Schedule / AH 296 / Fall 2024
Tuesday and Thursday 4:30 – 5:45
ORAL RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS:
Oral Research Presentations will be scheduled for the later weeks of the semester; TBA.
Also Note: FRIDAY/ SATURDAY ON-SITE STUDY VISITS IN ROME: Exact Dates arriving soon
- 10:30-12:00 – Villa Farnesina
- 10:30-12:00 – S. Maria del Popolo
- 10:30-12:00 – S. Pietro in Montorio and the Tempietto
- 10:30-12:00 – The Church of S. Maria sopra Minerva
WEEK I)
Basics about the course – review of the syllabus, assignments, readings, and discussion of what lies ahead in the course.
Discussion of the Journal, an assignment emphasizing on-site analysis and writing. We will look at some examples of late-15C and High Renaissance art and architecture to illustrate methods of looking and thinking to get you started on the Journal project, an important assignment to involve you in on-site study.
Required Reading:
Both of these crucial for Renaissance materials, terms, etc. -
- Hartt and Wilkins (henceforth “HW”), Introduction: “Italy and Italian Art” – Geography, and artistic techniques especially. Nice maps and discussion of major centers of the Italian Peninsula. NB: Not yet a unified “Italy”.
- Campbell and Cole (henceforth “CC”), pp. 656-674, on materials, with Glossary. NB: Historical timetables, and Bibliography follow, use for reference.
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WEEK II)
The Later 15C in Florence
Through a few selected artworks, we will introduce the principles of Renaissance art as developed in the later Quattrocento by such painters and sculptors as Verrocchio, the Pollaiuolo, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Filippino Lippi. These include: one-point perspective, contrapposto and the representation of motion, narrative vs. devotional images, drawing as study and preparation, the observation of nature, attitudes toward the antique in form and motif, some basic Christian themes, and some innovative secular ones. The age of Lorenzo “il Magnifico” and Renaissance Humanism in Florence.
How to look historically: the contextual issues of patronage, function, ideological and religious messages, within a consideration of Renaissance expectations - as opposed to our own.
How to look analytically and formally; the work itself as primary evidence.
Required Reading:
- Campbell and Cole (henceforth “CC”), Chapter 9, 1470-80 “What is Naturalism,” 248-50; 253-55; “Icon and Narrative,” 256; 258-69 and Chapter 10, 1480-90, “Migration and Mobility,” 272-78; 280-97; Chapter 11, 1490-1500, “The Allure of the Secular,” 305-6 (Tornabuoni Chapel)
- Michael Baxandall, Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy, Oxford University Press, (1972) 1988: Chapter 1, 1-27 ND615.B32
Recommended Reading:
- Charles Dempsey, The Portrayal of Love: Botticelli’s “Primavera” and Humanist Culture at the Time of Lorenzo the Magnificent, Princeton UP, 1992: “Introduction,” 3-19 NX552.A1D46
- Rab Hatfield, Botticelli’s Uffizi ‘Adoration’: A Study in Pictorial Content (Princeton Essays on the Arts) Princeton UP, 1976: Chapter II, “Religious Symbolism,” 33-67 (Moodle)
- Baxandall, Painting and Experience, Chapter 2, 29 -108
- HW, Chapters 13 and Chapter 14, 375-38
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WEEK III)
Leonardo in Florence and Milan
A painter, sculptor, architect, theatrical designer, scientist, engineer, and courtier – among other accomplishments – Leonardo da Vinci was regarded as a genius even in his own lifetime. You will read Vasari’s mid-16C description of his nearly demonic achievements and character. By engaging in an investigation of his paintings, drawings, sculptural and architectural designs, projects and thought in Florence and Milan, we will also witness how many of the principles of his creations and ideas stimulated those of the High Renaissance.
N.B: Art Historians refer to this artist as “Leonardo,” not “Da Vinci.”
FIRST JOURNAL ENTRY DUE: TBA (in class – notebook with first handwritten entry. If your handwriting is messy, insert typed version.)
