ARTH 540
In Vinculus Invictus: Portraits in Prison Fall 2017
Division I
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Among all the portraits that European art has produced during the modern period, some have been painted or more recently photographed in prison. Artists themselves have made self-portraits during their own imprisonments, or sometimes a portrait of one of their fellow prisoners. More often it was the prisoners or their relatives who commissioned an artistic record of their detention. The idea of commemorating such a moment, or to evoke it as a claim to fame, seems surprising at best, at worst outrageous and provocative. But there is, indeed, an enduring tradition of portraiture in prison with its masterpieces and its pantheon, a tradition that fits into the wider pictorial attention to the prison itself. With the French Revolution, the nature of prison changed. It became a tragic symbol of the political “debates.” Prison became the arena for a new martyr, one that endures for ideas or simply to be born. The portrait in prison was a way to commemorate not a disgrace or an infamy, but a glory and a moment of virtue. Within a few years, a terrifying series of portraits appeared. They would nurture Western political thought and visual culture until now. Portraits in prison are at a crossroad of politics, law, art and identity; they offer a great opportunity to think about art and society. This course will explore the topic throughout the modern period until the contemporary period.
The Class: Format: seminar
Limit: 16
Expected: 12
Class#: 1929
Grading: no pass/fail option, no fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: oral and written assignments
Extra Info: may not be taken on a pass/fail basis; not available for the fifth course option
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: graduate students, then upper level undergraduate Art History majors
Distributions: Division I

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