In this course, emphasis will be on readings and research.  The trip to Florence is a required element (and highpoint!) of the course; we will also have several Friday morning visits to special sites in Rome. (Students are responsible for travel and accommodation expenses; tickets paid by the university.) Exact schedule forthcoming.

Description of the Course:

            The Term “Mannerism” generally refers to the highly -refined European culture of the 16C, including literature, music and the visual arts. This culture placed an emphasis on sophistication, invention, learning and artistic theory. While Late Renaissance artists often paid self-conscious homage to their High Renaissance predecessors, they produced works that are also original, witty, often curious, sometimes bizarre, and frequently moving, in a political and social world that was undergoing notable transformation.

            The work of Michelangelo, Raphael, Correggio and Titian presented a challenge to their contemporaries and immediate followers. Antique art and its principles continued also to inspire artists and architects of the mid-Cinquecento. But Late Renaissance art also poses new ideas, forms and artistic values which distinguish it from the “classical” balance of nature and ideality of the High Renaissance. Since the earlier part of the 20C, when art historians began to consider the work of artists such as Pontormo, Parmigianino, Giulio Romano, Cellini, Tintoretto and El Greco as more than simply a decadent postscript to High Renaissance painting and sculpture, scholars have contested the meaning and even the usefulness of the term “Mannerism” itself. Discussion continues concerning the nature of Late Renaissance art.

            “Mannerist” art was frequently employed by courtly and clerical patrons for purposes of self-aggrandizement, propaganda – and also for pleasure. This type of art and architecture depended upon the viewer’s knowledge and acceptance of definite artistic conventions and notions of “decorum.” In this way, the works we will investigate often celebrate both political and aesthetic authority. At the same time, much of this art, produced in the period which saw the Sack of Rome (1527) and the Reformation, has been perceived as the response of a civilization in crisis. In this view, the assumptions of the High Renaissance erupt into images and styles of neurotic, fantastical sensibility. Other writers have investigated the theoretical issues alive at mid-century, and also the paradigms derived from literature and rhetoric which gave “Mannerism” its shape. Finally, the very validity of the term “Mannerism” has been called into question, especially as individual monuments are examined in detail and with a growing body of research and evidence, and new interpretive methods.

            In order to best understand the particular qualities of Late Renaissance art, we will begin with a brief introduction to the High Renaissance through selected and influential works of Raphael and Michelangelo. Even during the careers of these artists, the classical ideal was undergoing a change that inspired the next generations. The Mannerist artists we will study will be primarily, but not exclusively, the painters of Central Italy and Rome. Emphasis will be on mid-16C art in Rome, for example: the artists like Giulio Romano and Perino del Vaga who emerged from the School of Raphael, and visitors like Salviati, Vasari and Tibaldi who established themselves in Rome while continuing careers elsewhere. The crucial roles played by the various patrons – members of the papal curia, humanists, and confraternities who commissioned works will be studied. Their diverse motives for becoming patrons, and the aspirations and pretensions which helped to form this art will be examined.

         Classes will include classroom study and discussion of slides and readings, including especially the ideas and controversies presented in the assigned texts. Several Friday mornings will be scheduled (TBA), where we will investigate on-site some key decorated spaces created in the period, here in Rome. The Journal assignment will also involve on-site study of Mannerist works in Roman churches, palaces and museums. Finally, we will also spend a weekend in Florence, to continue our research in the museums and monuments of the Medici city.

Mannerism – Updated Schedule forthcoming  - Topics and Readings still valid

 

            I am still in the process of obtaining special permissions for some sites which are usually closed to the public – be patient. The first part of the course, up to the Midterm, is assured. The second part of the course may be subject to schedule changes, depending on when we can get the permissions. You will informed well in advance of any changes.

            The Florence Study Visit will be November 6-8 – from Friday ca. 10:00 to Sunday 12:30.

            There is no textbook for this class – therefore, keeping up with the selected readings is crucial!

 

 

 

September 1 – Introduction

            In the classroom, a discussion of the syllabus, assignments, requirements and goals of the course.

            Visit to S. Pietro in Montorio. Just up the hill from JCU lies “The Tale of Two Chapels,” and an introduction to High Renaissance and “Mannerist” values, in (respectively) Sebastiano del Piombo’s Borgherini Chapel and the Del Monte Chapel by Vasari. A glance at the “Tempietto” by Bramante will give an idea of what is meant by “High Renaissance” – the inventive classic groundwork for later “Mannerist” invenzione.

