Early Renaissance Art in Italy, c. 1300-1480

Dr. S. ffolliott

Robinson B 357b
993-1011
sffollio@gmu.edu
http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/ffolliott/arth340

George Mason University
 Department of History and Art History

“Because this [process of] learning may perhaps appear a fatiguing thing to YOUNG people, I ought to prove here that painting is not unworthy of consuming all our time and study.”                                   

                                                  Leon Battista Alberti, On Painting, 1435.

Important stuff:

  • ARTH 340 fulfills upper division credit for any major: it does NOT fulfill the Fine Arts component of the University General Education requirement. 
  • GMU requires you to activate your GMU e-mail account to receive official communications. If you prefer to use another address, you must engage the e-mail forwarder (www.gmu.edu/email) and maintain that account. I shall use .gmu addresses exclusively and it is your responsibility to deal with all materials I send.
  • GMU operates with an Honor Code. It is everyone’s responsibility (students and teachers) to notify the Honor Committee concerning possible infractions. Plagiarism (the unacknowledged use of someone else’s work as your own) violates the Honor Code. For a full definition go to: (http://www.gmu.edu/facstaff/handbook/aC.html)

              The classroom experience is the core of this course.
  • Tests derive from what we all do in class.
  • Class sessions comprise lecture/discussions on selected topics. The assigned reading complements (rather than duplicates) what goes on in class. Come to class prepared to discuss or write about it.
    ·          Class time is for class matters.
  • Arrive promptly, pay attention, take notes, participate in class, and do not engage in discourteous behavior (i.e. talking to a neighbor, doing other work, leaving early
  • Phones, pagers, devices with earphones etc. must be turned off and put away in class.  Computers may be used for note taking only.
  • You are responsible for everything that goes on during the entire class period whether you are there or not, both the material covered and any announcements made that might have a bearing on assignments. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to make arrangements with a fellow student to obtain information about what you’ve missed.

  II. Key Dates

 

9/5 

   Class does NOT meet.   Alternative assignment (see details on separate sheet). 

 9/11

   Absolutely, positively last day to add classes

 9/12

   Outline/reaction paper to National Gallery exhibitions due in class (see directions). 

 9/19

   QUIZ (30 minutes); then class.

 9/28

   Last day to drop without the Dean’s permission

 10/24

   MIDTERM EXAMINATION (75 minutes); then class.

 10/31

   Desiderio da Settignano exhibition review due in class

 11/28

   Vasari’s Lives paper assignment due in class.

 12/7

   Last day of classes.  Final day for receipt of any excused late work.

 12/12

   FINAL EXAMINATION begins promptly at 4:30.  The date is set by the registrar, published with the schedule of classes, and cannot be changed. 

 

III.  OFFICE HOURS:   Wednesdays, 1:30-3:00 (not 9/5, 10/3 or 12/5); Thursdays, 10:30-11:30.     Robinson B 357b   Telephone: 993-1011.   It is a good idea to schedule an appointment and to let me know if you are unable to keep it. 

IV. COURSE GOALS

A.  Objectives (these determine how you are tested and evaluated):

  • To achieve proficiency in the analysis of the formal (stylistic) qualities of works of art (produced from ca. 1300-1480) in their historical contexts.  This means seeing them both as products of artists and as participants in the formation of the larger culture.
  • To read critically in and comment on primary sources and secondary interpretations.
  • To improve the appropriate analytical and interpretive skills to articulate these analyses (informed by the synthesis of material from different sources) in proper oral and written form. 
  • To increase familiarity with the methods of art history as an academic discipline.

B.  Methods of Instruction.

You will attain these objectives through assigned readings, class discussion, in-class exercises, research, study, and written work.  Exams and papers pose questions that require your familiarity with specifics AND challenge you to place those facts into the context of the history of 14th and 15th-C., art.  

