Admission requirements
See M.A. Art History program guide and Exam regulations.
Description
In this course students investigate the supposed influence of the theory on relativity of Albert Einstein on early 20th-century architecture. In the publication of Donald Langmead and Leslie Johnson on Frank Lloyd Wright (2000) it says p.3: “Its practical influence [of the theory of relativity] on art was fleetingly yet almost immediately measurable thereby suggesting an intellectual, cultural and intuitive pre-existence”. In the Netherlands the architect H.T. Wijdeveld in 1930 had contacts with Einstein, whom he asked for approval of his plans – with Frank Lloyd Wright and others – to establish an International Fellowship of architects and artists (‘Werkgemeenschap’). Also in the title of Giedeons famous book Space, Time and Architecture: The Growth of a New Tradition (1941) we might find allusions to Einstein’s theory.
The questions we will try to answer are: when and where do notions of ‘Space’ and ‘Time’ invade western architectural theory and practice? In which early 20th-century buildings (apart from Mendelsohn’s Einstein Turm in Potsdam, 1922) can there be found attempts to incorporate these new notions of space and time? Which spatial solutions exactly derive from these experiments with space and time? In which cases we can proof that the architect really had Einstein in mind when exploring these new concepts?
At the beginning of the course the Leiden astronomer and artist Vincent Icke will give an introduction into Einstein’s theory on relativity.
Course objectives
Students will have an overview of new approaches to architecture in the Netherlands, Europe and the VS in the first half of the 20th century.
Students will be conversant with recent developments in architectural theory and history in relation to the subject.
Students will gain facility with primary and secondary source research;
Students will develop their skills in visual (spatial) analysis.
Timetable
See the timetable on the department website.
Mode of instruction
Research seminar
introductory lectures
discussion
presentations
written papers
1-day excursion
Assessment method
Presentation with powerpoint
Written paper, 5000 words exl. notes and bibliography
Blackboard
A Blackboard site will be available
Reading list
Reader.
Registration
Students have to register for this course in uSis, the registration system of the university: http://www.usis.leidenuniv.nl. General information about registration in uSis you can find here in Dutch and in English.
Exchange and Study Abroad students, please see the Study in Leiden website for information on how to apply.
Contact information
Email: Mw.dr. J.G. Roding
Remarks
The Leiden MA specialisation in architectural history and theory enables students to acquire in-depth knowledge of at least two major periods, artists or styles, to critically evaluate secundary literature about them, and to present their arguments in papers or presentations on the site. It also trains their skills of visual analysis of designs, plans, buildings and their representations. This year, major figures and periods are the subject of the courses on Einstein and Michelangelo; visual analytical skills are developed in the Piranesi course, which takes place in the Print Room of the University Library and in Rome.