Required Reading:
- CC, Chapter 10, 282-97; 285-87; Chapter 11, 300-1; 310-6; 310-18; 326-39; Chapter 12, 345-34
- Giorgio Vasari, “Life of Leonardo,” in his Lives of the Artists (1568) (various editions in the library and on-line)
- Martin Kemp, The Marvelous Works of Nature and Man, Oxford, 2006, Chapter I, “Leonardo da Firenze” N6923.L33 K45
Recommended Reading:
- Leo Steinberg, Leonardo’ Incessant Last Supper, N.Y., 2001, Chapters I and 2, 19-53 ND623.L5A683
SATURDAY, ON-SITE VISIT - Exact Date TBA
Next door to John Cabot is one of the wonders of Renaissance Rome: the pleasure villa built for the Sienese banker Agostino Chigi, the Villa Farnesina. By exploring the villa, and the architecture by Baldassare Peruzzi, and paintings by Raphael, Peruzzi, Sebastiano del Piombo and il Sodoma, we will try to imagine Roman life here in the 1510’s, including the lavish entertainments which were attended by friends, Cardinals and popes.
Required Reading:
- Ingrid Rowlands, “Render Unto Caesar the Things Which are Caesar’s: Humanism and the Arts in the Patronage of Agostino Chigi,” Renaissance Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 4 (Winter, 1986), pp. 673- 693 (NB: First Section on Villa Farnesina; Optional but recommended – rest of article, on Raphael’s two chapels for Agostino Chigi) –Jstor
Recommended Reading:
- David Coffin, The Villa in the Life of Renaissance Rome, Princeton, 1979, pp. 86-110 (on the Villa Farnesina) NA7755.C6
- HW, Chapter 17, 529-47
- CC, Chapter 13, 388-390
WEEK IV)
Rome in the Later Quattrocento
Patterns of papal patronage established by the first della Rovere pope, Sixtus IV (1471-84) will be examined. For lack of a strong local school, Roman Quattrocento patrons turned to Central Italian artists, some of whom we have already met, to answer their needs. Some works will include: the wall decorations of the Sistine Chapel, Melozzo’s “frontispiece” for the Vatican Library, Pinturicchio’s Roman career, Pollaiuolo’s tombs, the study and collection of antiquities, the development of civic institutions and the urban design of the city.
DECLARATION OF ORAL RESEARCH PRESENTATION -DUE TBA (in class.)
One thoughtful paragraph stating your research project for the course, based on one work of art or architecture, and some preliminary issues, questions you hope to address. Include a starting Bibliography of at least 5-6 scholarly articles, essays, catalogues, books or book chapters, and indicate two of the major sources for your discussion, so far. Do include a second choice of topic, in case of multiple student eagerness for the same monument – the most serious proposal will win the topic, and you may submit your second choice, as above, in the following week. I do not want to see uncertainty or casual sheets of “maybe” topics. Be decided, and convincing. The submission of a topic is already part of your grade for the assignment and the course, and should be well-informed in content, prospectus of investigation and research (bibliography), and neatly done and considered in form. See Guideline for Suggested Topics and Topic Submission
Required Reading:
- CC, Chapter 10, 285-97
- Loren Partridge, The Art of the Renaissance in Rome, 1400-1600, Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 1996 – Introduction; Chapter 1, 18-26; Chapter 2, 42-49; Chapter 3, 60-68; Chapter 5, 115-20 N6920.P277
- John Paoletti and Gary Radke, Art in Renaissance Italy, Lawrence King, 2001, 320-30 N6915.P24
Recommended Reading:
- Leopold Ettlinger, “Pollaiuolo’s Tomb for Pope Sixtus IV,” Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 16 (1954), 239-74. JStor
- Rona Goffen, “Friar Sixtus IV and the Sistine Chapel, Renaissance Quarterly, 39 (1986), 218-162: esp. Franciscan background 227-239; analysis of Moses and Christ typological pairs, 239-62; ESP. 241-47 (on Pair III, by Botticelli) JStor
- Peter Partner, Renaissance Rome 1500-59, Berkeley and Los Angeles, (1976), 1979, Introduction, 3-23 DG812.P37
- HW, Chapter 14, 369-78
WEEK V)
The Early Careers of Michelangelo and Raphael
Michelangelo’s formative period in the Medici household, his first works in Rome (the Pietà, the Bacchus), and his Florentine career to 1506 (the tondi, especially the Doni Tondo; David, and Battle of Cascina – this last with Leonardo’s parallel commission for the Battle of Anghiari).