College classroom learning involves everybody.  What your fellow students contribute is as much a part of what you learn as what you read outside of class or hear from your teachers.  Consider class a group experience in which the process is important.  You will not do well in this course if you think about success only as gaining mastery of some facts by learning stuff on your own or by listening only to your instructor.  Stay closely involved with class as it happens! 

     The core images for the course, together with basic identifying information, will be available on-line at the course website:  http://chnm.gmu.edu/courses/ffolliott/arth340/   

V. METHODS OF EVALUATION/GRADING ­

·        C- and D fair (60-72) is minimally passing; unsatisfactory understanding and presentation of factual and conceptual material and poorly conceived and expressed written work. A wake-up call.  

·        C good (73-76 is a C; 77-79 is a C+) is a good basic grade; it represents the average expected performance of COLLEGE students.  This is the level at which good work starts. 

·        B work very good (80-82 is a B-; 83-86 is a B; 87-89 is a B+) is significantly better.

·        A excellent work (90-93 is an A-; 94-97 is an A, 98-100 is an A+) is truly remarkable.

Further expectations: 

  • To receive a grade, all assignments must be submitted in hard copy at the beginning of class on the due date (or a later date IF you demonstrate progress on the assignment and obtain an excuse in advance of the due date).  ASSIGNMENTS SENT VIA E-MAIL ARE NOT ACCEPTED. 
  • If you do not submit an assignment (or do not obtain an excuse IN ADVANCE of the due date) you receive a zero. Final grades will NOT be calculated from a fraction of required work completed, so it’s always better to try to produce something. 
  • Any excused work submitted late will be graded down.  If you are experiencing difficulty completing an assignment on time, please consult with me in a timely fashion so that I can help.   
  • No excused late work is accepted after December 7, the last day of classes.

The Numbers Game.  Monitor your own performance using the chart that appears on the course website.  All work earns a numerical grade from 0-100.  Each numerical grade bears a percentage weighting resulting in a corresponding number of points for each assignment.  At the end of the semester, the point total translates into your letter grade.  

VI.  COURSE REQUIREMENTS ­include (1) Required Reading; (2) Exams—a Quiz (10% of final grade), a Midterm (20%), and a Final Examination (30%); (3) Class Participation (10%); (4) Desiderio da Settignano exhibition review (15%); Vasari assignment: presentation and paper (15%).  Extra credit (as specified) 5%.

1. READING:   Specific assignments appear in the course schedule at the end of this syllabus. 

§        Required books: two, which you may purchase in the University bookstore or elsewhere.

  • Evelyn Welch, Art in Renaissance Italy, 1350-1500 and Giorgio Vasari, The Lives of the Artists, tr. Julia Conaway Bondanella and Peter Bondanella.  You may find additional selections from Vasari on line
  • Required primary sources: There are 19 brief selections available to you on E-reserves (accessed via the Library website).  Download them all at once, print them out, and bring them to class every week, as you will need to refer to them to participate adequately.  I’ll give you the password in class and via e-mail. A list of the readings in the library format and in mine will be distributed via email. 
    • Use the “On Reading Critically” handout on the website and the specific questions pertaining to each reading (below on this syllabus) to help you get the most from your reading.  As indicated in the Schedule (Section VII below), on the days when a reading is assigned, come to class prepared to discuss it and then work on applying what you read to what you encounter in class and in your assignments.
  • Recommended reading.  Links to additional suggested readings are on the course website.
  • The Grove Dictionary of Art, available through the GMU databases, is a good source for artists’ and patrons’ biographies and entries on themes and concepts.
  • Optional books.  Also available (in the Libraries or to purchase, if you want are two useful books on analyzing and writing about art in general: Henry M. Sayre, Writing about Art and Sylvan Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing about Art.  Consult (or arrange to buy) these books immediately if you have not had a previous Art History course or if you want to improve your analytical and writing skills for papers and essay exams.  This is a 300-level course and, although open to sophomores and above, there will be analytical vocabulary that may not be familiar to you if you have not had previous training in art history.  
  • The images that will appear on tests (except for unknowns) will be on the course website, and the relevant factual and interpretive materials should be in your notes from class lectures and from your reading.  If you want a book that provides a chronological presentation of the material get John Paoletti and Gary Radke, Art in Renaissance Italy (paperback) or Frederick Hartt, A History of Italian Renaissance Painting (hardback only).  These books do NOT substitute for what goes on in class and you may make mistakes on the tests if you provide dates or other specifics from those (or other) books instead of what we read and discuss in class.  

