GONZAGA-IN-FLORENCE SYLLABUS

Transcription

1 GONZAGA-IN-FLORENCE SYLLABUS San Remigio,9 Course: VART 293 INTRODUCTION TO FLORENCE 3 Credits Professor Mercedes Carrara carraram@gonzaga.edu Study Abroad, 502 E. Boone Ave, Spokane, WA (800) studyabroad@gonzaga.edu OFFICE HOURS MTR by appointment or simply open door policy (Room 309). COURSE DESCRIPTION It satisfies the Art and Sciences fine arts core requirement. A 1500 year span survey of Florentine art history and culture, starting with the founding of Roman Florence by Caesar s war veterans in 59 BC and ending with the death of Piero de Medici in 1469.The course also covers the different European trends and events of the time. Echoes of the major Florentine artistic, economic, philosophical, and social legacies of the period are still felt in the 21 st century. Those interested can act as volunteer English speaking guides in Florence s major churches through Ars et Fides (Art and Faith), the no-profit organization promoted by Monsignor Timothy Verdon, one of the ten Canons of the Florence Cathedral. Lay people volunteer to act as guides for two or three hours a week showing visitors the interior of the church of their choice. The layman in charge of the organization is Mr. Mario Lastrucci, who assists the instructor in the weekly tours. He will provide the persons who will train those that wish to volunteer. Student life staff member Federica Dionisio will take care of the bureaucracy by providing the church handouts and collecting the insurance necessary to act as tour guide. The churches are the Duomo or Florence Cathedral started in 1296, the Medici church of San Lorenzo done by Brunelleschi in the Early Renaissance, the Franciscan church of Santa Croce, and the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella. This a voluntary service available to those enrolled in the class. It is a way of introducing church visitors to architectural wonders built for the glory of God and decorated by the most famous painters and sculptors of the period. COURSE OBJECTIVES The course introduces students, through two in-class lectures and a weekly two-hour field trip guided by the professor and her assistants, to Florentine art history and culture plus their European counterparts. LEARNING OUTCOMES Students will become literate, not only in Florentine art history and culture but also in the most important European artistic and literary movements from the fall of the Roman Empire, to the Carolingian revival, feudalism, the rise of Romanesque and Gothic art, the beginnings of the Renaissance. Students will have a deep understanding of why Florence is regarded as the cradle of the Renaissance after having related the artistic, literary, and political currents taking place in the Italian city states, Germany, France, England, and Spain. Through in-class lectures and media presentations students will become competent in European art history, and culture. Through the weekly field trips, guided by the professor and her assistants, students will be given a full immersion in the various periods of Florentine art history: from the Etruscan and Roman 1

2 archaeological remains to Giotto s frescoes in Santa Croce, post-plague art in the Strozzi Chapel of Santa Maria Novella. They will look at the model of Brunelleschi s Early Renaissance dome, Donatello s sculpture, Ghiberti s Gates of Paradise, and Michelangelo s Pietà in the Cathedral Museum, among other things. A visit to the Uffizi Gallery and the San Marco Museum will familiarize the students with the various schools of painting in Florence from the late 13th century until the Early Renaissance. GRADING AND OTHER POLICIES Students will be graded on: 1) A weekly (maximum two page reflection) on the Wednesday tours using the handout as reference with no extra research involved. (10%). The reflection (hard copy or an electronic copy) should be done as soon as possible when all the pieces seen are still fresh in the mind. It should always connect the class lectures to the works seen on the tours. The reflection (notebook, album, folder with pictures, drawings) should be handed in before the next class period. The electronic copy should be submitted by the day after the tour readable by Word-Windows or Microsoft Word. The Professor will grade it before the next tour with advise on how to improve the reflections. Students will know how they stand week by week. The professor will keep a folder of every student s work and grade. 2) Two slide shows the day before the tests where each student will research and present one piece (architecture, painting or sculpture) for 3 minutes during the midterm (8%) and final (8%) reviews. He/she will share the newly acquired knowledge in front of the class who will have copies of the slide show to take notes on. Specific tour questions on the art pieces will be taken from the slide shows. An electronic copy of the 1 page presentation should be submitted by . Standard format: Title and picture: Times New Roman, 12, double-spaced, citing and listing the sources used as bibliography. 3) 2 exams, 40% The mid-term will be on Tuesday, October 29. The final is not comprehensive. The date will be posted with the final exam schedule. A group discussion of the in-class lectures will be held a week before the exam with an exam sample. The students will know exactly what to expect : multiple choice, matching, 3 short answer questions, 2 long answer questions. 4) Journal or final paper (34%) If students decide to write a journal instead of a paper for their final project, each weekly reflection should be four pages long. Besides the tour handout, students will have to research at least one of the works, myths, or techniques that impressed them the most citing the source/s at the end of each entry as bibliography. There are many specialized art history books available in the library for consultation. Use books, websites are not always reliable. Students who are not keeping a journal will write a ten page paper with a bibliography of at least five sources. A hard copy and an electronic copy submitted by are due on November 29. An electronic copy can be handed in before, if you want the professor to go over it to make sure it is A material. Students are free to choose the topic that interests them the most. but they need the professor s approval. For a more detailed explanation check the last section of the Course Outline and Schedule under FINAL PRIOJECT. ABSENCE POLICY ON WEEKLY TOURS Weekly tours of two class periods each will be held every Wednesday morning. The tour is worth one credit thus attendance is mandatory. Students can only miss one tour but must make it up on their own. For the make up tour, the student will pay his/her own fare and will attach the ticket stub 2