Raphael’s beginnings in Urbino and Perugia, and paintings in Florence, especially Madonnas, to his move to Rome, 1508.
Particular attention will be given to exploring each artist’s early cultural experiences, and their debt to Leonardo, antiquity, and natural observation, interpretation vs. convention. How the studio process and methods of work and thought are changing, and the goals of artists and patrons.
BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR PRESENTATION DUE, INDICATING TWO SCHOLARLY WORKS FOR YOUR CRITICAL REVIEWS, DUE TBA (in class).
This should be your practically complete Bibliography, an essential element in the Oral Research Presentation project. Of course, some further readings might be discovered, but I expect this to be the fruit of much investigation, and basically the Bibliography you will turn in with your Presentation Outline.
IMPORTANT: DECLARE the most essential scholarly works, one of which can be your topic for the CRITICAL REVIEW assignment. Do consult with the Reference Librarians – make an appointment – to assist you in your bibliographical development. I check in with them, they with me.
I also very much encourage you to visit me to discuss your research during my office hours or by appointment OR: Just stop by! If I am busy, I will tell you when you can return.
Guidelines will be provided.
Required Reading:
- CC, Chapter 11, 336-39; Chapter 12, 342-45 (rather nicely dialectic!); 345-58
- Leo Steinberg, “Metaphors of Love and Birth in Michelangelo’s Pietàs,” in Studies in Erotic Art, ed. T. Bowie, NY, 1970, 231-39 (first section on the Roman Pietà) N8217.E6S8
- Michael Cole, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and the Art of the Figure, Yale UP, 2014, Preface; Chapter 1, “The Force of Art,” 1-29 ND1293.I8 C65
Recommended Reading:
- Charles Seymour, A Search for Identity; Michelangelo’s David, NY., (1967) 1974, 1-66; Esp: 141-157 NB623.B9S49
- W. Wallace, “Michelangelo’s Rome Pietà: Altarpiece or Grave Memorial?,” in Verrocchio and Late Quattrocento Italian Sculpture, ed. Steven Bule and Alan Phipps Darr, Florence: Casa Editrice le Lettere, 1992, 243-55
- Howard Hibbard, Michelangelo, Penguin, 1985 (a general handbook – first chapters on the early period) ND623.B9H25
- Roger Jones and Nicholas Penny, Raphael, New Haven and London, 1993, the early period, 1-47 (concise text, with many illustrations) N6923.R333J6
- HW, Chapter 16, 469-83
Exact Date - TBA – SATURDAY 10:30- 12:00
Visit to S. Maria del Popolo
The church itself was built for Pope Sixtus IV, and several of the chapels in the right aisle host funereal monuments and frescoes for members of his family. We will also look at the Chigi Chapel, constructed and decorated by Raphael, for Agostino Chigi - with the later altarpiece by Sebastiano del Piombo, completed with two sculptures by Bernini. Bramante’s choir is hard to see, but important as well. (You will have a moment to look at the Cerasi Chapel, that hosts paintings by Annibale Carracci and Caravaggio.)
Recommended Readings:
- Lisa Passaglia Bouman, “Domenico, Girolamo and Julius II della Rovere at S. Maria del Popolo,” in Patronage and Dynasty, ed. Verstegen, 2007. (On Order, ILL: should be ready. Moodled)
- Loren Partidge and Rudolph Starn, A Renaissance Likeness. Art and Culture in Raphael’s Julius II, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1980,
WEEK VI)
REVIEW FOR THE MIDTERM
Part of the class will be dedicated to a Review for the upcoming Examination. Some continuation of the early careers of Michelangelo and Raphael, and connections with Late 15C art in Florence, and Leonardo, done as part of the Review.