2.  EXAMS:  There will a quiz (30 min.), a midterm examination (75 min.), and a final exam (120 min.) during the exam period.   

 a.  The Ground Rules.

§        All exams begin on time and take place as scheduled except if the University declares an official weather emergency.  Be on time: plan ahead and allow sufficient time for parking.  No repeats of slides shown for latecomers.

§        To be excused from a scheduled quiz or exam due to illness (the only VALID excuse), you MUST inform me in advance of (as close to as possible) the exam DAY and HOUR by one of these methods: telephoning 993-1011 (leave a message if necessary) or by e-mail.  If you do not do follow these rules, you will receive a zero for the assignment.

§        If you obtain an excuse for the quiz or the midterm, you must arrange for a make-up.  Make-up tests may differ in format from the regular exam.  The Fine Print: only your academic dean can excuse you from a final examination.

b.  Format.  Tests have a similar format; knowing what to expect will help you strategize on taking notes and studying NOW.  Do not leave all study for the night before the exam!  Exams test for the forest as well as the trees.  Expect questions that ask for specific information as well as those that challenge you to place that information into the context of the history of 14th-15th-century art.  Success requires a combination of knowledge (from class notes AND reading) and analytical skills (developed in class).  The types of questions that you will find on exams include:

            (1). Definition of terms.  Technical terms discussed in the reading and in class and will be listed and you will be asked to (a) define them clearly, (b) give an example of their use in an appropriate work, and (c) state the significance of the term to the history of 14th -15th C. art, bringing in relevant points from the assigned reading.  Quiz, midterm, and final.

            (2). Identification/significance.  Single slides will be shown for 4 minutes each.  In each case, identify the work shown by naming the artist and providing the title, date, location (if still in its original place), and medium (what it is made of, i.e. fresco or marble) of the work shown.  Then, as succinctly and unequivocally as possible, state the significance of the work to the history of art.  Do not describe it or explain its subject matter, but state WHY this work is important.  Answer the question: how is this work demonstrative of important issues in 14th -15th C art?  Bring in specifics from the assigned reading when appropriate in order to receive full credit.  Quiz, midterm, and final.

            (3) Unknown. A slide that we have not covered in class is shown and, by comparing it mentally with works you have studied, you must attribute it to an artist or period, providing reasons for your choice.  You must concentrate on the style and not the subject matter.  Midterm and final.

            (4) Short essay. Questions focusing on the assigned readings: Midterm and final. 

            (5). Comparison:  A pair of slides will be shown for 15-20 minutes.  After identifying them completely [as in (2) above], in essay form discuss important similarities and differences in the two works, keeping in mind their historical contexts.  Finally, draw a CONCLUSION stating what this particular comparison teaches us about the history of art of the period.  Bring in specifics from the assigned reading when appropriate in order to receive full credit.  Midterm and final.

            (6). Long essay.  You will choose from questions formulated to allow you to discuss material from the entire semester.  The questions will derive from discussion in the final class period of the major themes and issues encountered in class.  You might be asked to trace the history of a particular art form or genre (e.g. the portrait), to comment upon a statement from one of the assigned readings, or to discuss the social function of art (e.g. art at court).  You must refer to specific examples of works of art in formulating your answer.  Final examination only; one hour.

