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Search: Colloquium 34 (Spring 2020)

April 24, 2020 @ 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm

The Sea Battle at Salamis by Wilhelm von Kaulbach
Oil on canvas
1868
(H: 560 × W: 980 cm)

In recognition of its original use as an art gallery, a painting by Wilhelm von Kaubach (1805-1874) of the sea battle between the Greeks and Persians occupies the wall on the west side of the room. The painting (oil on canvas, 560 x 980 cm) is one of 17 surviving pictures commissioned by Maximillian II King of Bavaria for the Historical Gallery of Maximilianeum beginning in 1853 for the purpose of illustrating through art the critical moments of world history (from the Fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden to the Battle of Leipzig) for the education of the people and promotion of historical painting. In spite of the dramatic setting, the monumental painting is less a depiction of the Greeks’ successful fight against the overpowering Persian fleet in the straits near the island of Salamis (of Attica) than what Kaulbach and his contemporaries viewed as a representation of culture’s overcoming barbarism. In the top left corner, the Persian king Xerxes sits enthroned in the middle of his desperate court on a cloud-clad rocky cliff and still frantically tries to achieve a turning point in the naval battle, for the Persian ships are sinking or have already gone under. In the foreground, the king’s harem drifts on the water. Below Xerxes and above the harem in the center of the painting stands Artemesia, herself a Greek and leader of the Carians, in white and illuminated by the white of the sea foaming around her ship, preparing to shoot an arrow at Themistocles, who by contrast appears in profile in the right half of the picture is Themistocles, standing victorious as a calm standard in the raging battle, commanding the Greek army. In front of him to the right, the tragedian Aeschylus, who was later to describe this battle in his play The Persians, is about to throw a spear against Phoenicians, who are attempting to carry away the looted temple treasure to safety. At the right edge of the picture Aristides and his men take the island of Psyttaleia by force; a nephew of the Persian king begs him for his life. To his right, in the shadows and holding a lyre is the sixteen-year-old Sophocles, who sees a vision of the heroes Peleus, Achilles and Ajax coming to the aid of the Greeks from the heavens. (Translated and adapted from the website.)

Wilhelm von Kaulbach, who received 35,000 guilders for the year of work he devoted to the project, was born on October 15, 1804, in Arolsen and died on April 7, 1874 in Munich. As director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich (1849-1974) he was the chief historical painter for Maxmillian II.

Bayerischer Landtag, München

Reading

Christine de Pizan, Book of the City of Ladies, 1.1-10, 14, 30, 43-48

Topic of Discussion

Rosalind Brown-Grant writes about Christine de Pizan’s work:

Christine’s efforts to give her text authority would have come to nothing if she had not been able to derive the bulk of her pro-woman material from well-known and authoritative sources. To be sure, she does sometimes quote from her own experience in the City of Ladies, for example when she attacks the misogynist claim that women are prone to gluttony or avarice by stating that she knows plenty of abstemious and generous women whose example disproves these charges (I.10 and II.66 respectively). However, Christine was well aware that the oral testimony of one woman would not be enough to outweigh the written testimony of countless male authors. The only way that she could offer a persuasive defense of her sex was by showing that selective quotation was a game that two could play. Christine therefore plunders the misogynists’ favourite scriptural and classical authorities in order to come up with a mass of examples that support her thesis (i.e., that neither virtue nor vice is the prerogative of one sex to the exclusion of the other) against theirs [Christine de Pizan, Book of the City of the Ladies, translated by Rosalind Brown-Grant (New York: Penguin, 1999), 572 (Kindle edition)].

In other words, Christine de Pizan had developed such a mastery of the theological, scientific, and literary tradition that she was able to draw on authoritative sources to support her perspectives, an ability we have been working toward this year. Now, it is time for you to demonstrate how well you can recognize her use of sources not just in the content but in the form of her presentation. Come to class prepared to discuss three instances where she has drawn on sources familiar to you either in the discussion of a particular concept, the depiction of a figure, or the way she organizes and presents her arguments. Be sure to have the citations for your sources at hand and bring the texts themselves to class for further consultation.

Rubric for Colloquium

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Quiz

Quiz 30 (Spring 2020)

Details

Date:: April 24, 2020
Time:: 1:00 pm - 1:50 pm
Event Category:: Colloquia

Venue

: Online