Ateneo - UPO

History of modern art and the sources. Technique and style

First Part

STUDENTS ATTENDING:
Settis, Salvatore, Montanari, Tomaso, Arte. Una storia naturale e civile. 3. Dal Quattrocento alla Controriforma, Einaudi Scuola (Mondadori Education), Milano 2019, up to page 309. (in commercio). The book must be studied carefully in every section.
WARNING: Further study material on individual themes addressed in lessons will be indicated (and eventually made available on the D.I.R. line) during the course.
Very important CLARIFICATION. Books and texts in bibliography must be carefully studied and prepared. Notes taken in class are useful but do not replace the bibliography assigned.

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS:
Settis, Salvatore, Montanari, Tomaso, Arte. Una storia naturale e civile. 3. Dal Quattrocento alla Controriforma, Einaudi Scuola (Mondadori Education), Milano 2019 (In commercio).
One of these essays or books:
- Alessandro Conti, “L’evoluzione dell’artista”, in Storia dell’arte italiana. Questioni e metodi, a cura di Giovanni Previtali, parte prima Materiali e problemi, vol. II, L’artista e il pubblico, Giulio Einaudi Editore, Torino 1979, pp. 115-263 (Biblioteca DISUM);
- Gianni Carlo Sciolla, Studiare l’Arte. Metodo, analisi e interpretazione delle opere e degli artisti, Utet Libreria, Torino 2001 ed edizioni successive.
- Alessandro Angelini, Il primato dell’occhio. Temi e metodi della storia dell’arte moderna, Quodlibet Studio, Macerata 2019.

PART II
Bibliography. Attending Students.
- Le tecniche artistiche, ed. by C. Maltese, Mursia, Milano 1985, ed edizioni successive (texts read during the lessons; link available on the D.I.R.).
- L'Arte (critica e conservazione), dizionario ed by Roberto Cassanelli, Alessandro Conti, Michael Ann Holly, Adalgisa Lugli, Jaka Book, Milano 1993 (parts indicated in the lessons, materials available on the D.I.R.).
- Cennino Cennini, Il libro dell’arte, Vicenza 2003 ed edizioni successive (parti indicate a lezione).
- L.B. Alberti, De Pictura (Della Pittura), ed. by C. Grayson, Laterza, Bari 1980. (Texts read during the lessons; link available on the D.I.R.).
- Lorenzo Ghiberti, I Commentari (Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze, II, 333), ed. by Lorenzo Bartoli, Biblioteca della scienza italiana, 17, Giunti, Firenze 1998, parts indicated in class. (Materials available on the D.I.R.).
- Parts indicated in class: G. Vasari, Le Vite, edizione Giuntina del 1568, consultabile online. L’edizione consigliata per questa opera è la seguente: Giorgio Vasari, Le Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori scultori e architettori nelle redazioni del 1550 e 1568, ed. by Rosanna Bettarini and Paola Barocchi, Sansoni Editore, Firenze 1966-1987. (DISUM Library and available online).

The texts of the sources of the Artistic Literature that will be read, as well as short essays will be indicated during the lessons and (possibly) made available on the D.I.R.
For those who do not have a good basic knowledge, at least at the school level, we recommend reading a good Art History manual.

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS.
B. Aikema, I Rinascimenti in Europa 1480-1620. Arte, geografia e potere, Libri Scheiwiller, Milano 2024. (In commercio).
- Barbara Agosti, Giorgio Vasari. Luoghi e tempi delle Vite, Officina Libraria, Milano 2013 (ed edizioni successive). (DISUM library = 709.02.VASAG.AGOSB.1).

PLEASE NOTE: THE BIBLIOGRAPHY MUST BE STUDIED CAREFULLY IN EACH PART, AVOIDING LIMITING YOURSELF TO THE NOTES TAKEN DURING THE LESSONS.

The course has a series of training objectives divided into two levels.

