Certificate of Higher Education in History of Art The Renaissance reviewed: Florence, Rome and Venice 1400 1520 (core course B) Credit / award 20 credits at FHEQ 4 Start date 23 September 2010 End date 9 December 2010 Day Thursday Time 7.15pm 9.15pm Venue ACE Centre, Mary Allan Building, Homerton College, Hills Road, Cambridge Tutor Mary Conochie No of meetings/ fieldtrips 11 meetings and 2 gallery visits Fee 300 Course code 1011CCR552 For further information on this course, please contact Academic Programme Manager or Administrative Secretary (emm30@cam.ac.uk or cak34@cam.ac.uk) or 01223 746226/237 To book See: www.ice.cam.ac.uk or telephone 01223 746262 Tutor biography Mary Conochie is an art historian with ten years experience as a lecturer in the subject. She has taught at Homerton College and Anglia Ruskin University. She is currently a Visiting Lecturer in art theory at University of Hertfordshire and at Norwich University of Creative Arts. Her subjects include 15 th -century Italian painting, 19 th -century French painting and 20 th -century isms. Her special interest is female portraiture. Mary contributes to the regional and diploma programmes at the Institute. Course syllabus Aims To provide students with an awareness of the factors that gave rise to the Renaissance in Italy in the fifteenth century. To define the impact of the classical revival upon Italian society, its culture and philosophical thought. To present students with a critical understanding of the changes in painting and sculpture that took place in Florence, Rome and Venice during the period 1400 1520 by taking a
thematical approach to the subject. To analyse the altarpiece, its function, its changing shape and as a source for other artistic genres such as landscape, portraiture and still life. To draw attention to the different art being produced at the same time in the North To help students develop an analytical approach to looking at art and provide them with a vocabulary with which to articulate ideas about art. To stimulate interest in the art of the period, leading to further study and to enable students to approach works of art with a deeper understanding. Content The revival of interest in classical culture in 15th-century Italy was more than a mere reproduction of antique forms. It altered the very way in which man saw himself and his place in the universe. This resulted in a revolution in the art of the period. By studying the art of Florence, Rome and Venice from 1400 to 1520 we shall examine the renewed interest in man as a physical and psychological being and in the three-dimensionality of his world. We will also consider the influence of classical antiquity on both the form and subject matter of the art and its use as a means of glorifying the patron. The course will largely focus on Florence as the epicentre of Renaissance developments but will also consider the significance of Rome and Venice as centres of artistic development. Some comparison with contemporary Northern European art will be considered and in particular in influence of Flemish artists on Italian art of the period. Presentation of the course All students will be expected to access the online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and to submit assignments by uploading them to the VLE. The course will take the form of a series of 11 x 2 hour sessions comprising lectures illustrated with powerpoint presentations with participation, comment and discussion of the paintings and sculptures by students. Weekly lists of images discussed will be provided, together with information sheets (e.g. terminology, historical context) and relevant texts Each week will also include a specific case study for which all students are expected to prepare in advance. There will also be gallery visits to the Fitzwilliam Museum and the National Gallery in London. Outcomes As a result of the course, within the constraints of the time available, students should be able to: 1. recognize, compare and contrast the diversity of traditional and new styles, which coexisted during the Renaissance and the artists that practiced them. 2. show they have developed an understanding of the different developments in art taking place in Italy and the North. 3. show they have understood some of the major themes, issues and debates current in Italian art at this time. 4. assess the extent to which antiquity was a central feature of Italian Renaissance art and architecture. 5. evaluate the effects of the rediscovery of the cult of the individual on the art, artists and patrons of the period. 6. analyse a work of art of the Renaissance in order to develop independent critical judgement.
Student assignments As this is a Certificate of Higher Education course (equivalent at least to first-year undergraduate standard) it will require a commitment to reading and pre-class preparation. Students will be encouraged to contribute to the course by comparing and contrasting works of art, preparing for a weekly case study and participating in class discussion. Students who wish to achieve credit will need to complete two of the following tutor-assigned written tasks, to a total of 3,000 4,000 words. a) an essay of about 2,000 2,500 words see titles below and either b) a series of notes of about 1,000 1,500 words comparing and contrasting two works of art relevant to the course to be determined by the tutor; or c) the compilation of a log book of notes of about 1,000-1,500 words to cover one of the gallery visits, highlighting specific paintings that you consider reflect the aims of the course and in what way. or d) 1,000 1,500 word case study of a particular painting, sculpture or fresco cycle relevant to the course of student's choice but agreed with the tutor considering questions such as artist, patron, function, social, economic, religious and/or political questions where relevant. Essay Titles Guidance will be given on reading and on appraisal of source material so that students may embark on independent study with confidence. 1. Illustrate the importance of mathematics, geometry and proportion in 15 th -century Italian painting. Analyse at least two examples. 2. Choose a specific subject (e.g. The Nativity, the Annunciation etc) and compare its representation in 15th-century Italian and Flemish art. 3. In what ways was 15th- and 16th-century Italian art OR sculpture influenced by classical antiquity? Give specific examples. 4. Which artist OR sculptor studied this term best encapsulated the true meaning of the Renaissance and how was this reflected in his art? 5. Compare the approach and techniques of Florentine and Venetian painters. Analyse just a few examples in some depth in order to illustrate your answers. 6. Compare the development of portraiture in Italian and Flemish art of the 15th century and how the one influenced the other. Give specific examples. If students wish to choose a title that is not given above it must be discussed and agreed with the tutor first. Students should attach to each assignment a signed and dated statement of authorship, stating that the work is their own and that they have read the Institute s guidance notes on plagiarism. This statement of authorship can be downloaded from the VLE or copied from Appendix I in the Students
