02290 - History of Modern Art

Learning outcomes

The course is intended to provide the student with a proper basic knowledge of the main events and of the crucial problems of Italian art from the end of the fifteenth to the end of the eighteenth centuries. The course specifically provides fundamental methodological tools that allow to read an artwork from a formal and stylistic, iconographical and technical point of view, and to understand the connection with its historical, social and cultural milieu. At the end of the course the student should be able to orientate himself in the main problems and research paths of the art of these centuries, and to recognize and comment on the works of the outstanding artists of the different movements.

Course contents

The course is composed by two parts of six CFU each, taught by Prof.s Daniele Benati and Irene Graziani.

- Institutional part (Prof. Irene Graziani): History of art in Italy from the Renaissance to the Neoclassicism (15th-18th centuries);

- Monographic part (Prof. Daniele Benati): Piero della Francesca and the diffusion of perspective view.

Readings/Bibliography

1) Institutional part (6 CFU):

1/a. It is requested to know the chapters of the textbook with reference to the period from the Renaissance to the Neoclassicism. The recommended textbook is:

- Pierluigi De Vecchi, Elda Cerchiari, Arte nel tempo, Milano, Bompiani, 1991 (and later prints).

The choice of other textbooks should be arranged with Prof. Graziani.

1/b. Furthermore, it is requested to study one of the following books. The student may arrange with Prof. Graziani other readings:

- Roberto Longhi, Fatti di Masolino e di Masaccio (1940), in ‘ Opere complete di Roberto Longhi', VIII/1, Sansoni, Firenze 1975, pp. 3-70;

- Roberto Longhi, Officina ferrarese, 1934, ed. in Opere complete di Roberto Longhi, V, 1956 e ristampe;

- Federico Zeri, Rinascimento e pseudo-rinascimento, in Storia dell'arte italiana, 5, Einaudi, Torino, 1983, pp. 543-572;

- Pittura di luce. Giovanni di Francesco e l'arte fiorentina nella metàdel Quattrocento , edited by Luciano Bellosi, exhibition catalogue (Firenze), Electa, Milano, 1990;

- Michael Baxandall, Pittura ed esperienze sociali nell'Italia del Quattrocento, Einaudi, Torino 1978;

- Federico Zeri, Due dipinti, la filologia e un nome. Il Maestro delle Tavole Barberini, Einaudi, Torino 1961 (and later prints);

- Nicole Dacos, Le Logge di Raffaello, III edizione, Milano 2008;

- André Chastel, Il Sacco di Roma (1527), Einaudi, Torino 1983;

- Giuliano Briganti, La maniera italiana, (Roma, 1961), Sansoni, Firenze 1985;

- Antonio Pinelli, La bella maniera. Artisti del Cinquecento tra regola e licenza, Einaudi, Torino 1993;

- Federico Zeri, Pittura e Controriforma. Alle origini dell'arte ‘senza tempo' di Scipione Pulzone , Einaudi, Torino 1957 (ried. 1970);

- Enrico Castelnuovo, Il significato del ritratto pittorico nella società , in Storia d'Italia, Torino, Einaudi 1973, vol. 5/2, pp. 1033-1094;

- Federico Zeri, La percezione visiva dell'Italia e degli italiani, Torino, Einaudi, 1976;

- Cesare Gnudi, introduction to the exhibition catalogue L'ideale classico del Seicento in Italia e la pittura di paesaggio, Bologna, 1962, pp. 3-37 (published again in C. Gnudi, L'ideale classico, Bologna, Nuova Alfa Editoriale, 1986, pp. 55-85);

- Giuliano Briganti, Pietro da Cortona, Sansoni, Firenze 1962 (2nd edition 1982);

- Francis Haskell, Mecenati e pittori. L'arte e la societàitaliane nell'etàbarocca , 3rd edition, Allemandi, Torino, 2000;

- Anna Ottani Cavina, Il Settecento e l'antico, in Storia dell'arte Italiana, vol. VI, parte II, Torino, Einaudi, 1982, pp. 599-660;

- Antonio Pinelli, Il Neoclassicismo nell'arte del Settecento, Roma, Carocci, 2005.

1/c. It is requested to know at least two important artworks / monuments / museums / churches / palaces from the period the exam concerns directly and deeply with the aid of related readings.

2) Mono-graphical part (6 CFU):

- Roberto Longhi, Piero della Francesca, 1927 (e successive edizioni);

- Alessandro Angelini, Piero della Francesca, Motta-Il Sole 24 Ore, Milano, 2014;
- Piero della Francesca. Indagini su un mito, catalogo della mostra di Forlì, Silvana ed., Milano, 2016 (in particolare i saggi di Paolucci, Benati, Calogero e le schede delle opere).

Teaching methods

The course will be composed by lectures and visits lead by Prof. Benati and Dr. Graziani to monuments and museums.

A few seminars are scheduled. Further information will be given in the early lectures. Attending them may replace the books of point 1/b.

Assessment methods

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 XV, XVI and XVIII centuries (preparation will be provided by the course lectures supplemented by coursebook study). This exam will involve the projection of ten images of 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

Lectures with the aid of ppt presentations, visits, class exercises.

Office hours

See the website of Daniele Benati

See the website of Irene Graziani