintings by Victor Pasmore, Peter Lanyon and Patric Heron. Finally, the course presents an analysis of works by Pop Art artists such as Richard Hamilton and Eduardo Paolozzi and then through the discussion of 1960s art, it traces the development of the new 'conceptual' movement in the works by such contemporary British artists as Sarah Lucas, Tracey Emin, Gilbert and Goerge, Anthony Gormley, Richard Long, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Marc Quinn, Rachel Whiteread, Anish Kapoor, Sonia Boyce, Donald Rodney, Mark Wallinger.

Butlin, Martin, and Evellyn Joll. The Paintings of J.M.W Turner. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1987.

Checkland, Sarah Jane. Ben Nicholson. London: John Murray, 2000.

Ehrlich, Doreen. Henry Moore. New Jersey: Crescent Books, 1994.

Ford, Boris. The Cambridge Guide to the Arts in Britain. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Foster, Alicia. Tate Women Artists. London: Tate Publishing, 2004.

Gaiger, Jason, Paul Wood, eds. Art of the Twentieth Century. A Reader. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2003.

Garlake, Margaret. New Art New World. British Art in Postwar Society. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.

Gooding, Mel. Patric Heron. London: Phaidon, 1999.

Harrison, Charles, Paul Wood, eds. Art in Theory 1900-2000. An Anthology of Changing Ideas. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2008.

Haycock, David Boyd. Paul Nash. London: Tate Publishing, 2007.

Hilton, Timothy. The Pre-Raphaelites. London: Thames and Hudson, 1970.

Hobson, Anthony. J.W. Waterhouse. London: Phaidon Press, 1993.

Hopkins, David. After Modern Art 1945-2000. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

Lambourne, Lionel. Victorian Painting. London: Phaidon Press, 2004.

McConkey, Kenneth. British Impressionism. London: Phaidon Press, 1998.

Moore, Andrew. The Norwich School of Artists. London: HMSO, 1995.

Parry, Linda. William Morris. London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 1998.

Peppiatt, Michael, Francis Bacon. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008.

Phillips, Miranda. Barbara Hepworth Sculpture Garden. London: Tate Publishing, 2007.

Russell, Ash. Dante Gabriel Rossetti. New York: Harry Abrams, 1995.

Russell, Ash. Sir Edward Burne-Jones. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1993.

Spalding, Frances. British Art since 1900. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2002.

Valentine, Helen. Art in Age of Queen Victoria. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999.

Wood, Christopher. Victorian Painting. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1999.