Art Appreciation: Royal Portraits (1395 - 1658)
Course details
Course code
Q00017463Course date
Number of classes
5 sessionsTimetable
Tutor
Stephen SmithFee range
How you'll learn
Venue
OnlineLevel of study
Entry Levels 1,2,3: If you have never studied this subject before and you’re not confident in your skills, Entry levels are a good starting point.
Level 1: Covers basic skills and knowledge needed for this subject
Level 2: Building on basic knowledge or experience. Similar to Grade 4/ C at GCSE or O level in England or Standards in Scotland.
Level 3: Learn about the topic in-depth and have a broad range of skills. Independent working Equivalent to an A level in England or Higher in Scotland.
Beginners: A perfect introduction if you have no experience and skills in this subject.
Improvers: The next step if you have basic skills or knowledge but want to progress them further.
Advanced: Build on the solid experience and skills you have in this subject, applying your skills and knowledge in a more complex way.
Course overview
Course description
Portraying the monarch at any given historical moment could
be a fraught proposition, involving the massaging of the
sitter’s ego, and the creation of the desired political
statements through the paintings’ iconography. We will
discuss the nature of monarchy that each artist sought to
promulgate, and discuss in detail the political necessity of
each portrait’s imagery. We shall observe that this is of
paramount importance in the Tudor and Stuart eras, as the
nature of the succession, and later the question of the Divine
Right of Kings came to the fore.
Although we shall analyse each portrait in detail, assessing its
craft and the individual artist’s style, we will also discuss the
historical context in which the portraits are produced, the
nature of patronage, and we will refer to literary texts and
documents where appropriate. In this way, we shall come to
appreciate that these images are far from static or passive,
but are rather active and at the centre of the often febrile
times in which they are created. This is of particular relevance
in the years running up to and after the English Civil Wars,
during the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell.
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