 

September 8 – Basic principles of High Renaissance Art and the Emergence of a New Style - “Mannerism”

            We will hold this session in the classroom in order to cover some important ground for an understanding of Renaissance art and the issue of “Mannerism.” For this, we must begin with an examination of the fundamental contribution of Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo. We will then examine examples of how later artists transformed High Renaissance art, and tipped the “classical” balance of nature and ideal toward an aesthetic of deliberate artifice (Shearman’s “stylish style”).

Discussion of Shearman – be well-prepared for this section of the class, or quizzes will ensue (and none of us want that….)!

Shearman introduces problems of definition, causes, and background – I will bring in images that relate to his discussion, and expect your participation. Hint – though Shearman’s text is crucial, I often disagree with his “art-for-art’s-sake” view of “Mannerism” – so, DO read critically!!

 

REQUIRED READING:

John Shearman, Mannerism, Chapter 1, “The Historical Reality,” pp. 15-24; 39-48; Chapter 2, “The Arrival of Mannerism in the Visual Arts,”49-70 (dense, but small pages, lots of pictures, so read carefully and take notes.)

RECOMMENDED:

 Marcia Hall, After Raphael, “Introduction,” 1-11 and Chapter One, “The High Renaissance,” 12-54

 

 

 

September 15 – The High Renaissance Villa: Agostino Chigi’s Suburban Pleasure Palace

The villa of the rich banker Agostino Chigi, which is right next door to JCU, will provide an on-site study of High Renaissance art through investigation of the villa architecture and the frescoes by Raphael, Peruzzi, and others. Some basic concepts concerning art historical study will be covered as we investigate this remarkable monument. Chigi’s cultural ambience is relevant as a foundation for our study of later Renaissance Rome, and for later “Mannerist” villas, such as (especially) the Palazzo Te (to be studied in the next class), Caprarola and the Villa d’Este.

 

REQUIRED READING:

Ingrid Rowland, “’Render Unto Caesar’…. The Patronange of Agostino Chigi,” Renaissance Quarterly, vol. 39, 1986, pp. 673-93 (the first section on the Villa Farnesina)

RECOMMENDED:

David Coffin, The Villa in the Life of Renaissance Rome, Part III, Chapter 3, pp. 87-110 (on the Villa Farnesina)

HINT: DO begin reading Castiglione’s Courtier, the assignment for next week – as a 16C text, essential, but also a bit challenging

DUE: First Journal Entry

September 22 – “Mannerism” and the Courtly Life; The Relationship between Manners and Maniera

            In the classroom, we will examine a section of a text crucial for the understanding of Renaissance behavioral and social attitudes in the elite society which commissioned and consumed Mannerist art. Arrive at class well-prepared to answer (and ask) questions based on Castiglione’s Courtier. We may read out some of the dialogue as characters, so get your 16C costumes out of storage.

            The remaining class period will be an introduction to the first signs of deviation from/enhancement of High Renaissance principles in Rome, in the School of Raphael (Giulio Romano, Perino and others).  Special consideration will be given to Giulio Romano’s architecture and fresco cycles for the Palazzo Te in Mantua for Federico Gonzaga – his personal “Mannerist” re-interpretation of Raphael’s example in the Villa Farnesina (where Giulio had worked already, alongside the master).

 

REQUIRED READING:

Baldassare Castiglione, The Courtier, Book One (entire) and Book Four (pp 334-357 – Bembo’s speech on love) – pages may differ in other editions

RECOMMENDED:

Marica Hall, After Raphael, Chapter 3, “The Diaspora of Roman Style,” esp. pp. 95-114

 

 

September 29 – The Sala Paolina and Papal Apartments, Castel Sant’Angelo; Antiquity Renewed in the Service of the Pope

            We will meet at the Castel Sant’Angelo to study the decorated apartments created in the renovation for Pope Paul III Farnese decorations, by Perino del Vaga and others. Focus will be on the Sala Paolina, the large reception hall, but other rooms will be visited as well (the Sala di Apollo is my personal favorite). The visit will concentrate on analysis of the decorative program - fresco and stucchi – in light of antique models and papal imagery.

