Art and the Senses in the British Baroque

Aims 

This course aims to:   

• explore the Five Senses in art in terms of iconography and experience  
   
• introduce you to the visual analysis of the art of the British Baroque across different media  
   
• consider the historical and intellectual contexts of art and visual culture in the  
  ‘long’ 17th century 

Content 

In this course you will explore art of the Baroque as a multi-sensory experience. Art of the Baroque– or, the ‘long’ 17th century– often employed a number of visual as well as other elements to engage a receiver and this involved touching the emotions via the senses. The various elements could include art, music, performance or entertainments such as fireworks. We will start with an introduction to the history of the Five Senses in the Western tradition including how they were written about and represented. We will then focus in on the senses in British Baroque art, including thinking about their location and meaning. This will include art across different media but with a special focus on murals, paintings on ceilings and walls that were suggestive of the experience of other worlds. Each day of the course will be dedicated to a different sense: Sight, Smell, Hearing, Touch, Taste. In every session we will look at artworks together as a cohort, encouraging you to develop your own skills of visual analysis in a group seminar whilst also getting to grips with social, cultural and historical contexts. As part of this exploration, you will be encouraged to engage in sensory experiences relevant to the artworks that we are looking at, which may include sights, scents, sounds, materials and tastes suggestive of the past.   

Presentation of the course  

The course will include lectures and group activities. 

Course sessions 

1. Sight 
   This session will introduce you to looking at, and considering the representation of looking within, artworks of the ‘long’ 17th century. This will be done within the context of the greatest value being placed on sight at the time of the artworks’ making.   
    
2. Smell 
   We will explore smell in the iconography of artworks of the British Baroque. This may include its allegorical representation or the inclusion of objects that suggest olfactory experience, such as food, censers, flowers or battlefield smoke. 
    
3. Hearing 
   Hearing was, along with sight, considered the two ‘higher’ of the senses. This session will think about art alongside sound experiences, exploring, for example, how different types of music were represented and suggested within it. 
    
4. Touch 
   This session will explore tactility in British art through the representations of objects, narratives and ceremonials that brought the idea of touch to life for the seventeenth-century viewer.   
    
5. Taste 
   The final session will address the sense of taste as the last of the three ‘baser’ of the senses. Baroque art is full of tasty treats, morsels to draw the spectator in and get them to relate to the representations within. 

Learning outcomes 

You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course.  

 The learning outcomes for this course are:  

• to become acquainted with the Five Senses in the history of the West and how these relate to art  
   
• to learn how to visually analyse Baroque art works  
   
• to think about the social and historical contexts of art in the ‘long’ 17th century in Britain 

Required reading  

There are no compulsory readings for this course. However, you may find the below recommended reading list of interest to supplement your course. 

Typical week: Monday to Friday 

Courses run from Monday to Friday. For each week of study, you select a morning (Am) course and an afternoon (Pm) course. The maximum class size is 25 students.   

Courses are complemented by a series of daily plenary lectures, exploring new ideas in a wide range of disciplines. To add to your learning experience, we are also planning additional evening talks and events. 

Evaluation and Academic Credit  

If you are seeking to enhance your own study experience, or earn academic credit from your Cambridge Summer Programme studies at your home institution, you can submit written work for assessment for one or more of your courses.  

Essay questions are set and assessed against the University of Cambridge standard by your Course Director, a list of essay questions can be found in the Course Materials. Essays are submitted two weeks after the end of each course, so those studying for multiple weeks need to plan their time accordingly. There is an evaluation fee of £75 per essay. 

For more information about writing essays see Evaluation and Academic Credit. 

Certificate of attendance 

A certificate of attendance will be sent to you electronically after the programme.