“No short history of art can give more than an inkling of the rumbustious, ant-heap turmoil of the fourteenth century in Italy. The pullulation of ideas and works of art, the surge and sway of populations, classes, factions, systems, the cost in failure for the glories shining from a seething cut-throat vital age are hard to recapture.” – John White, Art and Architecture in Italy 1250-1300

            This “vital age,” the very brink of the Early Modern period, presents both delight and challenge to the art historian. The accomplishments of artists and architects of the Trecento spring from upheaval and change, and from the world of Petrarch and Dante. This course will address the development of the arts in the churches, civic halls, palaces and homes of the great republics and courts of 14C Italy.

            With the rise of the city states in central Italy, the economic prosperity of the towns, the success of the new mendicant orders, and the brief flourishing of papal Rome in the later 13C,  Italian artists and their patrons began to cast off earlier medieval ways until at the turn of the century, Giotto and Duccio invented a fresh mode of visual representation. Civic pride and wealth gave birth to the great churches and public buildings that still host some of the most remarkable painted and sculptural programs in Italy.

            Centers in southern and northern Italy, throughout the century, were dominated by powerful lords such as the Angevins in Naples and the Visconti in Milan. Here, distinctly courtly styles flourished. The artists and architects of the republic of Venice, long attached to Byzantine models, were beginning to create a rich Gothic tradition of their own.

            Scholars still debate whether the plague (the “Black Death”) of 1348, which decimated over a third of the population of Europe, may have had a direct effect on the shift in Tuscan art to follow, but painting and sculpture after mid-century takes on different forms. A harsher, less naturalistic style might signal a reaction to the mid-century trauma, or be an expressive development at deliberate variance with the more solid and warmly communicative art of the first part of the century – arguments still continue.

            The course will investigate various selected monuments of Trecento Italy through a consideration also of the political, religious, and social context which formed them. We will be reading the often contrasting views of selected scholars in order not only to understand Trecento art, but to examine different art historical approaches and methods as well. Through lecture and discussion, readings, and on-site study, students will be introduced to some of the most significant works of the period, and issues of looking, thinking, and interpretation.

Saturday Visits outside of Rome:

-          One-day visit of Trecento Siena

-          One-day visit of Trecento Florence

Dates to be announced – Entrances paid by JCU; Transport by students

Could students please write me – this summer - at my JCU e-mail address to inform of Saturdays that would NOT be possible? If I can plan the Saturdays BEFORE classes start – that would be convenient for all!

Textbook:

There is no required textbook for the course, since readings will be drawn from a variety of sources – on reserve, and on-line.

Should the student like a useful handbook, just as a back-up for images and basic background, I recommend the still very engaging classic by John White (quoted above): Art and Architecture in Italy 1250-1400 (Pelican History of Art, first edition 1966), New Haven and London, Yale UP, 1993/ 1995 eds. Some of this intelligent study has been superseded by new documents and methods, and White’s stylistic approach is now considered old-fashioned; it however remains worth reading, necessarily accompanied with the more recent texts to be assigned (schedule forthcoming).

            The research assignments will require bibliography and reading beyond on-line investigation. While JStor and other reputable scholarly sources are of course a must, the student is expected to make use of print sources in the JCU library, and also the holdings of the Art History Library (BIASA) in the Palazzo Venezia. A bibliography will be supplied; further discovery of relevant specialized books and articles are required for the research assignments.

Students will be expected to develop, in the course of the semester, the following:

-          A familiarity with period and individual styles of Late Gothic art through a study of major works. Ready recognition of selected works, and knowledge of basic facts related to them.

-          Command of problems of interpretation, in relation to the study of selected works; basic familiarity with subject matter and iconography, function, patronage and purpose.

-          An understanding of different art historical methodologies through reading of a variety of approaches by major scholars in the field.

-          A basic understanding of the historical, political and social context in which Late Gothic art and architecture was produced and in which artists and architects were formed.

-          Development of critical thinking about art and art history through course readings, assignments and class discussion.

-          Improved research skills through use of not simply electronic sources, but also use of print sources in the JCU Library, and several visits to the Art History Library (BIASA) in the Palazzo Venezia.

-          Furthering of writing skills: declaration and development of a clearly stated theme, organization, discussion of distinctive views and approaches, written expression and structure.

-          Furthering of oral communication skills, through class discussion and oral presentation.