Τowards a cultural interdisciplinary teaching model in History of Art & Costume

Abstract

 

This article combines the teaching of the modules of History of Art and Costume. The history of clothing constitutes part of the study of material culture, as an aesthetic tool to express ideas, desires and beliefs that exist in society. Paintings from the Renaissance are chosen and described, since the close connection between fashion and art is strongly perceived during that time, in the broader context of the dominant ideas. The works of art are treated as evidence of visual culture, which includes all the different forms of cultural production, thus rendering clothing a cultural product. The article seeks to demonstrate that the representation of garments in art constitute a principal source of information, that lead to reliable conclusions about the evolution of fashion, the diachronic influence on individual artists as well as on the characteristics of entire artistic currents. Finally, a model of interdisciplinary teaching is proposed, where it is argued that the two modules can be discussed and taught in parallel, with the use of common interpretative tools, thus reinforcing the link between fine and applied arts.

 

Full text: pdfΤowards a cultural interdisciplinary teaching model in History of Art & Costume547KB