B5142 - Art History in the Modern Age (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will have mastered the methodologies of investigation and interdisciplinary critical tools necessary for analysing the relationships between art, politics and power through the study and interpretation of works of art with a historical contextual approach. They will be able to familiarise themselves with the main problems and lines of research in art from the 16th to the 18th century and to recognise, classify and analyse the works of the most representative artists of the various movements. Students will be able to recognise the relevance of the historical-artistic heritage and will be able to communicate in oral form using specific terminology. They will be able to describe and illustrate cultural encounters through specific cases and to understand multicultural contexts by appreciating the products of material and artistic culture. They will be able to recognise the relationships between different disciplines and to identify the specific contribution that the historical sciences can make in different contexts. They will be able to update their knowledge and research methods through opportunities for comparison and learning according to their abilities and inclinations, through the tools developed by the scientific community, using multimedia resources and autonomously consulting historiographical texts in original languages other than Italian.

Course contents

Since iconographic and iconological analysis, i.e. the study of the meaning of a work of art, requires an interdisciplinary approach and in-depth analysis, in the 30 hours available, we will focus on a cycle of frescoes of particular interest, namely the “Storie di Medea e Giasone” (Stories of Medea and Jason) in Palazzo Fava in Bologna, painted by the Carracci –the brothers Annibale and Agostino and their cousin Ludovico– in 1584 Indeed, dwelling on a single cycle of frescoes helps to be able to delve into the different tools that enable one to carry out a contextual iconological analysis

After an introductory analysis of the Carracci and their importance in the field of Modern Art History, contributing to the transition of Mannerism to pave the way for the Baroque, we will examine the frescoes, that tell us of Jason’ s recovery –with the help of the Sorceress Medea  – of the Golden Fleece and illustrates a famous  episode of magic, the rejuvenation of Esone, performed by Medea herself. The sources used to trace the story of the cycle will be mainly Apollonio Rodio’ s “Argonautiche”, Ovidio’s “Metamorfosi” and Malvasia, Felsina pittrice. It will then contextualize the fresco in the era in which it was created, namely the Bologna of the second half of the 16th century. In particular, two interpretative hypotheses will be compared: that of Luigi Spezzaferro, who considers the frescoes as a subversive response to the climate of the Counter-Reformation, in connection with the more advanced currents of thought of the Bolognese Studio (former name of the current Alma Mater Studiorum-University of Bologna), dwelling attention also to the political dynamics that characterized the city at the time. In Spezzaferro's interpretation, the fresco of the “Notte degli incantesimi” (Night of the spells), where Medea performs her magical rituals, acquires special emphasis. Sonia Cavicchioli, instead, on the basis of contemporary sources, particularly the “Metamorfosi”, translated into vernacular by Giovanni Andrea dell'Anguillara, with commentary by Giuseppe Orologi, sees in the cycle a predominantly moralistic meaning. The two interpretations will be explained, analyzed and compared, and then discussed in the classroom.

Students will be asked to participate in the course on a voluntary basis by creating a PowerPoint presentation relevant to the topics covered, which will be graded 1-3 points and will be added to the exam grade.

This program is reserved exclusively for students who attend lessons because notes taken in the classroom and educational material provided case-by-case by the professor will constitute, beyond the bibliography provided below, a fundamental part of the course that will be evaluated during the final exam. Students who do not plan to attend lessons should refer to the dedicated bibliography below.

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography for students who  attend lessons

Apollino Rodio, Le Argonautiche, ed. consigliata BUR

Ovidio, Metamorfosi, libro VII, vv. 1-429, ed. consigliata Ovidio, Metamorfosi, a cura di E. J. Kenney, Borgaro Torinese (TO), Fondazione Lorenzo Valla/Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, vol. IV, 2011, pp. 9-41.

L. Spezzaferro, I Carracci e i Fava: alcune ipotesi, in Bologna 1584. Gli esordi dei Carracci e gli affreschi di Palazzo Fava, catalogo della mostra, Bologna 13 dicembre -16 dicembre 1984, Bologna, Nuova Alfa, 1984, pp. 275-291.

S. Cavicchioli, Le historiae affrescate dai Carracci in Palazzo Fava a Bologna, “seconda Roma” (1583-1593), in Frises peintes. Les décors des villas et palais au Cinquecento, Parigi, Somogy éditions d’art, pp. 233-254

 As a reference manual, students may consult S. Settis-T. Montanari, Arte. Una storia naturale e civile, 5 vols., Milan, Mondadori, 2019, vol. III.

  Bibliography for students who do not attend lessons

T. De Nile, Fantasmagorie, streghe, demoni e tentazioni nell'arte fiamminga e olandese del Seicento, Roma, Officina libraria, 2023.

La Casa di Ulisse. Pellegrino Tibaldi nell’Accademia delle Scienze, a cura di W. Tega, Bologna, Edizioni Pendragon, 2021.

As a reference manual, students may consult S. Settis-T. Montanari, Arte. Una storia naturale e civile, 5 vols., Milan, Mondadori, 2019, vol. III.

 

Teaching methods

Explanations with projections and image analysis. Research in databases under the guidance of the professor.

 

Assessment methods

EXAMS WILL BE ONLY IN ITALIAN.

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

Students who follow the course can choose, only for the first two convocations, between a written proof (24 questions at multiple choice and three open questions) or an oral proof. Since third convocation the exam will be only oral. Students who do not follow the course have to pass an oral examination, they do not have the possibility to partecipate to the written proof partially based on the content of the course.

Grades are assigned in relation to a total of thirty points, with a laude for outstanding performance. The minimum passing grade is 18/30. Examinations will serve to verify the student’s level of preparation and critical skills in relation to the classroom lessons and assigned readings.

The exam consists of a written proof (only for the first two convocations, in January an February) or an oral proof finalized to value critics and methodological skills matured by the student.

Students following the course have to do an individual work that the student has to present, in seminar form, during the last lessons: to any student will be assigned a source (documentary, iconographic, literary, historiography) to be analyzed with the metodologica tools given at lesson.

In the evaluation of the proof it will take into account, particularly, the student's capacity to orient himself with sources and bibliography given for the exam, so as to be able to acquire the useful knowledge, which allows him to illustrate themes and problems and to be able to connect them.

Therefore, it will be valued: Knowledge of contents. Ability in synthesizing and analyzing themes and concepts. Ability to exprime himself adequately and with a language appropriate to the subject matter.

The achievement by the student of an organic vision of themes treated at lesson jointly to their critical utilization, a good mastery of expression and specific language will be valued with a vote of excellence.

A mnemonic knowledge of the subject of study, with an ability of synthesis and analysis expressed in a correct language, but not always appropriate, will lead to a discrete evaluation.

Training gaps and/or inappropriateness - even in a contest of minimal knowledge of exam material - will lead to a vote which will not be superior to sufficient.

Training gaps, inappropriate language, lack of orientation with bibliography given during the course will lead to a negative evaluation.

Students enrolled in the course as part of an Integrated Course (I.C.) must pass the examination of both parts on the same day (the final grade will be the arithmetic average of the marks obtained in the two parts).

Exams convocations will be six: the first one in January, than in February, March, June, July and September. The precise day will be comunicate as soon as classrooms will be assigned.

Students with disabilities and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students with learning disorders and/or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Projector. Didactic materials, like power point presented during the class, will be put in virtual resources.

Office hours

See the website of Alessandra Anselmi