3 to the report of the missed tour pointing out favorites. It should be handed in as soon as possible. There will be no grade change. Each student will be assigned a tour group and will always remain with that particular group. The professor and her assistants will rotate every week so that all students will be able to listen to all three. All tours held every Wednesday are conducted in exactly the same way. It is the professor who prepares the handouts distributed before each tour, which are those used by Italian Art History professors at the University of Florence. ABSENCE POLICY ON LECTURES AND EXAMS In class lectures are worth two credits. Following university policy, students are allowed four absences. At the fifth absence the grade goes down a half letter point: from A to A-, A- to B+, B+ to B and so on. There will be no make up tests without a medical certificate. phones). GRADES (A ) (A ) (B ) (B 85 84) (B ) (C ) (C 75 74) (C ) (D ) ( D 65 59) (F 48 0) DECORUM Cell-phones off, no food or beverages allowed in the classroom. No computers, I pads, or other electronic devises will be allowed in the classroom during lectures or exams. REQUIRED READING 1. Students will be given two packets, one for each part of the course, and a handout for each weekly tour. 2. The librarian will provide a copy of Christopher Hibbert s Rise and Fall of the House of Medici to start reading in Thanksgiving week when the Medici family starts their rise to power. They will be responsible for the first eight chapters of the book. 3. The packets are based on the reference books available in the library. 4. The tour handouts are based on the didactic material distributed by every museum in Florence to Italian University s Art History professors, translated into English by the instructor. Reference books on reserve available in the library 1. Nancy H. Ramage and Andrew Ramage. Roman Art, fifth edition, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Perfect for information on the Greek, Etruscan, and Roman pieces in the Archaeological Museum in Florence. 2. Ferdinand Schevill, Medieval and Renaissance Florence, Parts 1 and 2. It will complement the packets for a more detailed description of the events. 3. Gene Brucker, Florence: the Golden Age, University of California Press, It is a wonderful source for the students who decide to do journals on the weekly tours. 4 John Rigby Hale, Florence and the Medici: the Pattern of Control, London, Thames and Hudson, Excellent source. 5. Frederick Hartt and David G. Wilkins, History of Italian Renaissance Art. 7 th edition, It is on reserve in the library with wonderful explanations of the art works seen in the weekly tours. 6. H. W. Janson, Anthony F. Janson, History of Art. Revised 6 th edition, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc. and Harry N. Abrams, Inc. There are many copies available in the library. 7. Eve Borzook, Companion Guide to Florence Paperback Excellent guidebook written by a Renaissance scholar living in Florence, a fellow at Harvard University s center for Renaissance Studies in Florence. COURSE OUTLINE & SCHEDULE September 24 Introduction to the course: the 6 th century BC with Greeks, Romans, and Etruscans fighting to control the Italian peninsula. Rome s victory, the Lex Julia of 59 BC and the founding of Roman Florence during the triumvirate of Lepidus, Anthony, and Octavian (Augustus). 3

