Roman Baroque Art 2020/2021

Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”

Course:Roman Baroque Art L-Art/02

Instructor:Dr. Guendalina Serafinelli

Class time:Tuesday and Thursday 3:00-6:00 PM (begins Tuesday, Dec. 1 and ends Tuesday, January 19); Oral Presentation: Tuesday, Dec. 22; Christmas break: 12/23/2020- 01/06/2021. Final Exam: TBD

Location:  Classroom Lectures online via Google Meet; the last class (see below) will be on site.  

E-mail:guendalina.serafinelli@gmail.com

Mobile: +39 339.2970528

Description:

Devoted to Baroque art and architecture, this introductory course places primary emphasis on major artists, artistic movements, monuments and principle works of art produced in the city of Rome between the end of the sixteenth century and the seventeenth century.

By considering the fundamentals of art history through formal, iconographical and theoretical analysis, the course will investigatethe historical, social and religious contexts in which the works of art were made, the continuation and transformation of ideals, the role of patrons and that of the artist, including women painters, in the society.

Objectives of the Course:

The course is intended to promote the following skills and abilities:

• To increase your visual literacy
• To understand art as a means of communication that embodies the beliefs and distinct qualities of a culture
• To help you understand the processes and materials of artistic production
• To give you a vocabulary and awareness of the methodologies for discussing the visual arts
• To understand the foundational concepts and theories in art history
• To expand high-level skills of empirical observation as well as visual and symbolic analysis of works of art, architecture and urban spaces, including the ability to identify the characteristics of Baroque style
• To recognize and critically discuss the aesthetical contents of a work of art as a formal structure and in relation to the social, historical,and cultural contextsin which it was created
• To develop critical thinking and ability to clearly articulate persuasive ideas as well as original interpretations by demonstrating an array of critical approaches to the study of art history and visual culture

In order to ascertain whether or not the above goals are met, you will be expected to do the following things:

• Learn to recognize and identify works of art and buildings from the periods being studied and to be able to discuss their style and most importantly their cultural context
• Develop a sense of historical and cultural development, incorporating time and geography
• Learn to identify different artistic media and techniques used by artists, including their advantages and limitations
• Write clearly, using correct terminology and vocabulary
• Participate actively in class

In order that all students have a fair chance to complete and succeed in the course, it is essential that the following be observed:

• Students are expected to complete all readings and assignments by the dates indicated on the Syllabus 
• The consent to record the instructor’s lectures can be given only for disability accommodations (required by law)
• Students are expected to participate to the best of their ability in class, and to perform to the best of their ability on all assignments, whether in-class or homework. If students experience difficulty, they should feel free to contact the professor by telephone, e-mail, or an in-person appointment
• Tests and quizzes will begin immediately at the specified times
• Only a written note from a doctor describing a serious medical or family emergency, or other such documented, emergency situations, will suffice for an excused absence, and students MUST contact the professor IMMEDIATELY for an excused absence. Only students with approved excused absences will not be given a failing grade for a missed assignment; these students are responsible for independently obtaining all class notes on their own and making any arrangements about the assignment with the instructor
• Students are encouraged to work cooperatively, but each student must do his or her own work. Plagiarism will not be tolerated and will be reported to the Dean’s Office.

Readings: The readings for this class have been selected from numerous authors regarding the various facets and aspects of this course and will be provided by the Professor. Selected excerpts will be assigned for each class. PowerPoint slideshows with the images discussed over the course will be available.

Evaluation: The grade for this class is based on attendance and active participation, an oral presentation and a final exam.

• 1) Attendance and active participation = 20%
• 2) Oral presentation = 20%
• 3) Final Exam = 60%

1) Attendance and active participation: Class attendance is mandatory and will affect your final grade. You should be punctual for classroom with your readings prepared

2): Oral presentation: Students are required to investigate a specific work of art either by Caravaggio or by Annibale Carracci that will be selected at the beginning of the semester. Each student will deliver a short online presentation (5/10 minutes)

3)Final Exam: TBD

Class schedule:

DATE

TOPICS AND ASSIGNMENTS

– Please note that all the reading assignments listed below will be provided by the Professor in Pdf format

Tue. 1 Dec.

Online Lecture: The Council of Trent and the Reform of Religious Art

Anthony Blunt, Artistic Theory in Italy 1450-1600 (London, 1940): Ch. 8, “The Council of Trent and Religious Art”, pp. 103-136 (download the file at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.179079/page/n7).

