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Cut / Bite / Stamp: the Power of Print in Eighteenth-Century Britain - HOA00054I

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  • Department: History of Art
  • Module co-ordinator: Dr. Richard Johns
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23
    • See module specification for other years: 2023-24

Module summary

Some of the eighteenth century’s most enduring and influential works of art were prints: multiple images that were traded in specialist shops, collected, copied and seen by thousands. This module examines how artists such as William Hogarth, Thomas Rowlandson and James Gillray harnessed the political and economic possibilities of the printed image to engage with the manners and morals of contemporary British society.

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Autumn Term 2022-23

Module aims

Some of the eighteenth century’s most enduring and influential works of art were prints: multiple images that were traded in specialist shops, collected, copied and seen by thousands. This module examines how artists such as William Hogarth, Thomas Rowlandson and James Gillray harnessed the political and economic possibilities of the printed image to engage with the manners and morals of contemporary British society.

Alongside the rise of graphic satire (a term which encompasses some of the most highly charged images in British art) we will also examine the growing demand for ambitious prints after the work of living painters and canonical ‘old masters’ – specialists in portraiture, history painting and landscape, whose work found new meanings and reached a wider, international audience in printed form. Through themed case studies and close, contextual readings, we will explore the dynamic interplay between different forms of visual representation, examining the fluid nature of seemingly stable artistic categories.

The module will consider how artists variously exploited the formal characteristics, immediacy and associations of different printmaking techniques (including etching, engraving, mezzotint, aquatint, and the application of colour), to produce a visual culture that continues to challenge conventional distinctions between ‘polite’ and ‘impolite’, ‘high’ and ‘low’ art.

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should have acquired:

  • A good knowledge of the principal printmakers in Britain, including their techniques and channels of distribution.
  • The ability to articulate and respond critically and creatively to different art-historical approaches to the subject.
  • An awareness of the methodological challenges and opportunities associated with the historical study of reproducible graphic art, especially in relation to the recent historiography of visual culture in Britain.
  • An understanding of key cultural concepts associated with graphic art during the long eighteenth century, including politeness, satire, caricature, connoisseurship and taste.
  • A critical awareness of how the art of the past continues to inspire political and cultural debate.

Assessment

Task Length % of module mark Group
Essay/coursework
Cut, Bite, Stamp: The Power of Print in Eighteenth-Century Britain		 N/A 100 A
Essay/coursework
Cut, Bite, Stamp: The Power of Print in Eighteenth-Century Britain		 N/A 100 B

Special assessment rules

None

Reassessment

Task Length % of module mark Group
Essay/coursework
Cut, Bite, Stamp: The Power of Print in Eighteenth-Century Britain		 N/A 100 A
Essay/coursework
Cut, Bite, Stamp: The Power of Print in Eighteenth-Century Britain		 N/A 100 B

Module feedback

You will receive feedback on assessed work within the timeframes set out by the University - please check the Guide to Assessment, Standards, Marking and Feedback for more information.

The purpose of feedback is to help you to improve your future work. If you do not understand your feedback or want to talk about your ideas further, you are warmly encouraged to meet your Supervisor during their Office Hours.

Indicative reading

Timothy Clayton, The English Print 1688-1802 (1997)

Diana Donald, The Age of Caricature: Satirical Prints in the Reign of George III (1997)

Mark Hallett, The Spectacle of Difference (1999)

Richard Godfrey (ed.), James Gillray: The Art of Caricature (2001)

Ronald Paulson, Hogarth, 3 vols (1991-93)


The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University is constantly exploring ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary by the University. Where appropriate, the University will notify and consult with affected students in advance about any changes that are required in line with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.