 3.  CLASS PARTICIPATION. Class attendance/participation/note taking and in-class writing (10% of final grade).  The GMU catalogue states: “Students are expected to attend the class periods of the courses for which they register… instructors may use absence, tardiness, or early departure as de facto evidence of non-participation.”  That principle informs this course.  Participation starts with attendance: this should be your priority.  If your priorities are such that you miss more than 1 week’s worth of class for reasons other than illness, you will not receive a good grade for participation.  To improve your class participation grade come to class prepared to discuss (volunteer to speak).   Do the math: you will not earn an A in this course with an unsatisfactory participation grade. 

4.   5-6 page Exhibition Review of Desiderio da Settignano: Sculptor of Renaissance Florence (open now through 8 October only!); due in two parts.  Full directions for this assignment on a separate handout and on the course website. 

5.  Vasari’s Lives  5 minute presentation and 3-4 page paper.  Full directions for this assignment on a separate handout and on the course website. 

Extra credit: 5%.  Take arts bus to NYC on Nov 17 (or get there in some other way on a date convenient to you) and see The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Renaissance Masterpiece at the Metropolitan Museum, October 30, 2007–January 14, 2008 (and other relevant items in the Met that we are studying, e.g. Fra Filippo, Lo Scheggia, the Studiolo).).  Write a 3-page exhibition review following the format for the Desiderio review assignment.

VII.  SCHEDULE OF TOPICS, READING ASSIGNMENTS, AND QUESTIONS.

à Before the first class on 29 August PLEASE buy the two required books, download the 19 primary sources from E-Reserves, and read the syllabus carefully. 

1.  August 29. Course overview.  Vasari’s version and Welch’s version of the history of art.  The Florentine Trecento (1300s):  Giotto and Monumental Narrative at The Arena Chapel.

2.  September 5. Class does NOT meet.  But …

  • Reading assignment.  Skim the “Preface to [Vasari’s] the Lives” and Vasari’s Lives of Cimabue and Giotto; use the “Vasari themes” checklist for the Lives.  As you read the “Preface,” try to ascertain Vasari’s biases. 
  • Visit the “Desiderio da Settignano: Sculptor of Renaissance Florence,” exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, West Building, Main Floor, Galleries 10 and 11.  Write a 2-page reaction paper to what you see, following the specific directions provided.

3.  September 12.  14th Century Siena; After Giotto in Florence, the mid 14th C. 

  • DUE: hand in reaction paper to Desiderio exhibition.
  • Vasari’s Lives presentations on Giotto, Simone Martini, and Duccio.
  • Reading assignments.
    • Welch, Introduction and Chapter 1.  Questions: Study the map of Italy and familiarize yourselves with the locations and main political divisions.  What is meant by “ Italy” in our period?  What were the most important things about its geographical and historical situation?  Who was Burckhardt and why is he important?  What were some of the effects that Vasari had on art history?  Why is the concept “Renaissance” important?  In looking historically, be aware of the potential tensions between continuity and change.
    • Documents:
      •   3/I.a. Alison Brown, Renaissance (“Florence and the Renaissance”), p.105.  How does Dati explain his city’s commercial success?  Should we take him at face value?
      • 1/I.b.  Alison Brown, Renaissance (“Pope Pius II: On his Visit to Florence and the Hospitality of Cosimo de`Medici”), p. 229-234.  He writes in the 3rd person: when he says “the Pope,” he means himself.  What features of the city does the Pope notice?  Anything in common with Dati?  How does he portray the Florentine people? How does he describe the Medici family?
    •   Skim Vasari’s lives of Simone Martini and Duccio; look for patterns.

