Art History knowledge, savvy research ability
Order Description
The Assignment:

The Scenario:

Because of your Art History knowledge, savvy research ability, and descriptive writing skills, you’ve been selected to participate in an Art History recovery & restoration project. Imagine you will be working on an art restoration team and you have to decide which 2 pieces of art you want to restore. Alternatively, imagine you are on a recovery team and you have to decide which two pieces you will try to recover.

Your Assignment:

The Restoration & Recovery Director has asked you to submit a minimum 4 to 5 page report in which you justify, based on stylistic, cultural & historical significance, the recovery of 2 pieces of art. The collections you’ve been asked to rebuild range from the Pre-Historic through the Early Italian Renaissance, and one piece must be from the Greco-Roman, Medieval, Northern or Early Italian Renaissance periods. The pieces you choose will be from different time periods, will have different artistic styles and different cultural contexts, yet they’ll illustrate a particular theme, idea, concept, story or point of view that you’ll need to explain.

The Tone of the Report:

Imagine your report will be used to create a new webpage for smarthistory.org, or another scholarly yet accessible site. The language used in your report should reflect your voice & writing style so it can be accessible to the public, yet your facts, ideas and information must be supported by reputable, scholarly sources and cited according to MLA guidelines.

Report Details:

Your report should contain the following components:

Introduction with a clear, controlling idea that presents a point of view (thesis) that will be developed & explained throughout the essay
Image identification for each piece (name of image, artist, date & period)
Analysis of stylistic significance (descriptive and analytical)
Analysis of cultural significance (how social, political and religious beliefs influence design, its function, or purpose, or symbolic message)
A conclusion that restates & summarizes a final point of view, or opinion
Grading:

Cultural Significance 25%
Stylistic Significance 25%
Research & Documentation 20%
Writing Style & Mechanics 20%
Formatting 10%
Research:
Research information should be drawn from the LA120 module text and at least 3 to 5 additional, scholarly sources including professional web sites like museums, research institutes or universities, scholarly databases like Oxford Art Online, or Professional journals like The Art Bulletin or JSTOR. Wikipedia MAY NOT be used! Try to use .org and .edu sites. Of course Nonfiction books are also a great source. Follow MLA formatting for all citations.

Plagiarism must be reported to the Executive Office and will result in disciplinary action. Any plagiarized material of any length is not acceptable and the final essay will receive an F.

Your essay must be submitted to turnitin.com BEFORE you submit your final draft to me via as stated above.

Use this attached worksheet to outline and brainstorm ideas for the 2 pieces you choose. Download worksheet, complete and submit to me in this discussion thread (attachments OK) for feedback on the pieces you’ve chosen.
t’s time to submit your proposal for the final research paper. Please use the worksheet attached, and submit your proposal by the end of Module 10- that’s two modules you have to work in this. Remember that the pieces you pick must correlate with our curriculum and at least one piece MUST BE from the second half of the semester. Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci are HIGH Renaissance masters and do NOT correlate with our curriculum. Please ask if you are unsure of your options. No Late work will be accepted.
LA120Final Essay Menu

Please reference these ideas if you need a little encouragement brainstorming ideas, but don’t let this list limit you, either!

Allegory of War

Alexander Mosaic, the Battle of Alexander the Great and Darius III vs. The Battle of San Romano, Paolo Uccello
Battle & War Scenes

Alexander Mosaic, the Battle of Alexander the Great and Darius III vs. The Battle of San Romano, Paolo Uccello, or The Battle of Hastings, from the Bayeaux Tapestry, France
Allegory of Good Government

Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Peaceful City, Palazo Publico, Siena
Death of the Hero & Victims

Dying Gaul, Gallic Chiefton Killing Himself & his Wife, Menelaus Holding up the Body of Patroclus
Stele

Funerary Stele, Victory Stele
Plague

Medieval Art, Northern Graphic Arts
Martyrdom

Byzantine through Early Renaissance
Annunciation

Medieval, Northern Renaissance, Late Gothic in Italy & Early Renaissance
Crucifixion

Byzantine through Early Renaissance
Deposition

Rogier Van Der Weyden, Fra Angelico
Lamentation & Dead Christ

Andrea Mantegna, The Lamentation
Divine Judgement and punishment

The Laocoon (Pagan); Christian
Symbols of Death

All time periods
Death of the Virgin

Duccio di Buoninsegna & Andrea Mantegna
Funeral Rites

Simone Martini, The Funeral of St. Martin & Jan Van Eyck, Funeral Mass and Rites, from The Turin-Milan Hours
Funeral Masks

Funeral Mask of Tutankhamen & Funeral Mask (Agamemnon), Mycenaean
Tears

Funerary Stele, 340 B.C. Athens, National Archaeological Museum & Mourner, Tomb of Duke Jean du Berry, 15th Century & Hans Memling, The Man of Sorrows
Sacrifice

Filippo Brunelleschi, The Sacrifice of Isaac
Mausoleum

Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, Rome & Mausoleum of Theodoric, Ravenna & Mausoleum of Bartolomeo Colleoni, Bergamo
Sarcophagus

Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, Late Antiquity& Sarcophagus, of Reclining Couple, Etruscan
Reliquary

Medieval France, England & Germany
Last Judgement

Gislebertus, Last Judgement Tympanum, Autun, St. Lazarre
Journey to the Afterworld

Tomb of the Diver, 470 B.C., Paestum; Greek myth
Gods of Death

Pagan & Christian
Paradise

Pagan, Christian, Islamic expressions
Gardens and Landscapes

Images of Egyptian, Greek (Minoan Spring) , Roman (Gardenscape of Livia) , Islamic, Monastic (Sacred) vs. Secular (Renaissance, Medici) gardens
Architecture (Propaganda, Sacred spaces)

Parthenon, Pantheon, Hagia Sophia, St. Marks Cathedral, Great Mosque at Cordoba, The Alhambra Palace, Palatine Chapel of Charlemagne, Romanesque (many options), Gothic (many options), Florence Cathedral
Animators

Gestures & personality depicted in Byzantine, Medieval, Romanesque, or Gothic arts
Motion Pictures and Television

Storytelling as reflected in the Column of Trajan (Rome), various Illuminated Manuscripts, Bishop’s Bernward’s column at St. Michaels in Hildesheim, Germany, or the Bayeaux Tapestry, France
Fashion

Medieval, Northern Renaissance & Early Renaissance
Graphic Design

Illuminated Manuscripts, Islamic Arts, Northern Renaissance to Italian Renaissance
Sacred Feminine

Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Christian
The Body: Archetypes of masculinity & femininity

Egyptian, Greek, Medieval & Renaissance
Portraiture

Northern Renaissance & Early Renaissance