4 25 Emperor Augustus and the first golden period of Roman art with strong Greek classical influences in architecture (Theater of Marcellus), painting (House of Livia, Odyssey Landscapes) and sculpture (Augustus of Prima Porta, Ara Pacis). 26 Tour: Archaeological Museum. Check # 1 (Grading and other policies). October 1 Emperor Hadrian and the Greek classic revival, Hadrian s Villa in Tivoli, the Pantheon and its dome, a major inspiration for Brunelleschi s dome over the Florence cathedral. 2 Division of the Roman Empire into East and West, Barbarian invasions, fall of the Western Empire, Odoacer and Theodoric, 3 Tour: Roman Florence; 11 th century religious revival. # 1 Grading and other policies. 8 Byzantine rule, Lombard invasion, Charlemagne, Treaty of Verdun, feudalism, 11 th century religious revival in Florence 9 Eleventh Century Religious Revival, lay investiture, the First Crusade. Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV, Countess Matilda, the 12 th century Consular Age. 10 Tour: Santa Maria Novella and the Dominican Order. #1 on Grading and other policies 15 Frederick Barbarossa, Henry VI, Tuscan League of 1197, Pope Innocent III 16 Innocent III crowns Otto IV as HRE, sends his ward Frederick II to win German crown 17 Tour: Santa Croce and the Franciscan Order. #1 on Grading and other policies 22 Frederick s death, Florence s Primo Popolo (first democracy ), its defeat in Class discussion, review of in class lectures 24 Tour: Cathedral Museum. #1 on Grading and other policies 29 Tour review slide show with students as presenters. Students will only be responsible for the works seen during the tour review slide show. 30 Exam 31 Piazza Signoria, Davanzati Palace, interior Orsanmichele, Dante s area #1 on Grading and other policies. November 5 Ghibelline dominion over Florence, king Louis IX of France and Charles of Anjou 6 Florence s second democracy : the Signoria, Ordinances of Justice, civil war Tour: Orsanmichele s exterior, Loggia del Bigallo, Misericordia. #1 on Grading and other policies 12 Dante and his Divine Comedy 13 Florence ( ) Bardi and Peruzzi bank crash, dictatorship Duke of Athens. 14 Tour: Palace of the Guelph faction, Baptistery Doors, Duomo. #1 on Grading and other policies 19 Third attempt at democracy , Ciompi Revolt of The Visconti threat, end of Great Schism Avignon. Rinaldo degli Albizzi as oligarch, 21 Departure for Thanksgiving holiday, no tour. 26 Giovanni di Bicci s death, Cosimo il Vecchio and his exile. 27 Cosimo s return from exile, his art patronage, the Great Council of the Church. 28 Tour: Uffizi Gallery. #1 on Grading and other policies. December 3 Cosimo s foreign policy, the Medici bank, Piero the Gouty. Final project due. 4 Class discussion, sample of how the exam will be set up. Students will be assigned one building, painting or sculpture to research and present for the tour review on Tuesday. 5 Tour: Convent of San Marco. #1 on Grading and other policies 4

5 10 Study guide for the first eight chapters of Hibbert s book. Review of class material. 11 Tour review slide show with students acting as presenters. Students will only be responsible for the works presented 12 Santissima Annunziata, exterior of Medici Palace, San Lorenzo. #1 on Grading and other policies. FINAL PROJECT Students have two possibilities for the final project: writing a weekly journal, not just a reflection of the class field trips commenting and researching their favorite things. Each entry will be four pages long and should be illustrated through pictures, postcards or drawings citing the sources that should include books, not just websites. It will be a keepsake to remind them of their Florence experience. A journal is the perfect way of integrating class lectures and field trips. Students should always try to relate the information learned in the classroom to their field trips. Every Wednesday tour is a visual reminder of the in-class lectures. A bibliography of at least one source should be included after each entry, including books, not just websites. At least five sources must have been consulted by the end of the journal. Students who are not keeping a journal will write a ten page paper with a bibliography of at least five sources. A hard copy and an electronic copy submitted by are due on November 29. An electronic copy can be handed in before, if you want the professor to go over it to make sure it is A material. Students are free to choose the topic that interests them the most: from fashion as seen through the paintings or frescoes of the period, to bankers as art patrons or a favorite artist but they need the professor s approval. A great possibility would be writing on sites that were covered in class but not visited on the weekly tours because they are closed on Wednesdays or open an hour and a half after the first 8:30 tour. Five sources minimum must be consulted for the bibliography. The ticket stub must be attached to the project. Suggested sites: 1. A late afternoon visit to the church of San Miniato to admire the sacristy frescoes by Spinello Aretino, the Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal, and hear the friars sing Vespers. 2. A visit to the Florence Baptistery ( :00, 3) This visit is warmly recommended to admire the beautiful dome mosaics and other masterpieces. The Baptistery ticket stub must be included. 3. Brunelleschi s Dome for a breathtaking view of Florence after 463 steps. 8 ticket stub must be included. 4. Masaccio s Brancacci Chapel, where Early Renaissance painting began. It is to the Early Renaissance what the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Micghelangelo is to the High Renaissance. It opens at 10:00 so it is impossible to organize a Wednesday tour. 5 ticket stub must be included. 5. The Medici Palace with Early Renaissance frescoes by Gozzoli with a Baroque wing that has a frescoed gallery by Luca Giordano influenced by the Gallery of Mirrors in Versailles. It is closed on Wednesdays, our tour day. 5 ticket stub must be included. 5