Van Gogh and the Myth of Genius
ARHA 140
Spring 2011 not offered
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This seminar will investigate in-depth the career of this immensely popular and influential artist. Van Gogh has been the subject of much myth-making--both in his time and today--in which he appears as the quintessential mad genius whose passionate and tormented emotions become the stuff of art. We will both investigate the formation of this myth and view it critically, balancing it against the artist's own account of his career in his paintings and prodigious correspondence. Van Gogh's extensive, insightful, and fascinating writing begs the question of how one should treat an artist's statements when interpreting his works. We will also examine the role of biography in art. Finally, rather than viewing the artist as an isolated creator, we will situate his work within the artistic landscape of late 19th-century Europe, and especially France, where he spent his most productive years as an artist, 1886-1890. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Interpretation, Writing
Writing: students will be asked to write drafts of papers and to revise them in consultation with a designated class writing tutor and the professor.
Interpretation: Class discussion and papers will give students the opportunity to engage closely with different modes of interpretation and to identify the assumptions and interests motivating specific accounts of Van Gogh's paintings and artistic practice.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ART |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Major Requirement for: (ARHA-MN)(ARHA)(ARST) |
Major Readings:
Judy Sund, VAN GOGH
Van Gogh, LETTERS
A course reader
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Examinations and Assignments:
In-class presentations, two 3-page papers, one 5-page paper, one 8-10 page research paper. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Instructor uses the enrollment request system and does not respond to emails prior to the beginning of class. All interested students should attend the first day of class. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 0 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 0 | Unranked: 0 |
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