02290 - History of Modern Art

Learning outcomes

The course proposes to form for the students an adequate knowledge of the base of the principle facts and crucial questions of art overall Italian from the 15th century to the end of the 18th century. In particular the ability to recognize essential technical methods that would allow the student to understand the work of art from the point of view of the style and the form, the iconography, technique and to comprehend the connections to the historical, social and cultural timeframe in which they were produced. At the end of the course the student should be familiar with the characteristic themes and particularities along with the ambitions of the artists of these centuries. The student should also recognize and be able to comment on the works of the most representative artists and movements.

Course contents

The objective of the course is to provide the student with adequate critical tools for the study and interpretation of works of art with a historical contextual approach. To this end, to avoid dispersion, the course will focus on the Sixteenth century. The San Pietro Basilica and the complex art-historical events related to the Basilica for over more than a century will be examined, as a proof of how the realization of an architectural project and the stylistic results were conditioned by articulated political, historical and cultural events. This will be followed by the attention on Raphael's frescoes of the Stanza della Segnatura and the vault of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Particular attention will be given to Mannerism, an expression of the restlessness that saw artists rebel against the canons established by the Renaissance; among the works considered will be the frescoes of Palazzo Poggi, in today's Via Zamboni, where a guided tour will be conducted.To attest to the modernity of the message conveyed by Mannerism, Pier Paolo Pasolini's feature film La Ricotta, which cites two cornerstones of Sixteenth century art, Pontormo's Deposition and Rosso Fiorentino's Deposition, will be examined. This will be followed by attention to the Counter-Reformation and the artists who sought to conform to the dictates of the Council of Trent. Finally, the cycle of frescoes with the stories of Medea and Heson in Palazzo Fava, painted by the Carracci in 1583, will be analyzed, attesting that there were subversive currents that sought to oppose a different worldview to the rigid Tridentine canons.

The first half hour of every lesson beginning the week will be devoted to the discussion of articles from the Sunday edition of Il Sole 24 Ore and Il Giornale dell'Arte, which all students are required to purchase, indeed on a voluntary basis, each student, is invited to present an article of these newspapers in the classroom. This is to provide an awareness that the study of the past makes sense only in function of attention to the art-historical and, in a broader sense, cultural, social and political events happening in the present.

This program is reserved exclusively for students who attend lessons, because notes taken in the classroom and educational material, provided 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

A. Pinelli, La Storia dell’Arte. Istruzioni per l’uso, Bari, Giuseppe Laterza & figli, 2009.

A. Pinelli, La bella Maniera. Artisti del Cinquecento tra regola e licenza, Torino, Einaudi, 2003 (I ed.1993).

 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 plan to attend lessons

A. Pinelli, La Storia dell’Arte. Istruzioni per l’uso, Bari, Giuseppe Laterza & figli, 2009.

A. Pinelli, La bella Maniera. Artisti del Cinquecento tra regola e licenza, Torino, Einaudi, 2003 (prima edizione 1993)

M. Firpo-F. Biferali, Immagini ed eresie nell’Italia del Cinquecento, Bari, Editori Laterza, 2016, capitoli I, II, IV, V e VII.

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

Lessons with projections and analyses of images

Assessment methods

EXAMS WILL BE ONLY IN ITALIAN.

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.

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.

Teaching tools

projector

Office hours

See the website of Alessandra Anselmi