Matthew Gallegos, “Charles Borromeo and the Catholic Tradition Regarding the Design of Catholic Churches”. Sacred Architecture no. 9, 2004, pp. 14-18. To download this article:

http://www.sacredarchitecture.org/images/uploads/volumesPDFs/Issue_9_2004.pdf

Marcia B. Hall, ed., Rome (New York, 2005): Ch. 6, Steven F. Ostrow, “The Counter-Reformation and the End of the Century”, pp. 246-320.

http://www.memofonte.it/home/files/pdf/scritti_gilio.pdf

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/counter-reformation.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g-r2007Y8c

Th. 3 Dec.

Online Lecture: The Carracci Academy

Italian Baroque Art, ed. Susan M. Dixon, Blackwell (Malden. Mass., 2008), Gail Feigenbaum, “Practice in the Carracci Academy”, pp. 87-97.

Anne Sutherland Harris, Seventeenth-Century Art and Architecture (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2005): Ch. 1, pp. 1-33.

Tue. 8 Dec.

No class. Feast of the Immaculate Conception

Th. 10 Dec.

Online Lecture: Caravaggio

Anne Sutherland Harris, Seventeenth-Century Art and Architecture (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2005): Ch. 1, pp. 33-49.

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/contarelli-chapel.html

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/caravaggio-matthew.html

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/crucifixion-of-st.-peter.html

Tue. 15 Dec.

Online Lecture: Caravaggio

Catherine Puglisi, Caravaggio (London 1998), Ch. 4, pp. 142-199.

Irving Lavin, "Divine Inspiration in Caravaggio's Two St. Matthews,” Art Bulletin, 56 (1974): 59-81.

Th. 17 Dec.

Online Lecture: Caravaggeschi and Women Painters

Anne Sutherland Harris, Seventeenth-Century Art and Architecture (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2005): Ch. 1, pp. 50-56.

Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome, ed. by David Franklin (Ottawa, 2011): Sebastian, Schütze, “Caravaggism in Europe: A Planetary System and its Gravitational Laws”, pp. 26-47.

Elizabeth S. Cohen, “The Trials of Artemisia Gentileschi: A Rape as History.” The Sixteenth Century Journal, vol. 31, no. 1 (2000), pp. 47-75.

Tue. 22 Dec.

Online Oral Presentation

Each student will deliver a short online presentation (5/10 mins) on an assigned painting either by Caravaggio or by Annibale Carracci.

You will provide an introduction to the life of that artist (2/5 mins)

You will examine one painting by that artist (3/5 mins)

23 Dec 2020-

6 Jan. 2021

Christmas break

 Th. 7 Jan.

Online Lecture: Baroque Classicism

Anne Sutherland Harris, Seventeenth-Century Art and Architecture (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2005): Ch. 1, pp. 56-77.

The Genius of Rome, 1592-1623, ed. Beverly Louise Brown, (London, 2001), pp. 340-371.

Tue. 12 Jan.

Online Lecture: Andrea Sacchi, Pietro da Cortona and His Followers

Anne Sutherland Harris, Seventeenth-Century Art and Architecture (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2005): Ch. 1, pp. 113-134.

Giovan Battista Fidanza, "A Rediscovered Altarpiece by Pietro Da Cortona and Insights into the Collaboration between the Master and His Pupils." The Burlington Magazine 155, no. 1325 (2013), pp. 541-545.

Th. 14 Jan.

Online Lecture: Gian Lorenzo Bernini and the Triumph of the Baroque

Italian Baroque Art, ed. Susan M. Dixon, Blackwell (Malden. Mass., 2008), Irving Lavin, “Bernini's Conception of the Visual Arts: Un Bel Composto”, pp. 51-56.

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/Bernini-David.html

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/pluto-and-proserpina.html

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/berninis-apollo-and-daphne.html

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/bernini-ecstasy-of-st.-theresa.html

Tue. 19 Jan.

OnsiteLecture: Santa Maria della Vittoria, San Luigi dei Francesi, Sant’Agostino, Chiesa del Gesù

Steven Ostrow, “Bernini, Baciccio, and the Dome Fresco in the Gesù.” Artibus et Historiae, n. 79 (2019), pp. 287-303.

The Holy Name of Jesus. Art of the Gesù: Bernini and His Age, ed. Linda Wolk-Simon et al. (Philadelphia, 2018), Franco Mormando, “Giovan Paolo Oliva: The Forgotten Celebrity of Baroque Rome”, pp. 185-224.

http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/il-gesu-rome.html

TBD

Final exam