90651 - Early Modern Art

Anno Accademico 2019/2020

  • Docente: Sonia Cavicchioli
  • Crediti formativi: 6
  • SSD: L-ART/02
  • Lingua di insegnamento: Inglese
  • Modalità didattica: Convenzionale - Lezioni in presenza
  • Campus: Bologna
  • Corso: Laurea Magistrale in Arti visive (cod. 9071)

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

Students acquire a deep knowledge of the outlines and crucial questions of Italian art from the 15th century to the 18th century. They become familiar with the characteristic themes along with the ambitions of the artists of these centuries. They are also able to approach the works of art through their technique, style, and iconography, comprehending their connections to the historical, social and cultural context in which they were produced. In particular, they recognize and are able to comment the works of the most representative artists and movements.

Contenuti

The course will consist in lectures and visits, and it will be divided in two sections. The first (I) will provide an overview of Italian history of art from the end of the Fifteenth (High Renaissance) to the beginning of the Nineteenth century. It will focus on artists, movements and essential topics, particularly seen from the point of view of the revival of antiquity; and at the same time will aim to provide the students with the tools for understanding and analysing the works of art, studying them in relation to their historical and cultural context, and in their style, iconography and technique. The second section (II) will deal with the reception of a classical masterpiece, the latin poem Aeneid by Virgil, during the Sixteenth century culture and art in Bologna.

Schedule of lessons

(I)

  1. Drawing from Nature, drawing from the Antique. An introduction to Renaissance Art
  2. Leonardo in Florence and Milan
  3. The sculpture of Michelangelo
  4. Raphael and the High Renaissance in Rome
  5. A great patron of the arts: Agostino Chigi
  6. The poetry of light and colour. Titian and Venice
  7. “Maniera”. From the Sistine Chapel to Mannerism
  8. Round 1600. Annibale Carracci between nature and ideal
  9. The nature of Caravaggio
  10. “Ecclesia triumphans”. Urban and architectural projects in Seventeenth-Century Rome
  11. The works of Gian Lorenzo Bernini
  12. Baroque painting from Rubens to Pietro da Cortona. The search for special effects
  13. The neoclassical revolution. Winckelmann, antiquity as the future

(II)

14. 15. Virgil’s Aeneid in Bologna: urban plans and interior decoration in the sixteenth century

Testi/Bibliografia

(I)

Students must carefully read and study class notes and pages from Stephen J. Campbell e Michael W. Cole, Italian Renaissance Art, second edition, 2 volumes, New York, Thames & Hudson, 2017 (or previous edition, 2012) or Penelope J.E. Davies, Prima Fox Hofrichter, Joseph F. Jacobs et al., Janson's History of Art: The Western Tradition, 2 volumes, London, Pearson, 2010/2011 and R. Wittkower, Art and architecture in Italy 1600 to 1750, Middlesex, Penguin Books, 1965 (or recent editions)

(II)

Class notes and R.J. Tuttle, Urban Design Strategies in Renaissance Bologna: Piazza Maggiore, in “Annali di architettura”, 6, 1994, pp. 39-63; I. Lavin, Giambologna’s Neptune at the crossroads, in Past-Present: essais on historicism in art from Donatello to Picasso, Berkeley/California, Berkeely University Press, pp. 63-83

(not attending students will also study E. Langmuir, “Arma virumque…”. Nicolò dell’Abate’s Aeneid gabinetto in Scandiano, in “Journal of the Warburg and Courtalud Institues”, 39, 1976, pp. 151-170)

Metodi didattici

Lectures, visits.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

The exam will be oral and it will aim to assess whether the students have developed the critical skills during the course. Students will be required to demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of the bibliography specified in the syllabus.

1. It will be graded as excellent the performance of those students demonstrating to be able to thoroughly analyse the works of art and the texts, and to put them into an organic view of the topics discussed during the course. The proper use of the specific language during the examination will be also essential.

2. It will be graded as discrete the performance of those students with mostly mnemonic knowledge, no in-depth analysis capabilities and a correct, but not always appropriate, language of the recommended texts.

3. It will be graded as barely sufficient the performance of those students with approximate knowledge, superficial understanding, poor analytical capabilities and a not always appropriate language.

4. It will be graded as insufficient the performance of those students with learning gaps, inappropriate language, no orientation within the recommended bibliography.

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Powerpoint slides.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Sonia Cavicchioli