At a basic level, the course provides knowledge and understanding, i.e. basic knowledge of the main developments, artists, works of art, techniques, iconography, according to the main developments indicated in the manuals and the critical tools to be acquired through reading and analysis of some of the fundamentals sources of Artistic Literature of the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
It also provides adequate ability to apply knowledge and understanding in the ability to identify cultural areas and chronologies, genres of the history of art in the early Modern Age and also to read and understand a source of the Artistic Literature of the 15th and 16th centuries.
At an advanced level, in relation to the student's training, the course has the following educational objectives:
• expression of judgments: the course aims to provide the student with disciplinary lexical properties and the tools to describe and analyze a work of art, relating it to the historical and social context that generated it.
• communication skills: the course also aims to develop the student's ability to apply the knowledge acquired by demonstrating the ability to analyze the work of art or the figure of an artist using the sources of Art Literature appropriately.
• study skills: the lessons aim to put the Student in a position to analyze and describe the works of art, texts, documents, also by crossing different sources of Art Literature and also want to show the student how to focus on the evolution of artistic language in its modern forms, from the fifteenth to the beginning of the sixteenth century, through a path that follows the developments indicated in the manuals, but also the documents and sources.

Good knowledge in: Art History.
Basic knowledge in: Modern History; Modern Italian Literature.

Lessons, seminars, visits to museums and monuments.
Visits to museums are considered part of the course. Schedule and timetable will be agreed and given during lessons and communicated on the D.I.R. forum.

Those with physical disabilities, Learning Disabilities or Special Education Needs can request specific services and tools via the Staff Sviluppo e Coordinamento Carriere e Servizi alle Studentesse e agli Studenti, consulting the University webpage: https://www.uniupo.it/en/services/services-students-physical-or-learning-disabilities. Once they have contacted the University Staff, persons with disabilities, learning disabilities or special education needs can refer to the tutor in charge of the course to define the examination modalities, concerning academic aspects.
Patrizia Zambrano's e-mail address is: patrizia.zambrano@uniupo.it.
Patrizia Zambrano's office is in the Department of Humanities, Vercelli headquarters, Palazzo Tartara, via G. Ferraris 109, 2nd floor, studio 31.

Registration to the D.I.R. it is necessary to receive communications, as well as to be able to acquire teaching materials that will be made available on D.I.R. All students interested in receiving information and updates are therefore invited to register for the course on D.I.R.

Verification of learning takes place through an oral exam lasting about thirty minutes.

The exam aims to assess the student's ability to apply the knowledge acquired during the course, to verify the autonomy of judgment, the ability to use the disciplinary vocabulary and communication skills. It consists of an interview, divided into 4-5 questions and focuses on the topics covered in class and on the assigned bibliography*.
Visits to monuments and exhibition done during the course are an integral part of the program and are subject to examination. During the exam it is advisable to have the images of the course with you.
The questions may have as a theme:
- The main figures of the artists, their works.
- The historical-artistic phenomena of reference (for example: perspective culture, the artists' workshops, the protagonists of the Renaissance, analysis of one or more works of art).
- The conceptual junctions (periodization, chronology, style).
- The lexicons analyzed during the lessons.
- Basic artistic techniques (fresco, tempera, oil, bronze, engraving, marble, terracotta), rudiments of iconography (main subjects of European Renaissance painting and sculpture).
Vote of the exam is valuated in 30/30 points and based on the following parameters:
1) knowledge of the main and principal notions presented in the lessons and in the texts indicated in the bibliography * (18 points out of 30);
2) critical reasoning capability and associations and connections (6 out of 30);
3) ability to discourse knowledge and to express it effectively and linearly, using the specialized vocabulary, where needed (6 out of 30).

* For non-attending Students, only on the assigned bibliography.

The Examination Commission, after adequate joint and shared discussion, evaluates the two tests and assigns the final grade based on the average of the marks obtained in the two partial tests.

Particular attention will be paid to issues related to the presence and role of women as artists, clients, donors and collectors in the history of modern art.