We will do together some sample comparisons and unknowns of the same type you will encounter on Wednesday in the examinations, along with discussion of the readings up until now.
MIDTERM EXAMINATION (TBA) – in class
VISIT SATURDAY AM, TBA – The Church of S. Maria sopra Minerva
We will look at Filippino Lippi’s fresco cycle for the Cardinal Carafa, to enrich study of the intersection between Florentine and Roman art, as well as an understanding of how the patronage of a particular religious order (here, distinctively Dominican) determines iconographical choices and representational decisions.
And of course: An examination of Michelangelo’s Risen Christ, one of his more problematic and provocative works.
Required Readings:
- Gail Geiger, Filippino Lippi’s Carafa Chapel: Renaissance Art in Rome (Sixteenth-Century Essays and Studies 5), Ann Arbor, 1986, Introduction, pp. 10-29 and Chapter 3 “The Triumph,” 89-113 ND2757.R6G34
- William Wallace, “Michelangelo’s Risen Christ,” Sixteenth-Century Journal 28 (1997), 1251-80 JStor
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WEEK VII)
Papal Petrine Ambitions - The conception and “Tragedy” of Michelangelo’s tomb for Pope Julius II; the reconstruction of the Basilica of St. Peter’s
NB: The first part of the lesson on Monday will be a recapitulation of the Midterm –since for many of you, your first AH examination.
The long and torturous construction of Michelangelo’s tomb for Pope Julius II and the project to entirely rebuild the Early Christian church that was constructed by the 4C and “first Christian Emperor” Constantine to honor the tomb site of St. Peter were not coincidentally both conceived by Pope Julius.
Julius, the second Della Rovere pope, imagined for himself a free-standing tomb, on the model of Pollaiuolo’s bronze floor tomb for his uncle, yet of marble and grander – it became a forever “incomplete” through a good part of Michelangelo’s life, administered even after the pope’s death in 1513 by his heirs. With the passing years and papal/political vicissitudes, the entirely innovative and colossal first project gradually was whittled down until its final placement in S. Pietro in Vincoli, rather than St. Peter’s, where the single sculpture of the Moses commands both spiritually and aesthetically a much-reduced funerary monument.
We will also consider the significance and history of the site of St. Peter’s, and the development of Bramante’s plan for the church and adjacent palace; for this is necessary also a discussion of the classical orders and forms, and their Renaissance employment and invention. Most relevant is Bramante’s design for St. Peter’s, and then its subsequent development and especially evolution under Michelangelo’s direction in the mid-16C.
Required Readings:
- Ascanio Condivi, Life of Michelangelo, tran. H. Wohl and A.S. Wohl, Penn State University Press, sections on the Tomb of Julius II: 28-35; 59-64; 71-83; Appendix 2, 113-117. N6923.B9 C613
- Giorgio Vasari, Lives of the Arts, “Life of Michelangelo” – various editions, also on-line; I use A.B. Hind, ed. 1980, vol. IV, 119-121; 131-133; 139-141
- James Ackerman, The Architecture of Michelangelo, Chapter 8, “The Basilica of St. Peter’s,” 198-225
- CC, Chapter 13, 409-412
Recommended Readings:
- Erwin Panofsky, “The First Two Projects for Michelangelo’s Tomb of Julius II,” Art Bulletin 19, n.4 (1937): 561-79. JStor (one of the earliest proposals, and from whence much discussion originates)
- C. L. Frommel, ed., Michelangelo’s Tomb for Julius II: Genesis and Genius, Los Angeles: J.P. Getty (2016) NB623.B9 F7613 2016 (Spend some time perusing this authoritative volume.)
