261017机考雅思阅读 Studies in the history of art and visual culture

Part 1

Read the text and answer the questions below.

Studies in the history of art and visual culture

A General information The Department of the History of Art, which operates within the Faculty of History, offers a one-year postgraduate course in the History of Art and Visual culture. We welcome applications from a broad range of backgrounds and do not require students to have a first degree in art history. In addition to a compulsory course on Theory and Methods, students take two one-term optional courses, and write a 15,000-word dissertation on a topic of their choice. The course aims to redefine art history and includes a broader range of objects and visual worlds than other art history courses. Images and objects produced in many contexts – ranging from the scientific to the popular – have been brought together to show how visual styles at different periods and in different places can be understood in relation to the aesthetic, intellectual and social fabric of human cultures.

B Theory and Methods This core course provides an advanced introduction to the major methodological issues and traditions of art history. The course is organised around a series of topics that relate to the production of art and people’s responses to it. Students will discuss these topics and assigned readings in small weekly classes. In lectures, the tutor will consider works of art from a variety of cultures in order to demonstrate that context and artistic method are important aspects of art history.

C Choosing Courses The optional courses listed below are not available every year and prospective students are advised to check on the availability of specific courses. Students should also note there may be some restrictions on combining particular courses within their degree programme. Students wishing to take a course that does not appear in the list but is offered by the Faculty of History will need to get permission from the relevant Course Tutor. An application should therefore be made by the candidate’s supervisor.

D Authenticity and Replication The course is designed to give students exposure to a critical scope of the visual arts in an explicitly interdisciplinary and cross-cultural framework. It will use a series of case studies to explore the idea of the ‘real’ and the ‘authentic’ in both images and objects. The historical and geographical contexts to be addressed will range widely, from ancient Greece and Rome, to early modern China and to contemporary art, including works seen as genuine as well as works regarded as forgeries. The course will make particularly extensive use of types of resources to view actual objects and images.

E French Painting 1880-1912 The course examines the development of Post-impressionist painting between 1880 and 1912, at which point Cubism begins to have a major impact on the thinking of French artists. Rather than tracing a history of styles or individuals, we consider how artistic practice was closely linked to contemporary developments. The rise of new forms of image distribution, including cinema, will be addressed, as well as the changing role of painting in the public sphere. The writings of artists and their contemporaries will be examined alongside relevant art-historical work.

F Medieval European Art This course addresses two problems central to the history of art: the status of artistic invention, and suitable methods for instructing on technique. During that period, would-be artists acted as apprentices to a master painter in his workshop. With this type of training, what was the scope for originality, and how was stylistic change managed? These issues are brought into sharp focus by the changing visual culture of late-medieval Europe, between the twelfth and the fifteenth centuries. The available literature on these themes is rich, yet uncoordinated. The course therefore addresses questions that are very much open.

G Reception of Classical European Art From the fourteenth century the discovery of classical antiquities inspired contemporary artists. Some copied closely, some retained the ancient in a contemporary style, while others reinterpreted freely. The course focuses on sculpture, painting and architecture in Britain, with a selection of other European works. Sculpture is examined in life-size marble statues, and in miniature with pieces acquired. Painting is studied through the designs painted on vases, particularly Athenian and South Italian. Architecture is examined through the ancient Greek temples that were excavated in the eighteenth century and also replicated in miniature for sale to travellers.

H Women, Art and Culture in Early Modern Europe This course will explore the various roles played by women in the production and reception of art and architecture in fifteenth-to-seventeenth-century Europe. After many decades of relative neglect, the significance of the ways women contributed to the art and culture of Early Modern Europe has come to light. By drawing on the wealth of new research, the course will examine the careers of professional women artists working in Northern and Southern Europe. We also consider how famous women patrons, such as Isabella d’Este and Catherine de’ Medici, influenced the careers of artists, and wider perceptions about art. Another topic that will be addressed is the representation of women in the visual arts, for example as subjects for state portraits and marriage paintings.

Questions 1–6

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1? In boxes 1–6 on your answer sheet, write TRUE FALSE NOT GIVEN

1 Applicants to the department must have previously studied art history.

2 Students can choose two optional courses instead of the Theory and Methods course.

3 The course organisers had more problems collecting art objects from some historical periods than others.

4 The Theory and Methods course focuses on the way art is made and perceived.

5 Students will be able to do any of the optional courses that are listed.

6 Students may be able to take an unlisted course if they get the appropriate approval.

Questions 7–13

Complete the notes below. Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer. Write your answers in boxes 7–13 on your answer sheet.

Optional courses

Authenticity and Replication

genuine art is studied in addition to that considered 7 __________
art objects are studied in 8 __________

French Painting 1880–1912

the course covers the period up to when 9 __________ started to be prominent.
the course looks at the connections between art and new developments such as 10 __________

Medieval European Art

the course looks at two issues: artistic creativity and procedures for teaching technique
the course considers how artists could be original when taught by an expert as a 11 __________

Reception of Classical European Art

life-sized and miniature sculpture is examined
painting is examined by looking at the decoration of 12 __________
architecture is assessed by studying 18th-century models bought by 13 __________