4.  September 19. Early 15th-C. Florence: a Math Culture; the Decoration of Or San Michele.

  •    QUIZ; then class
  • Reading assignments:   
    • Welch, Chapter 2.  Questions.  What would be the difference between a history of art and a history of artists?  What were some of the patrons’ priorities?  What kinds of objects are treated in this chapter?  What materials appear in artworks and why were certain materials used in certain kinds of objects?  Be aware of different materials and techniques.
    • Document 11/IV a.  Creighton Gilbert, Italian Art, 1400-1500: Sources and Documents (“City Council of Florence Legislates Sculptures”), p. 107.  On Or San Michele.  What does this document tell us about the role of Florence’s city council in artistic production?  What are its specific provisions?
  • Skim Vasari’s Lives of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, and Donatello; look for pattern

5.  September 26.  15th Century Florentine Altarpieces.

  • Vasari presentations: Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, and Donatello.
  • Reading assignments:
    • Welch, Chapter 3.  Questions.  How would you describe the structure/s within which artists worked?  How did artists manage their businesses?  Be able to describe a typical workshop organization and its practice.  Take note of the artists Welch mentions whom we shall study.
      • Documents 12, 13, 17, 18/III a-d, from Creighton Gilbert, Italian Art, 1400-1500: Sources and Documents.  These provide us with insights into the practicalities of the artist’s workshop.
      • 12/III. a. Donatello’s Bookkeeping, 1427.  What can you learn from Donatello’s tax return? 
      •   18/III. b. Domenico Veneziano Prepares to Move to Florence, 1438.  What is the artist hoping to gain from writing this letter?  How does he present himself? 
      • 17/III. c. Neri di Bicci Contracts with an Apprentice, 1456.  What were the expectations for the apprentice and the artist?
      • 13/III. d.  Fra Filippo Lippi Duns the Patron, 1457.  What language does the artist use to try to get his patron to pay up?  What does this letter suggest to you about how artists and patrons made deals? 
    • Skim Vasari’s Lives of Fra Angelico and Fra Filippo Lippi; look for patterns.

6.  October 3.  The New Narrative; The Medici Palace and its Contents

  • Vasari presentations: Fra Angelico, Fra Filippo Lippi, and L.B. Alberti; look for patterns. 
  • Reading assignments
  • Read Welch, Chapter 9.  Questions.  What were the principal functions of the patrician palace?  What were the main forms and themes of artworks intended for a domestic context?  How did notions of gender impinge on the palace and its decoration?  What about the studiolo?
  • Read Documents
    • 8 /V. a from Peter Elmer, Renaissance in Europe: An Anthology, and 10, 15/ V. b., and c. from Creighton Gilbert, Italian Art, 1400-1500: Sources and Documents
    • 15/V. a The Medici Inventory.  This was made at the death of Lorenzo de’ Medici, “Il Magnifico” in 1492.  How does the inventory writer describe items in the palace?  Which aspects are emphasized? Which items do you recognize? What categories of items receive the highest valuations?
    • 10/V. b Benozzo Gozzoli’s Patron asks for Revision in His Work.  What were the patron’s concerns? How did artists respond?  What did you learn about the fresco process?
    • 8/V.c  Letter from Galeazzo Maria Sforza to his parents and Diplomatic dispatch to Francesco Sforza form Niccolò de’Carissima da Parma.  What aspects of the Medici Palace do the writers note? What were some of the key points of their visit?  What do the recipients of their letters want to know and why?  What idea do we have of what the Medici hoped to accomplish?
  • Skim Vasari’s Lives of Masaccio, Uccello, and Alberti; look for patterns.

7.  October 10.  Narrative Programs. 

  • Vasari presentations: Masaccio and Uccello.
  • Reading assignments:
    • Read Welch, Chapter 4.  Questions.  What was the role of the patron in artistic production?  Were there differences in the city and at court?  Note the language of contracts: what gets mentioned and what is omitted?  What motivated patrons? Were there distinctions in men’s and women’s patronage?
    • Document 14/IV b.  Creighton Gilbert, Italian Art, 1400-1500: Sources and Documents, “Leonardo Bruni’s Rejected Program.” Often humanist scholars, who had the requisite education, created the programs for complex artworks to be executed by artworks.  Who was Bruni? What thoughts does he express about the Baptistery doors?  How does he see his role and that of the artist? Can you draw out a model of what his program would have looked like, had it been executed? Why might it have been rejected?
    • Skim Vasari’s Life of Piero.   Read, “The Finding of The True Cross,” from the Golden Legend (see link on website)

8.  October 17.  North Italian Courts: The Patronage of Federigo da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, and The Ducal Palace, Mantua.