            In the first lessons, I have gently coaxed you into some of the crucial issues, and also the historical chronology, of our topic, “Mannerism.” Here, you get a sudden full immersion –  look, think – and enjoy.

            We will then discuss David Summers and the figura serpentinata, in an appropriately tranquil ambiance, and with reference to what we have seen so far in the class.

 

REQUIRED READING:

David Summers, “Maniera and Movement: the Figura Serpentinata,” Art Quarterly, 1972 – photocopy on reserve; images on ArtStor, check JCU intranet with password= “Mannerism.”

Marcia Hall, After Raphael, Chapter 4 “The Roman Restoration,”pp 146-153

(on the Sala Paolina, Castel Sant’Angelo)

 

DUE: Oral Research Presentation Topics – working title, thesis paragraph, list of images, and four specialized bibliographic sources

October 6 – “Anti-Classical” Tendencies in Florence and the Issue of Mannerism

            In the classroom, an investigation of the painting of Pontormo and Rosso Fiorentino will include discussion of the place of their work in arthistorical appreciations of “Mannerism,” as well as a look at political and cultural developments in Florence after the return o fthe Medici. This class will provide an introduction also to many issues which will be further examined during the Florentine weekend.

            We will also discuss Vasari’s third preface to the Lives, in order to examine the “mannerist” aesthetic attitudes fundamental to Cinquecento art, as expressed in both Vasari’s writing and in the “Mannerist” works seen so far. Use these few pages of the “Proemio” (short, but essential! – read three times) as a dictionary to start to understand the Renaissance theoretical vocabulary, and how it is practiced (or not).

 

REQUIRED READING:

Giorgio Vasari, The Lives of the Artists, “Third Proemio” (Introduction to the Third Section of the Lives

Giorgio Vasari, “The Life of Pontormo” (in the Third section of the Lives)

RECOMMENDED:

Vasari, “The Life of Rosso Fiorentino”

Hall, After Raphael, Chapter Two, “The 1520’s in Florence and Rome,” pp. 55-69 (“Florence”)

S.J.Freedberg, Painting in Italy 1500-1600, Chapter 3, pp. 175-203 (On Michelangelo in Florence, Pontormo and Rosso)

 

October 13 – MIDTERM EXAMINATION

The Midterm will take up only the first half of the class.

The rest of the class is for individual discussion , should you like (recommended!) for the development of your superb Oral Presentation, especially concerning Research, an emphasis in this assignment.

 

 

FROM THIS POINT ON, EXACT DATES TO BE DETERMINED.

PERMISSIONS ARE NEEDED FOR VISITS –

 

 

October 16, Saturday Morning – (PROBABLY): Giorgio Vasari, Cardinal Farnese, and the Palazzo Cancelleria

            (Pending Permission - The rooms of the palace, a Vatican property, can only be visited on Saturday mornings.)

            Within the monumental late 15C Palazzo Cancelleria is the “Sala dei Cento Giorni,” an excellent introduction to:  patronage in the papal circle of mid-Cinquecento Rome, allegorical panegyric, and the visual and symbolic language of Vasari. I will also try to get us into the Cappella del Pallio, decorated by Salviati – surely one of the most bizare sacred spaces even within the context of Mannerist religious art – not always permitted.

            We will also discuss the text by CH Smyth (no relation) and his thesis concerning the relationship between ancient Roman relief and Mannerist style.

 

REQUIRED READING:

 C.H. Smyth, Mannerism and “Maniera,”N.J., 1962 (photocopy)

Marica Hall, After Raphael, Chapter 4, “The Roman Restoration,” esp. pp. 153-59, (on the Sala dei Cento Giorni and the Cappella del Pallio)

 

 

 

October 20 – Parmigianino, Giulio Romano, Bronzino and Secular Art: Eroticism

            In a lesson in the classroom, we will address two overlapping topics. First, as examples of the diffusion of Roman Mannerism in the northern cities and courts of Italy, we will investigate selected examples of the art of Parmigianino – his altarpieces, and frescoes for the Steccata in Parma. The artist’s extraodinarily sensuous depiction of Mary in the Madonna of the Long Neck will be revisited. This will also engage us in analysis of Cropper’s text.