FIRS PART
The course aims to create a basis for disciplinary knowledge of the Modern Art History. The lessons will then follow the lines in the Modern Art History textbook, identifying at the same time the most relevant thematic lines and biographical and chronological articulations, with particular attention to the Early Italian Renaissance.
Lessons 1-2: introduction to the subject through a brief excursus on the main painting techniques in the 15th and 16th centuries.
Lessons 3-4: the narrative structures of historical-artistic historiography. The periodization of art history
Lessons 5-6: the "International Style" in Europe and Italy as a study sample (method and analysis of the works).
Lessons 7-18: the spring of the Renaissance. Analysis of the figures of the main artists of the early Renaissance and reading of the works.

SECOND PART
The course is of advanced type and has as a prerequisite a good knowledge of the Art History textbook.
Students will deepen their knowledge of the manual through the study of the techniques, style and history of the sources, as well as the main tools useful to the art historian.
The course is divided into two tracks, namely through an in-depth historical and technical analysis of some highly significant works and through the reading, analysis and study of a series of texts of artistic literature which have great importance for the techniques and the formation of modern styles in painting and sculpture between the 15th and 16th centuries.

Lessons 1-3: introduction to the course and the history of the Art History sources.
Lessons 4-7: Cennino Cennini, introduction to painting techniques.
Lessons 8-10: Lorenzo Ghiberti, history of art and sculpture techniques.
11-12: aspects of the artist's profession between the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, contracts, working times, the workshop.
Lessons 13-15: technique and style: Leon Battista Alberti.
16-18: technique and style, a practical case of use of the art historian's working tools.

In order to achieve the knowledge, skills and abilities corresponding to the expected learning levels (basic and advanced) the student is required to do the following:

To achieve a basic level, the Student must demonstrate:
- Knowledge and understanding: knowing the contents of the History of Modern Art manual for the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, or knowing the figures of the main artists, works of art and the evolution of artistic language in its modern forms from the fifteenth to the sixteenth century, having acquired the knowledge of the main sources of the Artistic Literature of the 15th century. Knowing how to give the correct definition of 'Art Literature' in the specificity of the discipline (what is it?) And in its main functions (what is it for?).
- Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: knowing how to describe the work of art from a technical and iconographic point of view, recognizing its style and time of creation by macro-categories. To be able to read and understand the texts of Art Literature analyzed in class.

Transversal skills:
- Autonomy of judgment: knowing how to deduce the historical-cultural role of a work of art and knowing how to relate it to the contemporary context in Italy and Europe for the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. To be able to describe and interpret the links and links that exist between sources, works and artists.
- Communication skills: knowing how to formulate correctly and using the disciplinary lexicon, in oral form, the description of a work of art. reading, analyzing and enunciating in the form of a critical comment the themes of the text of the Artistic Literature, even if it is complex, even if written in the vernacular and not in Latin, relating it to the thematic, stylistic and iconographic developments of the work of an artist.
- Learning skills: knowing how to carry out the analysis of a work of art not known from the manual on the basis of the knowledge acquired during the lessons. knowing and knowing how to use the disciplinary lexicon useful for reading sources and documents relating to works of art and artists.

For the achievement of an advanced level, the student must demonstrate:
- Knowledge and understanding: knowing and mastering the disciplinary lexicon useful for reading the sources and documents relating to works of art and artists. To be able to use easily and without hesitation the lexicon used in the sources analyzed and used (from Cennino Cennini to Vasari) and to articulate the analysis of a text in a simple form.
- Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: knowing how to historically qualify the contexts of origin of works of art and artists.
Transversal skills:
- Autonomy of judgment: knowing how to analyze, read and understand the work of art within the historical system (= society) that produced it.
- Communication skills: knowing how to use the knowledge acquired in order to transmit and disseminate, in non-specialist areas, the fundamental features of the works of art and the historical-artistic contexts studied.
- Learning skills: knowing how to face, on the basis of the knowledge acquired during the lessons and through the study of the bibliography, the reading and decoding of a figurative representation or a historical-artistic context of the Modern Age.