Andy Goldsworthy: The Nature of Nature
Ann Kenny
Subject: Multimedia
10,000 words
Andy Goldsworthy's place in modern art, specifically Earth Art, is examined. The issues arising from this classification of his work are then explored. The artist's working methods are examined, with particular emphasis on the importance of physical contact in his work. The importance of time, change, history and tradition in his work are assessed. Previous critical appraisals of his work are investigated. The author includes a transcript of an interview she conducted with the artist.
Sculpture in the Piazza della Signoria: Politics and Power in Renaissance Florence
Sorcha Keogh
Subject: Sculpture
10,000 words
This thesis examines sculpture in the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. In particular, works such as Donatello’s ‘Judith and Holofernes’, Michelangelo’s ‘David’, Bandinelli’s ‘Hercules and Cacus’ and Celllini’s ‘Perseus with the Head of Medusa’ will be discussed. A study of these sculptures is a description of the history of fluctuations in power and patronage in a specific period in the history of Florence. In particular, this dissertation will examine who was in power, what artists were in favour and how each ruler expressed their status. The subject matter of each statue also conveys a particular political message and in a broader sense the prevailing political mood of the day. The four sculptures were the result of the desire to express power and wealth in a time of great political turmoil.
The Development of Lord Edward Street
Mary Margaret Keogh
Subject: Architecture / Urban Planning
10,000 words
This dissertation is a survey of the development of Lord Edward Street, in Dublin city, as it was established in the late nineteenth century, a street that joined the fashionable eastern area of the city with the more isolated western and southwestern parts. The first chapter documents the eighteenth and nineteenth century planning in relation to the area adjoining Dublin Castle. The second chapter charts the previous attepts to improve the roads around Dublin Castle, all of which were unsuccessful. The primary source for these records was the Irish Builders journal. The final chapter deals with the nineteenth century developments in the region of the castle, and the author finishes by writing that the development is constant and therefore a conclusion is difficult.
Daniel Robertson : His career and work in Ireland
Nicola Mary Keogh
Subject: Architecture
10,000 words
Daniel Robertson, architect, came to Ireland (Wexford) in 1829 to exploit his father-in-law’s connections. His architectural career in Ireland flourished for a span of just over ten years. In this period he built a vast number of houses mainly in counties Wexford and Carlow. He built up a very large practise despite much competition. This study looks at the works which best illustrate the changes that his work underwent during this period.
A Collection's Life- Understanding the Agency of Preventive Conservation
Enid Nori Kerenyi
Subject: Painting
10,000 words
This dissertation's topic was inspired by the 120th anniversary of the inaugural exhibitions of J. M.W. Turner watercolour paintings bequeathed by Henry Vaughan to the National Galleries of Ireland and Scotland.
Exploring the Image of Medusa
Jennifer Kerrisk
Subject: Painting, Sculpture, Mosaic and Pastel
10,000 words
This study sets out to analyse the image of Medusa within different time periods and explore the twentieth century psycho-analysis and feminist thought provoking around her image. The focus of this research is in the area of the two-dimensional image in painting and print. Such a study is important in order to document the development of painting through one single image from the fifth century BC, to the present day. This thesis records the changes which this image has undergone. The findings from this research show an obvious progression in the field of painting, but also an Ovidian metamorphisis with the image itself.
Just What is it that Makes Today’s Advertisements so Different, so Appealing
Leah Keves
Subject: Painting
10,000 words
This dissertation assesses the influence that the history of art has had on the area of advertsing. The study examines the way in which traditional works of art have been reused in advertisements in print form, asks how and why this has happened, and discusses the effects this has had on both the field of advertising and art history. The brand Absolut Vodka is taken as a case study of a form of advertising which continuously associates a product with the arts, for the aim of creating a particular type of brand image. The work of Andy Warhol and its links to commerical art is considered along with the influence of advertising on Pop Art. Throughout the dissertation, particular examples of the application of fine art to advertising, are discussed and illustrated.
The Cult of the Carracci: Bolognese Altarpieces. An analysis of the extent to which the early altarpieces of Annibale, Agostino and Ludovico Carracci coformed to counter-reformation decrees.
Sandra Kileen
Subject: Painting
10,000 words
This study investigates whether and to what extent the art of the Carracci conformed to counter reformation decrees. Biographical introductions to each member of the Carracci and a short guide to the condition of art in Bologna prefaces the topic of the Academia degli Incamminati. Whether it actually existed and its possible effects on the Carracci altarpieces is explored. Similarly, the impact on the Carracci of specific decrees of the Council of Trent and the literature it inspired is examined.