            Next, we will examine the secular painting of the Late Renaissance – images of Love inspired often by the designs of Michelangelo, but also the individual inventions of the “Mannerists” (Parmigianino, Bronzino, and others). The significance of the rise of erotic subject matter in 16C Italy will be our focus. Talvecchia’s article is optional, but covers the pornographic interests of a major artist and writer, and their Roman audience - and the Renaissance intersection of the extremely cultured and the extremely profane.

 

 REQUIRED READING:

Elizabeth Cropper, “On Beautiful Women, Parmigianino, Petrarchismo, and the Vernacular Style,” Art Bulletin, vol. 58, no. 3 (September 1976), 274-294 – available on JStor

RECOMMENDED:

Bette Talvecchia, “Classical Paradigms and Renaissance Antiquarianism in Giulio Romano’s ‘I Modi,’ “ I Tatti Studies: Essays in the Renaissance, vol. 7 (1997), 81-118, Villa i Tatti, Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies.

 

Week of October 26-30 – Oral Research Presentation Appointments

Individual meetings with students on oral presentations – defining the topic more precisely, bibliography and sources, organization and interpretation.

At least one meeting with the instructor is required.

Meetings outside my normal office hours can be made, if Thursday is not convenient for you.

Next week will be too late!

 

 

October 27 – The Oratorio di S: Giovanni Battista Decollato (Oratory of the Beheaded St. John the Baptist) – Confraternal Piety and Art

            After years of closure to the public, restoration, and a (false!) announcement of accessibilty in 2013, we may finally – I hope! – obtain a permission to study the Oratory on site. (Keep your fingers crossed.)

            The Oratory of the Florentine Confraternity in Rome is one of the most important and intriguing Mannerist ambiences in the city. The function of the Confraternity della Misericordia (Brotherhood of Mercy) was to console condemned prisoners before their excution, to accompany them on their “last trip” to the scafford, ensure they entered the next world in a penitent state, and to see that they received a Christian burial. The meeting room / chapel of the members was intended as a showcase of the most avant-garde Florentine art in Rome, with frescoes by Salviati, Jacopino del Conte, and others.

 

REQUIRED READING:

Jean Weisz, Pittura e Misericordia: The Oratory of S: Giovanni Decollato in Rome (Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 1982), Part 1, “History and Context: Section 1, “The Confraternity of S. Giovanni Decollato, pp. 3-7; Section 3, “The Decoration of the Oratory: The Program and the Artists,” pp. 13-21 (photocopy)

Hall, Chapter 4, pp. 141-46

 

 

November 3 –The Palazzo Ricci-Sacchetti and the Oratorio del Gonfalone

            We will visit the Sala dell’Udienza in the Palazzo Ricci on Via Giulia to investigate the David cycle by Francesco Salviati, painted for Cardinal Ricci – a splendid example of full-fledged fantasy, exoticism, decorative invention and narrative complexity. Also on the Via Giulia is the meeting house of the Confraternity of the Gonfalone, with later 16C decorations by Federico Zuccaro, Cesare Nebbia and others; these frescoes offer a sample of a semi-private religious cycle in which maniera is adapted to the demands of the Counter Reformation.

            Discussion of Sohm’s article will follow.

REQUIRED READING:

Philip Sohm, “Gendered Style in Italian Art Criticism from Michelangelo to Malvasia,” Renaissance Art Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 4 (Winter 1995), 759-808 (first part – pp. TBA) – Jstor

Hall, Chapter 4, pp. 159-69 – (on Salviati, and 16C art writing)

Hall, Chapter 5, pp. 208-210 – (on the Gonfalone)

 

 

 

 

November 6, 7 and 8 - (Friday 10:00 to Sunday 12:30)

STUDY VISIT TO FLORENCE

REQUIRED READING:

Hall, Chapter 6, “Ducal Florence”

Cellini, Autobiography (indicated sections)

Vasari, “Life of Michelangelo”

RECOMMENDED:

J.R. Hale, Florence and the Medici, London (1977) 1983, Chapter IV, “The Principate Achieved.”

