29007 - Renaissance Art in Europe (1) (2nd cycle)

Learning outcomes

The course aims to consolidate a basic knowledge of the main events of the Renaissance in Europe and of the issues raised by the Renaissance and to train the student in the methodologies and skills that are necessary in interpreting and classifying artistic documents. 

Course contents

The course is dedicated to altar painting in Bologna between the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and is divided into two modules: the first, taught by Daniele Benati, will concern  “The altarpiece in Renaissance Bologna”, and the second, taught by Irene Graziani, will be on “The altarpiece in Bologna between the Reformation and the Counter Reformation”.
Classes begin on 5 February 2014 (the second module begins on 30 March 2014) .

Readings/Bibliography

A) General course.

Students are required to study the chapters in the course books concerning the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries (from the late Gothic to the Carracci Reform). The recommended texts for the course are:

- Giuliano Briganti, Carlo Bertelli e Antonio Giuliano, Storia dell'arte italiana, Milano, Electa, 1986 ( and later editions);

- P. De Vecchi e E. Cerchiari, Arte nel tempo, Milano, Bompiani, 1991 (and later editions)

Additional materials may be selected in agreement with the teacher of the course.

 

B) Monographic component:

12 credit course: in addition to the general course reading (A), the students are required to study one text (or group of texts) for each of the two modules chosen from among the following.

 

B1) “The altarpiece in Renaissance Bologna”

- Carlo Volpe, Tre vetrate ferraresi e il Rinascimento a Bologna, in "Arte antica e moderna", 1, 1958, pp. 23-37; and: Daniele Benati, La pittura rinascimentale, in La basilica di San Petronio, edited by C. Volpe, SilvanaEditoriale, Cinisello Balsamo (Milano), 1983-1984, II, pp. pp. 143-194.

- Andrea Bacchi, Francesco del Cossa, Edizione del Soncino, Soncino, 1991; or: Monica Molteni, Ercole de' Roberti, SilvanaEditoriale, Cinisello Balsamo (Milano), 1995.

- Marzia Faietti, Daniela Scaglietti Kelescian, Amico Aspertini, Artioli ed., Modena, 1995; or: Amico Aspertini 1474-1552: artista bizzarro nell'età di Dürer e Raffaello, a cura di A. Emiliani e D. Scaglietti Kelescian, exhibition catalogue (Bologna), SilvanaEditoriale, Cinisello Balsamo (Milano), 2008.

 

B2) “The altarpiece in Bologna between the Reformation and the Counter Reformation”

- Vera Fortunati, Le metamorfosi della pala d'altare nel dibattito religioso del Cinquecento: il cantiere di San Giacomo, in La pittura in Emilia e in Romagna. Il Cinquecento, vol. 1, Un'avventura artistica fra natura e idea, edited by Vera Fortunati, Electa, Milano 1994, pp. 218-243; and: Lavinia Fontana (1552-1614), exhibition catalogue (Bologna 1994), edited by Vera Fortunati, Electa, Milano 1994.

- Vera Fortunati, Arte come “contemplazione visiva” (Ignazio Da Loyola): Bartolomeo Cesi nell'età della Controriforma, in Bartolomeo Cesi e l'affresco dei Canonici lateranensi, edited by Vera Fortunati and Vincenzo Musumeci, Nardini, Fiesole, 1997, pp. 31-57; as well as: Gabriele Paleotti, Discourse on Sacred and Profane Images, translation by William McCuaig, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, 2012 (with particular reference to: Paolo Prodi,  Introduction, pp. 1-42).

- Annibale Carracci, exhibition catalogue (Bologna e Roma), edited by Daniele Benati and Eugenio Riccòmini, Electa, Milano, 2006.

 

6 credit course:

In addition to the general course (A), students are required to choose one of the two modules (B1 o B2).

Teaching methods

Lectures and site visits.

Assessment methods

Written and oral examination.

Students will be assessed in two ways:

- by means of a written text concerning the general context which will have the objective of testing the student's knowledge of the socio-artistic fabric with reference to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries (preparation will be provided by the course lectures supplemented by coursebook study). This exam will involve the projection of ten images of sixteenth century works of art. Each image will be screened for 5 minutes during which time the candidate must fill in a profile indicating the work's historical context and, if possible, the name of the artist. The candidate may repeat the test but a poor result will not prevent  admission to the oral test, although it will count towards the final result.

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

 

Evaluation

The written test will be marked as follows:

- Correct image recognition (artist, subject, date, place of storage, short critical reading of its iconographic aspects, historical context and stylistic characteristics): on a scale of  1 to 3 points;

- Incorrect identification or failure to identify the image: zero points.

The pass mark is 18/30.

 

Evaluation of the oral examination will follow the usual principle of judging excellence to mean evidence of a solid artistic and historical grounding and of a mature critical awareness. The written test counts for a third of the final mark (10/30).

 

The written exam can be sat whenever there is an oral exam session.

 

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

Teaching tools

Powerpoint projection. 

Office hours

See the website of Irene Graziani