PV1B113 Golden Prague: The Art of Book Illumination during the Reign of the Luxembourg Kings from c.1350 to

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2018
Extent and Intensity
0/4/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Dr. phil. Maria Gabriele Theisen (lecturer), Mgr. Petr Elbel, Ph.D. (deputy)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Petr Elbel, Ph.D.
Department of Auxiliary Historical Sciences and Archive Studies – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Olga Barová
Supplier department: Department of Auxiliary Historical Sciences and Archive Studies – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
each even Tuesday 12:00–15:40 B2.41
Prerequisites
This course will be held in English. Participants will, therefore, need to have English-speaking skills. German reading skills would also be an advantage.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 22 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
The course will provide an opportunity to study the history of patrons, writers and artists, but also broaden students’ knowledge of book production and crafts in the Bohemian lands during the reigns of Charles IV and Wenceslas IV.
Learning outcomes
- skills in descriptive and comparative analysis of selected artefacts;
- basic knowledge of methodology in visual studies;
- training in conducting research and assessing scholarly literature critically and independently;
- skills in oral and written presentation.
Syllabus
  • Under the reign of Emperor Charles IV and his son King Wenceslas IV, the city on the Vltava became the largest metropolis in the region, the seat of the empire (Caput Regni) and the "Golden City of Prague". This also provided the best conditions for the development of book illumination. The court, the church and the university attracted a growing number of authors and readers. Painters and illuminators now came from all over Europe to take advantage of this flourishing situation. The artists, many of them immigrants from Silesia, Moravia, Austria and Franconia, combined their local art with inspiration from Italian and French art to Bohemian variants of the so-called "International Style". As a result of this lively exchange, the Bohemian influence spread all over Europe: Prague took on a position that was as important as Paris, Avignon or Bologna. The course provides an overview of this era by means of exemplary case studies. In addition, it introduces the necessary knowledge concerning the terminology and technique of book illumination.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Císař Karel IV. : 1316-2016 : průvodce výstavou : Národní galerie v Praze - Valdštejnská jízdárna: 15. května - 25. září 2016, Univerzita Karlova v Praze - Karolinum, Křížová chodba: 14. května - 31. srpna 2016. Edited by Jiří Fajt - Helena Dáňová. V Praze: Národní galerie, 2016, 186 stran. ISBN 9788070356142. info
  • Prague : the crown of Bohemia, 1347-1437. Edited by Barbara Drake Boehm - Jiří Fajt. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005, xii, 366. ISBN 030011138X. info
  • CHAMONIKOLA, Kaliopi. Od gotiky k renesanci : výtvarná kultura Moravy a Slezska 1400-1550. 2000, 330 s. info
  • ALEXANDER, J. J. G. Medieval illuminators and their methods of work. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992, vii, 214. ISBN 0300056893. info
  • • Legner, Anton (ed.): Die Parler und der Schöne Stil 1350–1400. Europäische Kunst unter den Luxemburgern, Vol. 2. Köln 1978 (check Prag und Böhmen: Die Buchmalerei, 731–757).
  • KRÁSA, Josef. České iluminované rukopisy 13.-16. století. Vydání první. Praha: Odeon, 1990, 455 stran. ISBN 8020701141. info
  • KRÁSA, Josef. Rukopisy Václava IV. 1. vyd. Praha: Odeon - nakladatelství krásné literatury a umění, 1971, 297 s. URL info
  • • Schmidt, Gerhard: Die Illuminatoren König Wenzels und ihre Werke, in: Swoboda, Karl Maria (ed.): Gotik in Böhmen. München 1969, 230ff.
Teaching methods
The course will consist of lectures held by the seminar leader, presentations by students (in English or German), discussions, and exercises based on originals (excursion to the City Archives). The course is designed to, inter alia, deepen codicological, iconographic and cultural-historical expertise.
Assessment methods
Participants must give an oral presentation (in English or German, with the help of Power Point) on certain aspects of a selected manuscript/s for discussion and accordingly, a written paper at the end of the course (15,000 characters = c. 5 pages in English or German). A range of topics to choose from - e.g. iconography, contents, codicology, workshops, patrons, owners – will be given during the first meeting.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
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