Renaissance Painting and Sculpture (Art 254)
| Professor
Michelli |
E-mail
Ext 3098
|
Flaten Auditorium
Fall, 1999
Monday, Wednesday, Friday,
9.05-10.00 a.m. |
Office Hours by
appointment |
- Required set book:
- The Craft of Art,
Originality and Industry in the Italian Renaissance and Baroque
Workshop, A Ladis and C Wood (eds), University of Georgia
Press, Athens and London, 1995
|
Introduction
The Renaissance can be seen as the culmination of the Middle Ages, or
(more commonly) as the foundation of the Modern Age. Medieval workshop
practices continued unabated. One of these was the use of apprentices and
assistants in the Master's studio to produce a work that bore the Master's
signature but which was in fact a collaboration. This essentially
Medieval craftly practice occurs alongside the unmistakable rise of the
hero artist who is presented to us in distinctly modern terms as a lone,
creative genius. Some artists, such as Leonardo and Michelangelo, did
indeed prefer to work unaided. Most others, whom we also perceive as lone
heroes, did not. Ghiberti, Botticelli, Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, Titian,
Tintoretto, Veronese, and the Carracci brothers - all presided over busy
workshops. Others, such as Sebastiano del Piombo, and Bronzino worked
from another artist's studies. All freely borrowed motifs from each other
and from earlier artists. All this raises serious questions about our
perceptions of the phenomenon of the Renaissance, and about the artists'
perceptions of their own profession.
By studying the works themselves, we can see the craftliness of art
alternately emphasized and denied, and this tells us something about how
the artist wanted to be perceived. We can see how artists formed their
styles and repertoires as collaborators and individuals. We can see the
rising importance of the personal touch and process, and how this changed
the nature of art from an anonymous public commodity to a personal
exploration of the intangible: spirituality, emotion, perception, talent,
creativity, individuality. This gives us some context within which to
assess the new phenomenon of the art print - produced by engravers who
balanced the task of reproduction with their own creativity, and became
prized and collected in their own right. Finally, we can also see how art
historical mysteries and mistakes happen - as in the case of the young
Leonardo, whose hand is now being redistinguished from that of his master
Verrocchio, and Tintoretto's daughter Marietta whose work has been almost
completely subsumed into her father's.
The Renaissance was a period in which the nature and purpose of art was
completely reassessed. Today is a similar period, and it is not
surprising that academics also reassess our view of the past. The set
book is an interesting response to this situation by traditional
academics. It is an object-oriented examination of collaborative
creativity in an age of individualism. We will use the book as a core and
focus for the course, fleshing it out as necessary in class, putting some
of its ideas and methods to the test, and placing it in the fuller context
of the developing Humanities. This course is more than a survey of the
high points of the Renaissance; it is an essay in the practice of art
history.
Requirements
There will be several assignments during the course:
- Find the web images we need for the course - artist assigned to
you on day 1. Due: Midnight on Wednesday, September 15th.
5% of course grade
- People and ideas, artists, works, date and media. Test on
Monday, October 4th (or immediately after unit 9). All works up to
unit 9.
15% of course grade
MEM: Fall Break 16th-19th October
- People and ideas, artists, works, date and media. Test on
Wednesday, November 3rd (or immediately after unit 21). Same kinds
of questions as before, material up to unit 20. Some questions from the
first test may be repeated!
20% of course grade
- Three of the projects numbers 23 to 33 - assigned by e-mail
immediately after Fall Break. Due at the beginning of the relevant
class. 500 words in short notes, word processed. 500 word paper
requirements and grading policy on web for your info as needed. This will
produce about seven of you who know the topic, while the rest of the class
does not. So that seven is required to facilitate class discussion
on those days.
10% of course grade each
- The final is a take-home outline paper (or paper plan). Assignment
is given at the end of the syllabus. Paper requirements and grading
policy on web page for your info as needed. You are required to be
present for the final on Wednesday, 17th December, 2.30-4.30 pm.
30% of course grade