Artesis Plantijn Hogeschool Antwerpen
Koninklijke Academie van Antwerpen
Theories of art 1900-195034284/3443/2526/1/03
Study guide

Theories of art 1900-1950

34284/3443/2526/1/03
Academic year 2025-26
Is found in:
  • Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts, programme stage 2
  • Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts
This is a single course unit.
Study load: 3 credits
Special admission is required to enrol in this course unit under
  • exam contract (to obtain a credit).
  • exam contract (to obtain a degree).
Co-ordinator: Crombez Thomas (dut,eng)
Languages: Dutch, English
Scheduled for: Semester 1
This course unit is marked out of 20 (rounded to an integer).
Possible deadlines for learning account: 01.12.2025 (1st semester)
Re-sit exam: is possible.
Possibility of deliberation: You have to pass this course unit (will never be deliberated).

Prerequisites

(previously registered for Theories of art before 1500 AND previously registered for Theories of art 1500-1900) OR previously registered for Philosophy in art 1.

Learning outcomes (list)

BA3 - The student knows about and understands the social, cultural, artistic, historical and international context of the visual arts and artistic praxis, and continues to develop this knowledge and understanding.
 The student can orient himself in the history of the philosophy of the first half of the twentieth century (philosophers, concepts, movements).
The student has developed a historical sensitivity to the changing aesthetic ideas in the course of (art) history.
The student has gained insight into the development of Western philosophy during the first half of the 20th century.
The student can link the main (historical) art-philosophical and theoretical positions to important developments in the history of philosophy.
The student can fathom for himself a philosophical tekst and follow a philosophical argument and (re)construct one himself.
The student knows the main (historical) art-philosophical and theoretical positions of the first half of the 20th century.

Course content

Central to Art Theory 1900-1950 is the question of the relationship between philosophy and art. Philosophers in the Western tradition have almost always approached art as an “object” of thought. According to the French thinker Alain Badiou, philosophy has thus repeatedly “philosophised” art, that is, appropriated it and turned it into something philosophical. Whereas the work of art, perhaps by its very nature, i.e. as a common practice of human societies, did not ask for such a new home at all. Philosophy could only embrace art when it carried meaning.
In the twentieth century, this approach increasingly came under pressure. New scientific disciplines approached art from a completely different position: as a practice of human coexistence (anthropology), as a symptom (psychoanalysis) or as text (semiotics).
All these different approaches to art practice from a philosophical and theoretical perspective are discussed in this course, with a particular focus on the first half of the twentieth century.

Study material (text): Mandatory

A selection of philosophical essays by various authors will be made available at the beginning of the course.

Evaluation (list)

Evaluation(s) for first exam chance
MomentForm%Remark
1st examination periodKnowledge and comprehension test during the examination series100,00The total examination time consists of the scheduled time for this test plus ¼ extra examination time for all students. This therefore includes the extra examination time as an individual adjustment.
Evaluation(s) for re-sit exam
MomentForm%Remark
2nd examination periodKnowledge and comprehension test during the examination series100,00The total examination time consists of the scheduled time for this test plus ¼ extra examination time for all students. This therefore includes the extra examination time as an individual adjustment.

Evaluation (text)

There is a written and oral exam.

You are expected to be present during classes. Absences can have a negative impact on your study results.