00956 - History of Art Criticism

Course contents

The course aims to present the fundamental aspects of art historiography and art criticism from the 14th to the 20th century with a focus on Italian events and the contextualisation of the different methodological approaches related to the analysis of works of art. Knowledge of the main figures that characterised modern historiography and the methodology of 20th century criticism will be provided. Through the selection of significant examples, the contributions made by the development of European art criticism to an art historical and social understanding of styles will be analysed. Some questions of critical vocabulary will be dealt with, highlighting their development and variations in meaning.

The seminar part of the course is dedicated to an in-depth examination of transversal topics such as, for instance, the role of Italian art in the development of art criticism in Europe or the evolution of the critical attention given to the public and the notion of taste.

In the academic year 2023-2024, special attention will be paid to the development of the idea of art originality in historiography.

 

Readings/Bibliography

Basic knowledge

Students enrolling in this course should preferably have previous basic knowledge in the field of visual arts; otherwise, they are kindly requested to acquire support knowledge of the main artistic styles of the 15^th and 16^th centuries. This can be done by carefully reading one of the main textbooks about history of art used in Italian high schools.

Readings/Bibliography

For the final exam students are required to read all texts from Section I, plus 1 text of Section II; or other bibliographical material agreed with the Lecturer for students who actively participate in the seminar part with the presentation of a specific topic.
Students NOT attending and not actively participating in the seminar must complete their preparation with a text of section III.
Students who do not attend the course could complete their preparation with the reading of one text from Section III.

Section I

Orietta Rossi Pinelli (a cura di), La storia delle storie dell'Arte, Torino, Einaudi, 2014.

G. C. Sciolla, La critica d'arte del Novecento, Torino, Utet, 1995.

Section II

B. Agosti, Giorgio Vasari Luoghi e tempi delle Vite, Milano, Officina libraria, 2021.

A. d'Alleva, Méthodes et théories de l'histoire de l'art, Paris, Thalia, 2005.

G. Bazin, Histoire de l'Histoire de l'art: de Vasari à nos jours, Paris, Albin Michel, 1986.

C. Cieri Via, Nei dettagli nascosto. Per una storia del pensiero iconologico, Roma, Carocci, 2009.

L. Grassi, Teorici e storia della critica d’arte, Roma, 1970.

George Kubler, La forma del tempo, la storia dell'arte e la storia delle cose, Torino, Einaudi, 1976 [The Shape of Time, 1972].

F. Haskell, Le metamorfosi del gusto. Studi su arte e pubblico nel XVIII e XIX secolo, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1989.

A. Masi (ed.), L'occhio del critico. Storia dell'arte in Italia tra Otto e Navecento, Firenze, Vallecchi, 2009.

G. Patrizi, Lettura ed interpretazione dell'arte italiana in Storia dell'arte italiana, Torino, Einaudi, 1981, III, pp. 199-276.

G. Perini Folesani, Sandra Costa (eds.), Roger de Piles. Dialogo sul colorito, Firenze, Olschki, 2016.

C. L. Ragghianti, Profilo della critica d'arte in Italia, Firenze, UIA, 1990 [1 ed. 1948].

L. Russo (a cura di), Storia di una idea estetica, Palermo, Aesthetica, 2000.

L. Russo (a cura di), Storia di una idea estetica, Palermo, Aesthetica, 2000.

H. Zerner, Écrire l'Histoire de l'Art. Figures d'une discipline, Paris, Gallimard, 1997.

V. L. Zolberg, Sociologia dell'arte, Bologna, il Mulino, 1994 [Constructing a Sociology of the Arts, 1990].

“L'histoire de l'histoire de l'Art”, Revue de l'Art, n. 146, 2004.

“L'histoire de l'histoire de l'Art”, Revue de l'Art, n. 146, 2004.

Section III

M. Nezzo, G. Tommasella, Dire l’arte: percorsi critici dall’antichità al primo Novecento, Padova, Il Poligrafo, 2020.

J. von Schlosser, La letteratura artistica: manuale delle fonti della storia dell'arte moderna; revised edition by Otto Kurz, Firenze, La nuova Italia, 1996 [Die Kunstliteratur. Ein Handbuch zur Quellenkunde der neueren Kunstgeschichte, 1924].

Teaching methods

The course aims to provide students with a complete overview of history art criticism methods and with an historical and methodological knowledge of theoretical aspects of artworks analysis. By the end of the course, students will have a good knowledge of critical studies tradition from XV to XX Century. They will have basic methodological skills to analyse an artwork from a formal, iconographic, and technical point of view. Moreover, they will be able to understand the relations between artworks and their historical, social, and cultural background, linking creation and reception of the artworks themselves.

Assessment methods

• Assessment for this course is by oral exam, testing the effective acquisition of required knowledge. The oral exam aims to assess critical abilities gained by students during the course. They will have to demonstrate an appropriate knowledge of selected readings and of issues discussed during the course.
• alternatively the verification of the learning takes place through the presentation of a topic agreed with the teacher for the seminar part completed by an oral examination to verify the real knowledge to the institutional part.

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.

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.

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.

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

Teaching tools

Frontal lectures, workshop, with PowerPoint projections and videos.

Office hours

See the website of Sandra Costa