ORAL RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS

DUE: Detailed Outline and Annotated Bibliography

 

 

November 10 – NO CLASS

DUE: Completed Journal (first submitted entry and three more – four total)

Please hand in your Journal by Friday November 13 to the Faculty Support Office

 

 

November 17 – S. Maria dell’Anima

            S. Maria dell’Anima, near the Piazza Navona, was the church for Germans, Flemish, Dutch, and other northerners traveling to or residing in the city. It offers several monuments which concern our study: Giulio Romano’s main altarpiece, the tomb of the ill-fated Pope Hadrian VI (from Utrecht – the last non-Italian pope until John Paul II), Salviati’s fantastical chapel for the Margraves of Brandenburg, and Siciolante da Sermoneta’s Marian cycle in the Fugger Chapel. Hall’s discussion of the Counter Reformation in Rome is a good review of the shift that occurred in religious art, between Salviati’s Maniera and Siciolante’s nostalgia for clearer Quattrocento reminiscences.

If there is time, we might take a look at Raphael’s frescos in Sant’Agostino and (if it is open) in S. Maria della Pace.

            For the remainder of the class period, once again probably in a restorative public place, we will discuss Chapter IV in Shearman’s book, in which he identifies certain features germane to mannerist art and culture. Pay attention also to the section on “form and content.”

 

REQUIRED READING:

Shearman, Chapter IV, “A ‘More Cultured Age’ and its Ideals”

Hall, After Raphael, Chapter Five, 193-199 (“Grace and Beauty,” “Counter-Maniera,”and “A New Kind of Sacred Image”)

DUE: Topic for Comparative Paper

 

November 24 – NO CLASS

I will be away for the week of Thanksgiving – credit hours more than compensated by Florentine Weekend!

 

 

December 1 – The Case of El Greco

            Domenikos Theotocopoulos is perhaps an unlikely character with whom to end our lessons, but he has often been considered, (especially in earlier art historical writing), representative of Mannerism.  Born in Crete, studying in Venice, he briefly was sponsored by Cardinal Farnese and even a member of the Accademia di S. Luca in Rome, before finally realizing his art and career in Spain. Here we return to the core issue of our course – the relationship between form and content in certain art of the 16C. As with Pontormo, the question arises: can art which expresses emotion and spirituality be Mannerist?

 

REQUIRED READING:

Jonathan Brown, Painting in Spain 1500-1700 (Yale Univ. Press/ Pelican History of Art), (1991) 1998

 

Second Part of the Class: REVIEW

Be sure to bring questions, comments, and discussion points to class concerning the art and the texts (contemporary 16C and modern) which we have seen, read, and analyzed.

DUE: Comparative Paper

Final Examination – To be scheduled during Exam Week, December 5-11 (Recall: December 8 – Holiday of the Immaculate Conception)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY OF DUE DATES FOR ASSIGNMENTS:

September 15 – First Journal Entry

September 29 – Oral Research Presentation Topic

October 13 – Midterm

October 26-30 – Required Individual Appointments with Instructor (Presentation)

November 6-8 – Florence Study Visit: Oral Research Presentations and Outline with Bibliography

November 13, Friday – Completed Journal Submission (Faculty Support Office) –

     Include first entry and three more – four entries, total

November 17 – Comparative Paper Topic

December 1 – Comparative Paper

Dec. 5-11, TBA – Final Examination

    

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUGGESTIONS FOR ON-SITE TOPICS IN FLORENCE:

 

• Michelangelo, Laurentian Library

• Bronzino, The Martyrdom of S. Lorenzo, fresco in S. Lorenzo

• Rosso Fiorentino, Marriage of the the Virgin, Cappella Ginori, S. Lorenzo

• Andrea del Sarto, Pontormo and Rosso in the atrium of SS. Annunziata

• Pontormo, Cappella Capponi, S. Felicita

• Vasari, the architecture of the Uffizi

• Vasari, Sala degli Elementi, Palazzo Vecchio

• Cellini, the Perseus

• Ammanati, Neptune Fountain

• Works by Pontormo, Rosso, Bronzino, others in the Uffizi

• Works by Ammanati, Giambologna, or Cellini in the Bargello

• Giambologna, Rape of the Sabines

• The tomb of Michelangelo and the Florentine Academy

• Salviati, Sala dell’Udienza, Palazzo Vecchio

• Vasari’s decorations for the Sala dei Cinquecento, Palazzo Vecchio

• Bronzino, Christ in Limbo, for S. Croce (Museo di S. Croce)

• Salviati, Deposition, for S. Croce (Museo di S. Croce)

  …etc!