C9278 - LETTERATURA ARTISTICA E TECHNICAL ART HISTORY

Learning outcomes

The overall objective of the course is to understand how, within a spatial and temporal framework, language contributes to constructing, transmitting, and preserving the technical and visual knowledge of art. To this end, the course aims to analyze a selection of key texts from art literature (ekphrases, ancient and contemporary hypotyposes), complemented by critical readings and documents related to Technical Art History (workshop manuals, descriptions of materials and techniques, restoration reports, letters, and historical and contemporary diagnostic analyses). By the end of the course, students will be able to address various topics concerning the verbal description of a painting, as well as the transmission of technical knowledge and the dialogue between text, image, and material.

Course contents

The course examines the development of art literature in Venice from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century through the study of key sources and critical writings on Venetian art. Particular attention will be devoted to different forms of writing on art—including description, dialogue, biography, historiography, and criticism—and to their role in shaping the identity and canon of the Venetian school. Sources will also be considered as essential tools for reconstructing the material history of artworks and understanding the development of artistic techniques in Venice, including methods of execution, materials, and workshop practices.

Readings/Bibliography

Required Readings

The Formation of Art Criticism in Sixteenth-Century Venice:

1. Marcantonio Michiel

• Hochmann, Michel, “Marcantonio Michiel e la nascita della critica veneziana”, in Mauro Lucco (a cura di), La pittura nel Veneto. Il Cinquecento, vol. III, Milano, Electa, 1999, pp. 1181–1202.
• Lauber, Rosella, “‘Opera perfettissima’: Marcantonio Michiel e la Notizia d’opere di disegno”, in Bernard Aikema, Rosella Lauber, Max Seidel (a cura di), Il collezionismo a Venezia e nel Veneto ai tempi della Serenissima, Venezia, Marsilio, 2005, pp. 77–116.

2. Paolo Pino and Lodovico Dolce

• Pardo, Mary, “Testo e contesti del Dialogo di pittura di Paolo Pino”, in Angelo Mazza (a cura di), Paolo Pino teorico d’arte e artista. Il restauro della pala di Scorzè, Scorzè, 1992, pp. 33–49.
• Sciolla, Gianni Carlo, “Grazia, prestezza, terribilità: definizione e ricezione della pittura in Paolo Pino e Lodovico Dolce”, Arte Documento, XIV, 2000, pp. 92–95.
• Caputo, Vincenzo, “‘Ragionando di pittura’ tra artisti e letterati: Pino, Vasari, Dolce e Gilio”, Quaderni d’Italianistica, XXXI, 1, 2010, pp. 43–60.
• Sgarbi, Marco, “Ludovico Dolce e la nascita della critica d’arte. Un momento della ricezione della poetica aristotelica nel Rinascimento”, Rivista di estetica, 59, 2015, pp. 163–182.

Elective Readings

Students are required to choose one of the following three areas of further study.

1. Francesco Sansovino: Art Literature and the Description of the City

• Grosso, Marsel, «Scultore in parole». Francesco Sansovino e la nascita della critica d’arte a Venezia, Milano, Officina Libraria, 2022.

2. Carlo Ridolfi and Marco Boschini: Art Historiography, Criticism, and Venetian Artistic Identity in the Seventeenth Century

• Sohm, Philip, “La critica d’arte del Seicento: Carlo Ridolfi e Marco Boschini”, in Mauro Lucco (a cura di), La pittura nel Veneto. Il Seicento, vol. II, Milano, Electa, 2001, pp. 725–756.
• Puppi, Lionello, “La fortuna delle Vite nel Veneto dal Ridolfi al Temanza”, in Il Vasari storiografo e artista. Atti del Congresso internazionale nel IV centenario della morte, Firenze, Istituto Nazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento, 1976, pp. 405–437.
• Aikema, Bernard – Lauber, Rosella (a cura di), Marco Boschini: l’epopea della pittura veneziana nell’Europa barocca, atti del convegno di studi (Verona, Università degli Studi, 19–20 febbraio 2009), Treviso, Zel Edizioni, 2014.

3. Anton Maria Zanetti: Art Criticism and the Historiography of Venetian Painting in the Eighteenth Century

• Delorenzi, Paolo – Pastres, Paolo – Piva, Chiara (a cura di), Anton Maria Zanetti di Alessandro. Storia, contesti e fortuna della Pittura veneziana (1771), Lugano, Agorà & Co., 2023.

Teaching methods

Lessons including critical readings of text passages and projected images, possible study visits.

Attending lectures is highly recommended.

Who cannot attend classes could consult the readings in the bibliography and didactic material uploaded on the platform "Virtuale".

Assessment methods

The final exam consists of an oral test. Discussion of textbook (the history of art from late Fifteenth to early Nineteenth century); one text chosen by the student among the optional essays, and the bibliography relating to the monographical part.

In particular:

1. Those students who show developed analytical skills of selected readings and their correct contextualization within a complete vision of the issues discussed during lectures will be given a mark of excellence. Mastering of field-specific language and good expression during the examination will also be required (A =28-30 con lode).

2. Those students who show mnemonic knowledge of the subject and a superficial analysis of selected readings, as well as a correct but not always appropriate mastering of the field-specific language will be given a satisfactory mark (B = 25-27 and C = 23-24).

3. Those students who will show vague knowledge and superficial understanding of selected readings, limited analytical skills and a not always appropriate expression will be given a ‘pass’ mark roughly (D = 18-22).

4. Those students who show gaps in their knowledge and lack of familiarity with selected readings will not be given a ‘pass’ mark (E).

The assessment procedure is the same for students who attend or do not attend lectures.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Teaching tools

Text passages provided to attending students, power point presentations.

Office hours

See the website of Giacomo Alberto Calogero