- Wolfgang Lotz, Architecture in Italy 1500-1600 (1975), New Haven, 1995 (revised ed.), 10-25 NA1115.L666
- Phyllis Bober and Ruth Rubinstein, Renaissance Artists and Antique Sculpture: A Handbook of Sources, H.Miller/Oxford University Press (1986) 1991 (explore this significant reference volume) REF NB85.B97
- HW, Chapter 17, 493-503
CRITICAL REVIEW OF A SCHOLARLY ARTICLE OR BOOK CHAPTER – DUE: TBA
A one-page summary (no longer – and double spaced) of a scholarly essay from the course Bibliography. You may choose a reading that is essential for your understanding of your Oral Presentation Research Topic. Guidelines will be given in advance.
WEEK VIII)
Rather than a regular lesson, I will hold office hours during class period, in the Art History Office, to speak with students about the Oral Research Presentation. This will replace the usual Thursday office hours, since I will be already in Florence that afternoon. Students should be nearly finished the assignment, with full research bibliography, an outline, and any handouts that might be useful.
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Week IX)
IN-CLASS ORAL RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS (to be scheduled)
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Week X)
The Papacy Triumphant: Julius II (1503-13) and High Renaissance Art and Architecture in Rome
Continuing with historical background for the second della Rovere pope and his expansion of the cultural and urban program of his uncle, Sixtus IV, we will further study his efforts to recreate Rome as a Christian Imperial city.
A look at the boldly ambitious Belvedere courtyard for the Vatican Palace, and Julius’s encouragement of the developing papal collection of antiquities.
Required Reading: (more, TBA)
- John Summerson, Chapters I,II and III, 7-26, The Classical Language of Architecture, (1963) London : Thames and Hudson, (1980) NA31.S948
Revised and enlarged edition, 1980 (The best introduction of how the classical orders of antiquity were claimed, canonized, and modified in Early Modern Architecture – for us, first chapters on the Renaissance. This was a BBC radio program of 1963, that had British listeners hovering around the radio, expectantly, instead of around the hearth or the telly. Imagine!)
Recommended Reading: TBA
(I need to update and redefine this section – the art-historical literature is vast! For now, relevant sections in CC, HW, and Hibbard, the latter old but still a good basic handbook. Forthcoming soon.)
On-site visit, 10:30-12:00
Bramante’s “Tempietto,”and its Petrine and papal significance as well as discussion of High Renaissance architectural principles. We will also take a look inside the adjacent church of S. Pietro in Montorio to examine the decoration of Sebastiano del Piombo’s Borgherini Chapel, especially, and his relationship with Michelangelo.
Required Reading:
- CC, Chapter 12, 359-62; 370-72
- Arnoldo Bruschi, Bramante, London: Thames and Hudson, 1977 (shorter, revised English ed. of Bramante architetto, Bari: Laterza, 1969), section on the Tempietto and St. Peter’s (Moodle)
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Recommended Reading:
- Wolfgang Lotz, Architecture in Italy 1500-1600 (Pelican History of Art, 1974) revised edition, Deborah Howard, London and New Haven, Yale UP, 1995, Chapter 1, 11-34 NA1115.L666
- HW, Chapter 17, 489-96
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WEEK XI)
Michelangelo and Raphael Make their Mark in Rome: Frescoes for Pope Julius II
You will be expected to have already visited the Sistine Chapel and Raphael’s Stanze on your own!
Raphael and the Stanza della Segnatura
In the decoration for the private library of Julius II – the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican Palace (1509-11) – Raphael developed a definitive style which integrated natural observation, classical ideality, and humanist learning. The style and iconographical program for the frescoes reflect, too, the use of art for the promotion of papal identity and authority.
Required Reading:
- CC, Chapter 12, 372-77
Pick one:
- Ingrid Rowlands, “The Intellectual Background of the School of Athens,” in Raphael’s School of Athens, ed. Marcia Hall, Cambridge, 1997, pp. 131-170 ND623.R2A76
- Timothy Verdon, “Pagans in the Church,” pp. 114-30, in same volume
Recommended Reading:
- Roger Jones and Nicholas Penny, Chapter III, “The Private Library of Julius II,” Raphael, New Haven: Yale UP, 1983, 49-80 N6923.R333 J6 RES
- HW, Chapter 17, pp. 515-20
The Sistine Chapel Ceiling
The Sistine Chapel Ceiling (1508-12) is one of the marvels of Rome, and proved influential even before its final unveiling. We will investigate its conception and execution, the novelty of the decorative structure, its meaning (in a chapel dedicated to the Virgin, pre-Last Judgment), and how it emerged as a visual monument to the Julian papacy.
