In this course, about half of the classes will be on-site in Rome, the other half in the classroom to analyze and discuss slides and the Readings.  The trip to Florence, a required element (and highpoint!) of the course will be from Friday morning (ca. 10:00) to Sunday afternoon (ca. 12:30), Date TBA

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. About half of the classes will instead be on site, where we will investigate the palaces, churches, chapels, and other decorated spaces created in the period, here in Rome. Finally, we will also spend a weekend in Florence, to continue our research in the museums and monuments of the Medici city.

Mannerism – Schedule “In Progress”

Exact dates to be determined, and changes will made in the sequence of classes; permissions for several private sites are still to be arranged. I expect to make some deletions and additions before September. Some of the readings also need to be updated with more recent scholarly work.

Introduction

            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 Classicism.”

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

1) 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, as well as the mature work of Raphael and Michelangelo, and of Raphael’s school.

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 also bring in images that relate to his discussion, and expect your participation.

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

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

2) Villa Farnesina

We are going to spend an hour in the villa of the rich banker Agostino Chigi, which is right next door to JCU.  This will provide an on-site study of High Renaissance art through investigation of the villa architecture and the frescoes by Raphael, Peruzzi, and others.

OPTIONAL: For some readings on the villa, I recommend the  chapter devoted to the Villa Farnesina in David Coffin’s The Villa in the Life of Renaissance Rome, as well as Ingrid Rowland’s essay on the patronage of Agostino Chigi.

 3) 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, pp 146-153 – for the Sala Paolina

4) “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). 

REQUIRED READING:

Baldassare Castiglione, The Courtier, Book One (entire) and Book Four (pp 334-357 – Bembo’s speech on love)

5) 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”)

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.

            Discussion of CH Smyth (no relation!) will follow           

Discussion of Presentation Topics

REQUIRED READING:

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

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

OPTIONAL:

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

7) On a Saturday – 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.

            We will also (after, at a nearby bar) 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 paintings we will have just seen. 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:

Vasari, The Lives of the Artists…, Third Proemio (Introduction to the Third section of the Lives) - photocopies

STUDY VISIT TO FLORENCE DATE: TBA (We will meet Friday at 10:00 and end Sunday at 12:00)

REQUIRED READING:

Hall, Chapter Six, “Ducal Florence”

Cellini, Autobiography (indicated sections; to be announced)

Vasari, Life of Michelangelo

OPTIONAL: (but highly recommended!)

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

Students who have selected a topic on-site in Florence will perform their Oral Research Presentation

8) Parmigianino; Palazzo Te; Portraiture; Secular Art and 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; and then  Giulio Romano’s architecture and fresco decoration of the Palazzo Te in Mantua, a pleasure palace for Federico Gonzaga, (with the Duke’s eye to the visit of the Holy Roman Emperor).

            In addition to a brief discussion of Late Renaissance portraiture, focusing on paintings by Parmigianino and Bronzino, we will look at the secular painting of the two artists (and some by Michelangelo). The significance of the rise of erotic subject matter in 16C Italy will here be our focus. This will also engage us in analysis of Cropper’s text. Talvecchia’s 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

OPTIONAL:

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.

9) 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 Five, pp. 208-210 – on the Gonfalone

10) The Oratory of S. Giovanni Decollato

            The oratory has been restored – we just have to make sure it is now open to the public! A showcase of the latest trends in Mannerist art, in the meeting hall of the Florentine Confraternity in Rome. Their special task was to ensure the “good death” of criminals accused of the death penalty – tending to them physically and spiritually, encouraging confession and last rites, accompanying them on their way to execution, managing proper burial. Gruesome – and a fascinating monument to one grisly aspect of Late Renaissance society and religious devotion.

11)  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?

We should have time for one student Oral Presentation

REQUIRED READING:

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

12) In-Class Oral Research Presentation

December 8 – Holiday

Final Examination – To be scheduled during Exam Week

NB:

Several sections above could also be investigated and shared with the class by students, as in-class oral presentations. This would also allow me to include some other material which I have excluded for lack of time.

Examples of possible student topics for the oral presentation and research project could include:

-       Portraiture -  Bronzino or Parmigianino

-       Giulio Romano, the Palazzo Te

-       El Greco and his place in and out of the concept of “mannerism”

-       Giulio Romano and Aretino – “I Modi” and explicit eroticism

-       The “Mannerist” image of the Deposition of Christ – aesthetics and eucharistic meaning

-       Michelangelo’s mythological erotic imagery and its aftermath in copies, mannerist interpretations, and in  patronage/audience

-       Pontormo at Poggio Caiano or the Borgherini Joseph cycle

-       The Studiolo of Francesco de’Medici, Palazzo Vecchio

ALSO, SOME SITES IN ROME

-       Taddeo Zuccaro in the Frangipane Chapel, S. Marcello al Corso

-       Salviati’s cycle of the Life of the Virgin, S. Marcello al Corso

-       Jacopo Zucchi, Palazzo Firenze, Rome

-       Villa Giulia (now the Galleria Nazionale d’arte etrusca), Ammanati and Vasari’s villa for Pope Julius III with decorations by Taddeo Zucccaro and others

-       Michelangelo’s Porta Pia

-       Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne by Peruzzi

-       Plus, see Journal Lists (forthcoming!)

OTHER POSSIBLE TOPICS:

Individual artists – Domenico Beccafumi, Daniele da Volterra, Primaticcio, the prints of Marcantonio Raimondi, etc.

Sites – Fontainbleau, the Villa d’Este at Tivoli, Villa Caprarola, etc.

Types and genres: The Mannerist fountain, specific aspects of decorative arts and design, the small bronze, Pontormo and Bronzino’s tapestry designs, etc.

Architecture: The architecture of Raphael, Michelangelo’s designs for the facade of S. Lorenzo, Ligorio’s Casino of Pius IV, etc.

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 Uffizi

-       Vasari, Sala degli Elementi, Palazzo Vecchio

-       Cellini, the Perseus

-       Ammanati, Neptune Fountain

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

-       Giambologna, Rape of the Sabines

-       Ammanati, Giambologna, or Cellini’s works in the Bargello

-       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)

-       (etc.)