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The Open University

Helen Langdon's ‘Caravaggio’

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Accounts of Caravaggio's life are filled with suggestions of murder and intrigue. But does knowing more about this dark artist's experiences help us to interpret his art? Or does understanding his motivations cloud their true meaning? This free course, Helen Langdon's 'Caravaggio', explores the biographical monograph, one of the most common forms of art history writing.

Syllabus

  • Introduction
  • Learning outcomes
  • 1 Caravaggio's ‘Life’
  • 1 Caravaggio's ‘Life’
  • 1.1 Biography and art history
  • 1.2 The myth of the artist
  • 1.3 Artists' ‘Lives’
  • 1.4 The artist's ‘Life’ as a historical source
  • 1.5 Further reading
  • 2 Artists and their art
  • 2 Artists and their art
  • 2.1 Understanding an artist's art
  • 2.1 ‘Every painter paints himself’?
  • 2.3 Biography and psychobiography
  • 2.4 The intentional fallacy
  • 2.5 Is the author dead?
  • 2.6 Caravaggio's sexuality
  • 2.7 Art, life and the interpretation of pictures
  • 2.8 Further reading
  • 3 Interpreting works of art within and outwith biography
  • 3.1 Three interpretative methods
  • 3.2 Interpretation beyond biography
  • 3.3 ‘Intentionality’
  • 3.4 Further reading
  • 4 Conclusion
  • References
  • Acknowledgements

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3.9 rating at OpenLearn based on 8 ratings

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