30136 - History of Modern Art (LM)

Course contents

The Exam Modern Art B is composed of two courses: Sculpture in the Early Modern Period (prof. Bacchi) and Comparative History of European Arts in the Modern Age (prof. Graziani). Modern Art B is an integrated exam of 12 CFU (6 CFU+6 CFU) and the verification and evaluation of the preparation follow the procedures laid down for an integrated exam, i.e. they must be taken in the same session and the students must therefore register simultaneously for both exams.

The course aims to investigate some significant moments of European art along four privileged paths: 1) ‘Renaissance Artists between rules and oddities’; 2) ‘Art and Science from the Age of Ulisse Aldrovandi to the Age of Galileo Galilei’; 3) ‘Art and visual contemplation in Seventeenth-century Europe’; 4) ‘The Myth and the Portrait in the cosmopolitan Europe of Enlightenment’.

The lessons will start: Monday 8 November 2020

Class schedule

Monday, 9-11, Tuesday, 9-11, Wednesday, 9-11

For the course “Women Painters in Western History of Arts - Le donne pittrici nella storia dell’arte occidentale” see the program in “useful contents”.

Readings/Bibliography

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

A) Revision of the part of art history corresponding to the period related to the chosen path is required (one century).

For the revision, the recommended manual is the following:

• P. De Vecchi e E. Cerchiari,Arte nel tempo, Milano, Bompiani, 1991 (and following reprints)

B) Exam preparation must be carried out by choosing one of the four paths in which the course is organised.

First path: ‘Renaissance Artists between rules and oddities’. The texts to study on are the following:

• E. Panofsky, La vita e le opere di Albrecht Dürer, 1967, ed. Milano, Abscondita, 2006
• Amico Aspertini (1474-1552). Artista bizzarro nell’età di Dürer e Raffaello, exhibition catalogue (Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale, 27 settembre 2008 – 11 gennaio 2009), by A. Emiliani e D. Scaglietti Kelescian, Cinisello Balsamo (Milano), Silvana Editoriale, 2008

  Or:

• E. Panofsky, La vita e le opere di Albrecht Dürer, 1967, ed. Milano, Abscondita, 2006
• Lorenzo Lotto. Il genio inquieto del Rinascimento, exhibition catalogue (Washington, Bergamo, Parigi), by A. Brown, P. Humfrey, M. Lucco, Milano, Skirà, 1998

Second path: ‘Art and Science from the Age of Ulisse Aldrovandi to the Age of Galileo Galilei’. The texts to study on are the following:

• G. Olmi, P. Prodi, Gabriele Paleotti, Ulisse Aldrovandi e la cultura a Bologna nel secondo Cinquecento, inNell’età di Correggio e dei Carracci, catalogo della mostrapittura in Emilia dei secoli XVI e XVII, exhibition catalogue (Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale e Accademia di Belle Arti, Museo Civico Archeologico, 10 settembre - 10 novembre 1986; Washington, National Gallery of Art, 19 dicembre 1986 - 16 febbraio 1987; New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 26 marzo-24 maggio 1987), Bologna, Nuova Alfa Editoriale, 1986, pp. 213-235
• A. Ghirardi,Pittura e vita popolare: un sentiero tra Anversa e l’Italia nel secondo Cinquecento, Mantova, Tre Lune, 2016

  Or:

• G. Olmi, P. Prodi, Gabriele Paleotti, Ulisse Aldrovandi e la cultura a Bologna nel secondo Cinquecento, inNell’età di Correggio e dei Carracci, catalogo della mostrapittura in Emilia dei secoli XVI e XVII, exhibition catalogue (Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale e Accademia di Belle Arti, Museo Civico Archeologico, 10 settembre - 10 novembre 1986; Washington, National Gallery of Art, 19 dicembre 1986 - 16 febbraio 1987; New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 26 marzo-24 maggio 1987), Bologna, Nuova Alfa Editoriale, 1986, pp. 213-235
• F. Bologna, L’incredulità del Caravaggio, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1992

