Key facts

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Type	Weekly Classes
Location	Oxford
Address	Ewert House Ewert Place Summertown Oxford
Dates	Tue 2 Oct to Tue 4 Dec 2012 Day: Tuesday Time of meeting: 10.30am-12.30pm Number of meetings: 10
Subject area(s)	History of Art
CATS points	10
Fees	From £165.00
Application status	Course full
Course code	O12P617ARW
Course contact	If you have any questions about this course, please email ppweekly@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Overview

Portraiture is worthy of scrutiny because it is different from other categories in the visual arts in the way it is produced, what it represents and what it tells us about individuals in any given society. Join Alice Foster to discover more.

Description

The Oxford English Dictionary explains portraiture as "a representation or delineation of a person, especially of the face, made from life...". In fact, in some cases the sitter was not present as the image was being made, and the face was not always as important as we expect it to be. Portraits are more than a mere likeness of the face. We have to consider identity, character, mood of both sitter and artist; we should look at costume, surroundings, profession and status of the subject. Where the sitter directs his or her gaze will reveal much to the viewer. We need to think about the type of materials available in any given period to produce a portrait. Portraiture is therefore a wide ranging category that presents a rich seam of engagements with social, psychological and artistic practices from the formal to the intimate. This 10 week course will be presented thematically rather than chronologically and we shall see that Richard II of England and Tracy Emin do really have something in common.

Programme details

Week 1: What is a Portrait?
Week 2: Identity; Attributes
Week 3: The Stages of Life
Week 4: Love and Beauty
Week 5: Courtship and Friendship
Week 6: The Family
Week 7: Power and Status
Week 8: Group Portraiture
Week 9: Self Portraiture
Week 10: Conclusions and Re-cap

Background Reading:
Joanna Woodall (Ed), Portaiture: Facing the Subject
Norbert Schneider, The Art of the Portrait
Shearer West, Portraiture

Staff

Course aims

Course Aims:
1. To introduce students to the wide and varied subject of Portraiture in the visual arts.
2. To reveal its perennial attraction with the history of western art.

Course Objectives:
1. To place Portraiture at the heart of social concerns in the history of western art.
2. To make connections between Portraiture of the past, and the present.
3. To learn how to look at a portrait.

Assessment methods

All students are expected to produce a short paper in a variety of forms: one essay, carefully structured with appropriate use of images as evidence, and totalling 1000 words. Shorter exercises will be suggested if students prefer to do so. Exercises will include picture analysis; writing entries for a gallery catalogue; textual information alongside images in a gallery; keeping a weekly diary. In each case, the word count can be agreed with the tutor and the number of exercises submitted (maximum 5) will total 1000 words.

Teaching methods

llustrated lectures; class discussion; researching a short project.

Teaching outcomes

1. Students will be able to analyse portraits from a variety of historical periods.
2. Students will be able to recognize how the sitter wishes to be presented via his/her portrait.
3. Students will be able to make visual connections regarding interpretation between portraits of the past, and the present.

Fee options

Programme Fee

EU Fee: £165.00

Non-EU Fee: £165.00

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