What is art? Provide some examples and elaborate on your choices and reasons.
What makes a masterpiece? Provide some examples and elaborate on your choices and reasons.
I usually ask students to compare chapters in two or more ‘survey books’ on art history. But this year we’re going to look at art history surveys in video form instead.
Both deal with roughly the same time period late 15th – 16th – early 17th century.
Class time on Tuesday, May 11th is provided to help give you time to do this.
(Note: sorry if anything untoward shows up in the recommendations on the websites I direct you to – but both sources have been proposed to me by our library & they are the best I can offer with free availability – or any availability at all.)
First: YouTube
An episode of Civilisation (1969) host Kenneth Clark.
Episode 5 “The Hero as Artist”
Second: Daily Motion website
An episode of Civilisations (2018) multiple hosts, this episode hosted by Simon Schama Episode 5 “The Triumph of Art”
What is similar and different about the way the two series deal with the given time period?
What (kinds of) art works seem to be deemed worthy of inclusion by consensus?
(i.e. which works/types are generally accepted as ‘art’ or ‘masterpieces’ – or not)
How are the works discussed? What are the implications of those similarities and differences?
Finally:
Is there an art work that is considered a masterpiece that you’ve never understood why? What is it?
Why do you question it?
Write a brief, reflective response to the above (750 words minimum).