Picture Storm: Albrecht Dürer’s Prints in Context
Instructed by Charlotte Gray
Thursdays 6 - 8 pm
January 8 - 29
Registration Deadline: January 5
[ REGISTER HERE ]
Tuition
$150 for 4-week class
Description
In the year 1515, Raphael sent Albrecht Dürer a drawing in red chalk. Dürer later inscribed the sheet, stating that Raphael had sent the drawing to “show [Dürer] his hand.” This brief glimpse of artistic exchange invites a variety of meditations, both historical and contemporary: how do we relate to craft, to our fellow artists and to the status of images in our time?
In the case of Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528), the advent of the printing press and the Protestant Reformation offer the primary contexts that art historians consider with reference to his work. Print
technologies supported an unprecedented proliferation of images at a remove from the hand of the artist, while the Reformation forced a deep questioning of the status of images, sometimes resulting in iconoclasm (Bildersturm, or “picture storm” in German).
This seminar series offers both an introduction to Dürer’s art and a progressive exploration of four key art-historical terms related to Dürer’s work: icon, iconography, iconology, and iconoclasm. As we address well-known prints such as Melencolia and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, we will ask and begin to answer questions like these:
• What did it mean to create art at the “end” of the tradition of medieval craftsmanship and at the “beginning” of mechanically reproducible artworks?
• What was the role of new artworks in an age of iconoclasm?
• What makes an icon an icon, and how has this definition changed over time?
• What do the terms iconography and iconology encompass? What do they reject?
• How has iconoclasm unfolded over the centuries, and what is its future?
• To what extent do iconoclasts reinforce the power of images, and how do images—and artists—argue for their own immortality?
• How do these questions both animate and haunt our present?
This class will cover the following topics:
• An overview of the life and work of Albrecht Dürer, and detailed explorations of a selection of his works
• An introduction to printmaking processes employed in the Northern Renaissance: woodcuts, etchings, engravings
• An historical exploration of and reflection on the terms “icon” and “iconoclasm”
• An introduction to interpretive methods useful in the study of Renaissance art, including
• Iconography, iconology, and semiotics
• An introduction to written visual analysis
Texts or other Required/Recommended Materials:
Note-taking and sketching materials of choice. Weekly suggested readings will be distributed by email.
Max Enrollment: 12
Level of Study: Beginner
This class is open to all students who enjoy approaching the past with curiosity and courage.
Suggested Prerequisites: none
LOCATION: Unless otherwise specified, all courses are hosted at Manifest's new facility at 'M1' in Clifton at 3464 Central Parkway (see map and directions below). Manifest's new facility provides multiple studio classrooms, private lesson space, a darkroom, a film processing room, and a multi-purpose lecture and class meeting space as well as on-site parking, grounds, and exterior spaces in which to relax, discuss, and make art. The studios are outfitted with professional equipment, furniture, and study aids.
Map to Manifest's M1 Studios | Studio Calendar | Darkroom Calendar
Manifest's new home on Central Parkway is a historic 1932 structure ideally suited to the various programs of the Manifest Drawing Center (and future Manifest Gallery).
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