Course Details in 2025/26 Session

Module Title	LH Inside Out: Interior and Interiority in French Art, Design and Culture 1840-1940
School	Lan, Cult, Art Hist & Music
Department	Art Hist, Cur and Vis Studies
Module Code	10 28862
Module Lead	Dr Francesca Berry
Level	Honours Level
Credits	20
Semester	Semester 1
Pre-requisites
Co-requisites
Restrictions	None
Contact Hours	Lecture-10 hours Seminar-20 hours Guided independent study-170 hours Total: 200 hours
Exclusions
Description	This module analyses the changing uses and meanings of the interior and notions of interiority in French art, design and culture. During the modern period the interior constituted more than a mere backdrop to visual representation. It was the active subject of artistic and other forms of visual and textual culture and increasingly the object of design practice and its attendant representations. Moreover, the interior was considered a metaphor for self, so the issues of subjective and corporeal interiority will be considered at length, as will issues deriving from feminist methodologies. We will consider a range of media, including painting, magazines and the novel; debate the practices of key art and design figures including Edgar Degas, Edouard Vuillard, Henri Matisse, Le Corbusier and Charlotte Perriand and analyse the interiors produced by the Nabis, Cubism and Surrealism. The module considers visual forms in relation to textual forms including artistic and architectural theory, popular psychology, and literary fiction by J.K. Huysmans to show the range of interiors constructed by and for the modern imagination.
Learning Outcomes	By the end of the module students should be able to: Demonstrate a detailed and comprehensive knowledge of the module’s taught content. Describe relationships between relevant artworks and the cultural and social environment of the period covered by the module. Identify and analyse relevant artworks produced during the period covered by the module. Comment on theoretical and other matters embodied in primary or other sources relating to the period covered by the module.
Assessment	28862-01 : 4,000 word Essay : Coursework (100%)
Assessment Methods & Exceptions	1 x 4000-word essay (100%). Reassessment: Re-submission of essay
Other
Reading List