Plans, Plana and Pendulo: A Proto-History of Architectural Drawing in Richard of St Victor’s De Ezechielis
Karl Kinsella
Subject: Architecture and Manuscripts
10,000 words
Few writers have attempted to trace the origins of architectural drawing before the appearance of Villard de Honnecourt’s Portfolio. This paper traces earlier forms of architectural drawing to the last quarter of the 12th century. Richard of St Victor’s exegetical text, with its highly detailed and well organised plans and elevations provides an opportunity to examine this proto-history of architectural drawing. The manuscript indirectly testifies to the existence of relatively sophisticated drawing sixty years before Villard’s work. Formalist analysis will be carried out to contextualise Richard’s work with earlier and subsequent representations of plans and elevations. The exegetical text will also be examined. This results in a prologue to many surveys of architectural drawings which begin in the early 13th century.
International Tendencies in the Work of Michael Scott, with Particular Reference to his Social Housing Schemes in Dublin City Centre
Iseult Kirwan
Subject: Architecture
10,000 words
This dissertation examines the international tendencies in the designs of Michael Scott and his firm. The author argues that while Scott’s contribution to the dissemination of the International Style in Irish architecture is well documented, his use of the modern style in social housing schemes is largely unwritten. The primary research for this project includes the close examination of archival material, such as original drawings, contemporary journals and records, as well as a close examination of the buildings themselves. The two schemes studied are those on Charlemont St. and on Bridgefoot St., produced 1933 - 59. The author explores the sources for these designs, and the extent to which Scott adapted these sources to suit the context in which they were used. The final section is concerned with conservation of these buildings. Incl. interview with S. Rothery.
Fairy Queens and Princesses. The depiction and interpretation of fairy themes and female fairy characters, in painting and children’s book illustration, from the mid to late nineteenth century.
Emily-Jane Kirwan
Subject: Painting
10,000 words
“How the work of fantasy art represented by the genres of fairy painting and fairy illustration in children’s literature, reflected realist ideologies and the interests of the 19th century audience to which they were directed” is considered here. The patriarchal ideas regarding women’s place in society which were integrated into these representations; the prevalence of the female nude in fairy painting; literary and folkloric sources; and the concept of fairy painting as ‘fantasy’, are discussed.
St. Mary’s Cathedral, Killarney, Co. Kerry. Augustus Welby Pugin & others.
Seán Kissane
Subject: Architecture, Sculpture and Furniture design
10,000 words
“This work is intended as a monograph of Killarney cathedral, its building history, a stylistic analysis, its fittings and the people who made them. Certain side issues will also be mentioned, the socio-political background being particularly relevant.”
Holbein’s Dance of Death
Emma Klyne
Subject: Prints, Engravings and Woodcuts
10,000 words
This thesis examines the designs for forty-one woodcut engravings which were entitled ‘The Dance of Death’ or Danse Macabre which were done during the years 1524-26. The interest in death as a subject and treated in an allegorical manner shows the preoccupation with mortality in the fifteenth century. The origins of The ‘Dance of Death’ or Danse Macabre postulated to be from illustrated sermons, The popularity of the Dance of Death lasted through the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Holbein’s ‘Dance of Death, like many earlier depictions of this theme, not only shows a method through which repentence could be taught, but also the anxieties towards death and religion which affected people during this period. This subject provided an unparelleled opportunity for the broader contemplation of mortality.
Powerscourt Town House : An Architectural and decorative history
Maeve Kneafsey
Subject: Architecture, applied arts
10,000 words
This provides a history of the architectural and decorative history of Powerscourt Town House, South William Street, Dublin. The architectural and decorative changes are discussed; from the original designs of Robert Mack in 1771, and the exterior ploasterwork by J. McCullagh and Michael Stapleton of 1773; the additional three buildings, built from the designs of Francis Johnston in 1807, when the house was bought , by the Government, as a stamp office.
Painting Conservation: A Remedy for Art History?
Weronica Kocurikeiewicz
Subject: Painting and Mixed Media
10,000 words
Over the past fifty years, art conservation has significantly improved in theory, techniques, technology, as well as in the overall approach to the artefact. However, painting conservation remains the most controversial and problematic field in art historical atudy. The most contentious examples include the cleaning of the Sistine Chapel from 1980 to 1994, the controversy in 1947 over the ‘Cleaned Pictures’ exhibition at the National Gallery, London, and the case of the cleaning of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Virgin and Child with St Anne in 2010 which resulted in the resignation of two highly esteemed figures of the project committee.
The Domestic Cat in Insular Art and Continental European Manuscripts of the Medieval Period
Ciara Marianna Kummert
Subject: Manuscripts, Sculpture
10,000 words
The purpose of this dissertation is to identify the appearance of he domestic cat in insular art and continental European medieval mansuscripts. I aim to explore how and if the representation of the domestic cat differed in insular and continental European art of the medieval period and will focus on its representation in manuscripts.