Required Reading:
- CC, Chapter 12, 362-70
- Loren Partridge, The Sistine Chapel Ceiling, N.Y., 1996 (a small book of good reproductions and intelligent, succinct commentary) – pick a few sections to study ND2757.V35P37
Recommended Reading:
- Charles de Tolnay, Michelangelo, vol. II: The Sistine Ceiling, Princeton, (1945) 1969 (take a look at Tolnay’s classic work – one of five volumes – in order to understand his approach.) N6923.B9D
- HW, Chapter 17, pp., 503-21
COMPLETED JOURNALS DUE (FIRST ENTRY INCLUDED, TWO ADDITIONAL ENTRIES) exact date TBA
WEEK XII)
The High Renaissance in Florence
A brief review of some of the early-Cinquecento artists we have met in Florence, such as Andrea del Sarto. Discussion of the Medici, after their 1512 reinstallation following the Florentine Republic, and under the Medici Papacy of Leo X and Clement VII – via Michelangelo’s Medici Chapel, (recap of discussion on-site in Florence), and other mature works in Florence.
Required Reading:
- CC, Chapter 13, 412-18; Chapter 15, 463-66
- Creighton Gilbert, “Texts and Contexts of the Medici Chapel,” Art Quarterly 34 (1971), 391-409 (Moodle)
Recommended Reading
- Vasari, Lives of the Artists, Life of Andrea del Sarto (1568), (various editions and on-line)
- David Franklin, Painting in Renaissance Florence, 1500-1550, New Haven and London: Yale UP, 2001. ND 621.F725
- Howard Hibbard, Michelangelo, NY: Harper and Row, 1974, Chapter III, “Medicean Florence,” 177-238 N6923.B9 H25
- James Ackerman, The Architecture of Michelangelo, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, (1961), 1970, Chapter 3, “The Medici Chapel,” 71-96; Chapter 4, “The Library of San Lorenzo,” 97-122 NA1123.B9A63
- HW, Chapter 18, 543-558
Raphael and Rome: The Sacred, The Renaissance Individual, and Antiquity
To be discussed will be selected altarpieces (the Sistine Madonna and the Tranfiguration) and Raphael’s portraiture. We will also see how Raphael gradually elaborates and transforms the serene classicism of the Stanza della Segnatura in the subsequent frescoes for the other rooms in the papal apartments: the Stanza d’Eliodoro, Stanza del Incendio, and the Sala di Costantino (completed by his assistant Giulio Romano).
Other facets of Raphael’s production, which include: the cartoons for the Sistine Chapel tapestries, as well as his architectural and archaeological interests.
Required Reading:
- Relevant sections in CC, HW, and Jones and Penny
- John Shearman, “Only Connect…”, Princeton University Press, 1992, Chapter V “History, and Energy,” pp. 192-226 and Chapter on Portraits N6915.S54
- (more forthcoming)
Recommended Reading:
More forthcoming – revisions necessary, new studies, and especially essays in recent exhibition catalogues, such as the exhibition of 2022, at the National Gallery in London.
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Week XIII) April 24, Tuesday
Review for the Final Examination
A review with some sample questions with powerpoint will provide preparation for the Final Examination. As with the Midterm Review, exercizes performed in class of comparisons and unknowns.
Discussion of issues or topics you feel unclear about is encouraged: be prepared with your own contributions. I expect YOUR questions – on the understanding of High Renaissance art history, since technical exam matters will have been clarified already.
FINAL EXAMINATION– (exact exam date and time TBA)
NB: Do not make plans to leave Rome and JCU before the day after Finals Week!
Anticipated travel plans will not be considered as valid excuses for examination absence, and “pre-make-ups” are out of the question as an option for such reasons.