Module Information
Module Identifier
AH21620
Module Title
The Image Multiplied: European Printmaking since 1400
Academic Year
2025/2026
Co-ordinator
Semester
Semester 1
Exclusive (Any Acad Year)
Reading List
Other Staff
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Research Project analysing an original print from the School of Art Museum collection that draws on 6 secondary sources – books and journals. Project to be negotiated in tutorials. 2000 Words | 50% |
| Semester Assessment | Essay that draws on 10 secondary sources – books and journals. Plus bibliography and documented illustrations. 2000 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Research Project analysing an original print from the School of Art Museum collection that draws on 6 secondary sources – books and journals. Project to be negotiated in tutorials. 2000 Words | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Essay Essay that draws on 10 secondary sources – books and journals. Plus bibliography and documented illustrations. 2000 Words | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
demonstrate a critical understanding of the technical, socio-historical and art historical contexts of printmakers and their work;
distinguish between the various ways in which artists draw for process, identifying the qualities of mark that are specific to each print process;
evaluate the reasons why artists have made and continue to make prints;
identify period styles and historic print media, demonstrating an understanding and sure handling of technical terminology.
Brief description
In Europe the print industry developed out of a need for reproductions and illustrations as a means to communicate information visually. Much of our knowledge of works of art before the introduction of photography, for example, came from the print. For over 400 years its function was imitative: engraving emulated pen drawing, soft ground the crayon, mezzotint the chiaroscuro of an oil painting, or aquatint the delicacy of watercolour. Some artists however saw the creative potential of printmaking, not just as way to reproduce their works in another medium, but for the intrinsic mark-making possibilities of each process. Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Francisco Goya, James McNeill Whistler, Pablo Picasso and David Hockney are among the many that recognised the creative potential of print as a means of expression.
This module examines the characteristics and role of printmaking within the European and, latterly, American tradition through an analysis of the work of some of its key practitioners. The relationship between image and process, the use of print as reproduction, and the development of the fine art print will be considered. Prints will be discussed in relation to their social, historical, art historical and technological contexts. At most classes there will be opportunities to study at first-hand original prints from the National Library of Wales and the School of Art Museum.
This module examines the characteristics and role of printmaking within the European and, latterly, American tradition through an analysis of the work of some of its key practitioners. The relationship between image and process, the use of print as reproduction, and the development of the fine art print will be considered. Prints will be discussed in relation to their social, historical, art historical and technological contexts. At most classes there will be opportunities to study at first-hand original prints from the National Library of Wales and the School of Art Museum.
Content
1.
Prints as Visual Communication. Approaching the Study of Print. Module overview, aims and assessments explained. [Introduction and workshop, 2 hours]
2.
Albrecht Dürer and the Impact of Early Printmaking. [Lecture, 1 hour] + Medium, Materials and Techniques 1: The Relief Print and the Lithograph. [Print Identification Workshop, 1 hour]
3.
Naturalism: Rembrandt and his Contemporaries. [Lecture, 1 hour]
4.
Inner Visions: Francisco Goya and William Blake. [Lecture, 1 hour] + Medium, Materials and Techniques 2: The Intaglio Print and the Serigraph [Print Identification Workshop, 1 hour]
5.
Prints with a Point: William Hogarth, James Gillray and Honoré Daumier. [Lecture, 1 hour]
6.
The Limited Edition: James McNeill Whistler and the Fine Art Print. [Lecture, 1 hour]
7.
Hands On at the National Library of Wales: original prints by Dürer, Rembrandt, Whistler and others. [Lecture + Seminar-Workshop, 2 hours]
8.
Landscape Observed and Transformed: Samuel Palmer and the Romantic Landscape Tradition. [Lecture, 1 hour] + Pastoral Re-Visions: Neo-Romantic Landscapes from the School of Art Museum. [Seminar-Workshop, 1 hour]
9.
Experiment and Expression: Avant-Garde Printmaking in Britain and on the Continent, 1914-1960. [Lecture, 1 hour]
10.
Ash Can to Pop: from Hopper to Warhol. [Lecture, 1 hour] + David Hockney: Continuity and New Departures. [Seminar-Workshop, 1 hour]
Prints as Visual Communication. Approaching the Study of Print. Module overview, aims and assessments explained. [Introduction and workshop, 2 hours]
2.
Albrecht Dürer and the Impact of Early Printmaking. [Lecture, 1 hour] + Medium, Materials and Techniques 1: The Relief Print and the Lithograph. [Print Identification Workshop, 1 hour]
3.
Naturalism: Rembrandt and his Contemporaries. [Lecture, 1 hour]
4.
Inner Visions: Francisco Goya and William Blake. [Lecture, 1 hour] + Medium, Materials and Techniques 2: The Intaglio Print and the Serigraph [Print Identification Workshop, 1 hour]
5.
Prints with a Point: William Hogarth, James Gillray and Honoré Daumier. [Lecture, 1 hour]
6.
The Limited Edition: James McNeill Whistler and the Fine Art Print. [Lecture, 1 hour]
7.
Hands On at the National Library of Wales: original prints by Dürer, Rembrandt, Whistler and others. [Lecture + Seminar-Workshop, 2 hours]
8.
Landscape Observed and Transformed: Samuel Palmer and the Romantic Landscape Tradition. [Lecture, 1 hour] + Pastoral Re-Visions: Neo-Romantic Landscapes from the School of Art Museum. [Seminar-Workshop, 1 hour]
9.
Experiment and Expression: Avant-Garde Printmaking in Britain and on the Continent, 1914-1960. [Lecture, 1 hour]
10.
Ash Can to Pop: from Hopper to Warhol. [Lecture, 1 hour] + David Hockney: Continuity and New Departures. [Seminar-Workshop, 1 hour]
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Communication | Articulating ideas through seminar discussions, as well as academic writing skills in the essay and project. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Independent study through seminar assignment research and preparation. Manage time to prepare for classes and submit assignments to deadline. |
| Information Technology | Information retrieval from various academic research portals and online museum collection databases. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Emphasis on professional presentation of research and annotated bibliography using MLA style documentation. |
| Problem solving | In seminar preparation and discussion, essay research and writing. Print identification sessions, essay research and writing, and examination to analysis and interpret prints and the achievements of their makers. |
| Research skills | In seminar preparation, bibliography and essay research and writing. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Analysis and interpretation of images. Grounding in the materials used and techniques employed in making prints as well as in handling of rare prints from School of Art and National Library of Wales collections. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 5