Japonisme: The Ripple Effect
Roisin Lacey-McCormac
Subject: Painting and Prints
10,000 words
The purpose of this thesis is to develop the study of Japonisme beyond its current parameters, which is primarily focused on the initial phase of Japonisme throughout the mid 1850’s to the early 1880’s. In order to demonstrate the broader and more enduring implications of Japonisme amongst the second and third generation of Modernist painters, this study will identify stylistic and compositional parallels between Japanese woodblock prints and French painting from the late 1880’s onwards. There will be an analysis of the significance of these parallels in the context of the development of Modernist painting.
The Influence of Classical Antiquity on Four Contemporary Irish Artists. John Kindness, Felim Egan, Patrick Hall and Sharon O’Malley
Keavy Lalor
Subject: Painting, Sculpture and Drawing
10,000 words
This dissertation considers classical art and contemporary art together. It considers the influence of classical art and the ‘Antique’ with its mythology on the art of four particular Irish artists. All four have chosen to use classical myths to varying degrees in their work, in very contemporary ways. In looking at these works the paper aims to critically assess the content of each myth and the basic intentions which animate it.
To What Extent has Nietzsche’s Philosophy Influenced Edward Munch and in Particular the Scream?
Alexandra Langley-Evans
Subject: Painting and Prints
10,000 words
This thesis deals with Edvard Munch because he is the founder of what came to be Avant Garde art. This pushed the boundaries of the art world’s capabilities. He approaches subjects in a totally unique manner and his expressionist and highly emotionally charged style has a strong appeal. Nietzsche’s philosophical writings and the extent to which he influenced Munch throughout his artistic career has been examined. In particular, Munch’s seminal work ‘The Scream’ which is one of his soul paintings will be analysed in terms of its relevance to madness, the social outsider and victim in society. An attempt will be made to assess the nature of the influence that Nietzsche had on Munch and how this was expressed both directly and indirectly.
Art as a Spiritual Force'
John Michael Lappin
Subject: Painting
10,000 words
This dissertation, through a careful study of the life and works of Mainie Jellett aims to comprehend the idea of the spiritual force in art.
The Sublime and the Art of Transcendence
Alison Larkin
Subject: Digital media and Installation art
10,000 words
This dissertation examines the relationship between art and society. In particular it deals with the importance of the sublime as interpreted through the art of transcendence. The sublime is thus a highly complex but significant art historical theory which demands deep consideration. Sublime and the art of transcendence are discussed in this thesis under the following sections: Longinus and the genius of the artist, Burke and the senses, Nature and the Divine, the Divine and Apocalyptic, the Romantic era and Gender and Power.
The Influence of Late Medieval and Early Renaissance Florentine Social Customs on Two Types of Chests Involved in the Marriage Ritual
Roisin Lauder
Subject: Painting, Wood and Ivory
10,000 words
This thesis examines the ritual of marriage in late medieval and early Renaissance Florence which was a long and complex one. It involved the exchange of many different material objects and gifts throughout the process. The chests which carried these objects and gifts became an integral part of the marriage ritual. The aim of this dissertation is to discuss two or these chest types involved in the ritual: ‘cassoni’ and ‘forzerini’ and to discover in what ways Florentine social customs regarding marriage influenced them. The discussion in this dissertation will focus mainly on the surviving evidence from the marriages of the upper classes of Florentine society, due to the lack of much physical evidence surviving from that of the lower classes of Florence.
St. Nicholas of Myra and its Two Architects. An Historical and Architectural Survey
Mildred Lawler
Subject: Architecture
10,000 words
This dissertation aims to consider the Church of St. Nicholas of Myra, Francis Street, and its two architects - John Leeson, who was responsible for the main structure of the church, and Patrick Byrne, who is credited with the erection of the present portico, bell-tower and cupola. The church was erected between 1829 and 1834 and was one of a series of churches built after the passing of the Act of Catholic Emancipation in 1829. The history of the site since the 13th century is included.
James Cavanagh Murphy
Catherine Alice Lawless
Subject: Architecture
10,000 words
This dissertation studies the life and career of James Cavanagh Murphy, architect (1760-1814). He has been “an ignored or misunderstood figure of the Gothic revival.” An attempt is made to analyse and evaluate his work. “Murphy’s work typifies the difficulty experienced by even the most ardent Gothic enthusiasts in judging Gothic as a style on its own merits, independent of the classsical tradition. Despite this difficulty, Murphy obtains a clear perception of Gothic form and its independence.”