Handbook. Closing date for the submission of essays: Tuesday, 4 January 2011 Student Participation All students are expected to take an active part in this university-level course by handing in work for assessment to provide evidence of their learning on the course. Therefore, all students will be expected to: (i) attend at least two-thirds of the classes and the gallery visits (ii) participate actively in class work; (iii) undertake reading and assignments set by the tutor; The award of credit depends upon the satisfactory completion of the above. The assignments will be assessed against the outcomes for the course and the generic pass criteria given in the Students Handbook. Students are expected to make sure that their assignment is supported by appropriate referencing and that there is no danger their work could be suspected of plagiarism. They should familiarise themselves with the following guidance issued by the University of Cambridge and by the Institute of Continuing Education: http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/univ/plagiarism/ http://www.cont-ed.cam.ac.uk/studying-with-us/information-for-students/plagiarism
Certificate of Higher Education in History of Art The Renaissance reviewed: Florence, Rome and Venice 1400 1520 (core course B) 1011CCR552 from 23 September 2010 Reading and resources list Primary Sources & Reference Books: Alberti, L.B., On Painting and Sculpture, London 1972 Blunt, A: Artistic Theory in Italy 1450-1600, Read Books 2007 Cennini, C. The Craftsman's Handbook,Oxford University Press. 1932. Farmer, David Hugh, The Oxford Dictionary of Saints, Oxford University Press 2004 Gilbert, Italian Art 1400-1500 Sources and Documents in the History of Art. London 1980 Hale, J.R. Dictionary of the Italian Renaissance Thames & Hudson 1983 Hall, J. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, John Murray 1991 Holt E, (ed.) A Documentary History of Art, Vols. 1 & 2 - Princeton 1981 Kemp, M. (Eds.), Leonardo on Painting, New Haven & London. 1989 Richardson C, Woods K + Franklin M (ed.)- Renaissance Art Reconsidered:an Anthology of Primary Sources Blackwell 2007 Vasari, The Lives of the Artists. Various Editions. Vespasiano da Bisticci: The Vespasiano Memoirs:Lives of Illustrious Men of the XVth Century, University of Toronto Press 1997 Voragine Jacobus de, The Golden Legend (Volumes I and II), Princeton Social, Historical and Cultural Background Baxandall, M Painting and Experience in 15th Century Italy Oxford Revised Ed. 1988 Burke P. The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy, Polity Press 1999 Dunkerton Jill et al, Giotto to Dürer: Early Renaissance Painting in The National Gallery, National Gallery London Hollingsworth, M Patronage in Renaissance Italy 1400-Early 16thc John Hopkins 1996 Hollingsworth, M. Patronage in Sixteenth-Century Italy London 1996 Kempers, B. Painting, Power and Patronage: The Rise of the Professional Artists in the Italian Renaissance Allen Lane 1992 Kraye J (ed.)cambridge Companion to Renaissance Humanism Cambridge 1996 Welch E. Art and Society in Italy 1350 1500 Oxford Univ.Press 1997 Italian Renaissance Art - General Ames Lewis F, Drawing in Renaissance Italy, New Haven Cole, B. The Renaissance Artist at Work, Westview Press Inc. New Edition 1990 Fortini Brown P, The Renaissance in Venice Wiedenfeld & Nicholson 1997 Gombrich E H, Gombrich on the Renaissance, Phaidon Hartt, F. History of Italian Renaissance Art, Prentice Hall 2006 Partridge, L. The Renaissance in Rome Wiedenfeld & Nicholson 1996 Tolman R. Art of the Italian Renaissance: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, Drawing Koneman 2006 Turner R The Renaissance in Florence Wiedenfeld & Nicholson 1997 Woods, Kim W.(ed.) Making Renaissance Art Yale Univ. Press 2007 Painting: Brown D A, Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, and the Renaissance of Venetian Painting, Yale 2006
Hibbard H, Michelangelo, Harper & Row 1985 Jones R & Penny N, Raphael, Yale 1987 Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo da Vinci: the Complete Works, David & Charles 2006 Also books on specific artists eg : Botticelli; Domenico Ghirlandaio; Masaccio; Mantegna; Piero della Francesca; Tintoretto; Uccello; Jan van Eyck; Rogier van der Weyden; the Master of Flemalle. Sculpture: Avery. C, Florentine Renaissance Sculpture, John Murray 1993 Olson R, Italian Renaissance Sculpture, Thames & Hudson 1992 Pope-Hennessy, J Italian Renaissance and Baroque Sculpture, Phaidon Press 2000 Plus books on individual artists of the Italian Renaissance. Also books on Donatello, Lorenzo Ghiberti; Verrocchio Also bibliographies in above books. Webography Web Gallery of Art for good images of works and notes on artists http://witcombe.sbc.edu/arthlinks.html for images http://www.artcycolopedia.com useful for finding out location of artworks in museums http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk www.uffizi.com www.nationalgallery.org.uk www.louvre.fr www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk Google - http://www.google.co.uk MSN Search - http://search.man.com Ask Jeeves - http://www.askjeeves.com Useful Web sites for buying books: Blackwell Books: bookshop.blackwell.co.uk (New) Bookfinder.com (Second-hand) Amazon.co.uk (New and Second-hand) Note Students of the Institute of Continuing Education are entitled to 20% discount on books published by Cambridge University Pres (CUP) which are purchased at the Press bookshop, 1 Trinity Street, Cambridge (Mon-Sat 9am 5:30pm, Sun 11am 5pm). A letter or email confirming acceptance on to a current Institute course should be taken as evidence of enrolment. Information correct as of 17 August 2010