  Or:

• G. Olmi, P. Prodi, Gabriele Paleotti, Ulisse Aldrovandi e la cultura a Bologna nel secondo Cinquecento, inNell’età di Correggio e dei Carracci, catalogo della mostrapittura in Emilia dei secoli XVI e XVII, exhibition catalogue (Bologna, Pinacoteca Nazionale e Accademia di Belle Arti, Museo Civico Archeologico, 10 settembre - 10 novembre 1986; Washington, National Gallery of Art, 19 dicembre 1986 - 16 febbraio 1987; New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 26 marzo-24 maggio 1987), Bologna, Nuova Alfa Editoriale, 1986, pp. 213-235
• Annibale Carracci, exhibition catalogue (Bologna; Roma), by D. Benati e E. Riccòmini, Milano, Electa, 2006

Third path: ‘Art and visual contemplation in 17th century Europe’. The texts to study on are the following:

• M. Fumaroli,Il Golgota bolognese, inLa scuola del silenzio, Milano, Adelphi, 1995, pp. 257-458
• Il Dio nascosto. I grandi maestri francesi del Seicento e l’immagine di Dio, exhibition catalogue (Roma, Accademia di Francia, 19 ottobre – 28 gennaio 2001), by O. Bonfait e N. MacGregor, Roma, De Luca, 2001

Fourth path: ‘The Myth and the Portrait in the cosmopolitan Europe of Enlightenment’. The texts to study on are the following:

• J. Starobinsky,L’invenzione della libertà (1700-1789), Milano, Abscondita, 2008
• Luigi Crespi ritrattista nell’età di papa Lambertini, exhibition catalogue (Bologna, Museo Davia Bargellini, 15 settembre – 3 dicembre 2018), by I. Graziani e M.G. D’Apuzzo, Cinisello Balsamo (Milano), Silvana Editoriale, 2018

  Or:

• J. Starobinsky,L’invenzione della libertà (1700-1789), Milano, Abscondita, 2008
• I. Graziani,Sognare l’Arcadia. Stefano Torelli, «peintre enchanteur» nelle grandi corti del Nord Europa, Bologna, Bononia University Press, 2013.

Teaching methods

Frontal lectures with the help of image projection.

Due to the restrictions imposed by the current health emergency, this teaching activity will be carried out in the following manner:

Traditional method: the teacher will always be present personally in the indicated classroom during this teaching activity. The students will alternate their presence, according to a schedule of shifts being defined (more detailed information regarding the shifts and about the modalities to get access to the classroom lessons will be provided soon). It will always be possible to connect remotely and to follow live lessons via the online platform TEAMS.

Assessment methods

Students will be assessed by means of an oral examination in which the candidate is required to engage in critical analysis based on the course reading.

Evaluation

The exam will be an interview intended to verify whether students have acquired the critical tools of the discipline and thus are able to connect the notions learned. It will evaluate the extent to which students have achieved a firm grasp of the artistic and historical issues and a fully developed critical awareness.

During the interview, students must demonstrate that they have acquired a critical understanding of the topics discussed during the course and a critical knowledge of the recommended bibliography.

After completing the course, the student will be able to

• identify and analyse the most significant works;

• develop personal reflections;

• demonstrate a critical understanding of the various issues discussed;

• use correct terminology.

The student’s full development of a comprehensive vision of the issues, as well as originality of reflection and familiarity with the specific language and the artwork analysis tools, will mark an outstanding achievement.

A knowledge of the subject matter that proves to be mostly mechanical or mnemonic but still shows a capacity of synthesis and analysis (whether articulated or not), use of a language that albeit proper is not consistently appropriate, and an unsteady grasp of the topics of the course, will mark an above average achievement.

Deficiencies in knowledge, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliography and inability to analyse, will mark an unsatisfactory achievement.

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

Teaching tools

Lectures with digital slides.

Office hours

See the website of Irene Graziani