  • Vasari presentations: Piero and Mantegna
  • Reading assignments:
    • Read Welch, Chapter 5.  Questions. What purpose was religious art meant to serve?  How was it used?  Pay special attention to the role of altarpieces.  What do writers tell us about how images were regarded in this period?  What spaces received decoration?  What motivated patrons to commission religious art?  What was the role of relics?
    • Documents
      • 5/VI.b, Elmer, Renaissance in Europe: An Anthology (“Letter Patent [an official document conferring a right] to Master Luciano Laurana”), Pages: 204-206; What does the patron expect from an architect? What does the letter tell us about the architect’s status?
      • 6/VI.a.  Elmer, Renaissance in Europe: An Anthology (“Life of Federico da Montefeltro”), Pages: 196-204.  Excerpts from his biography written by Vespasiano de’ Bisticci. Renaissance biography followed medieval (saints’ lives) and ancient (Plutarch) precedents and emphasized a subject’s exemplary qualities. One of its implications was that the reader should see positive examples to follow. What sorts of characteristics does Vespasiano emphasize? How does he make his subject come alive? Can you imagine yourself a member of his court?  What would your life be like? What kind of language does Vespasiano use? Compare this selection with Pope Pius II’s description of his visit to Florence and Vespasiano’s Life of Cosimo de’ Medici
    • Skim Vasari’s Life of Mantegna. 

9.  October 24   MIDTERM; then class Portraying Women

10.  October 31  Late 15th Century Altarpieces and Chapels in Florence

    • Desiderio exhibit review due
    • Reading assignments: Skim Vasari’s life of Verrocchio. 

11.  November 7   The Patronage of Pope Sixtus IV in Rome; Sculpture

  • Vasari presentations: Verrocchio and Perugino
  • Reading assignments:
    • Welch, Chapter 7.  Questions. What functions did art and architecture fulfill in the civic sphere?  How did it convey messages?  What kinds of messages? 
    • Skim Vasari’s Life of Perugino. 

12.  November 14   Mythology and Court Culture; Religious Painting in Florence in the 2nd half of the 15th Century

  • Vasari presentations: Botticelli and Castagno/Veneziano
  • Reading assignments:
    • Welch, Chapter 8.  Questions.  What were the distinctive factors affecting patronage and artistic production in Rome, Tuscany (especially Florence and Siena), and Venice?  Why did they differ?
      •   Documents
      • 7/VII a. Peter Elmer, Renaissance in Europe: An Anthology, Saint Antonino on the Ethics of Painting.  Who was the writer and what was his position? What are his concerns about religious paintings? Whose fault is it if paintings are not as he thinks they should be?
      • 9/VII b. Creighton Gilbert, Italian Art, 1400-1500, Lorenzo de’ Medici’s Criteria for Paintings.  What is Lorenzo looking for in art he considers good? How do his views compare with those of St. Antoninus? How would you explain their differences?
    • Skim Vasari’s Lives of Botticelli, Castagno and Ghirlandaio. 

à Nov 17 Strongly Recommended! Take GMU Arts Bus to NYC to see “The Gates of Paradise: Lorenzo Ghiberti’s Renaissance Masterpiece,” at the Metropolitan Museum .

13.  November 28.   15th Century Religious Painting in Venice and the Veneto. 

  •  Vasari paper due
  • Vasari’s Lives presentations: Antonello and Ghirlandaio
  • Reading assignments.
    • Welch, Chapter 6.  Questions. What were the specific characteristics of the different religious sites that received decoration?  Were monasteries and convents different?  Cathedrals versus regular churches?  Be familiar with the different kinds of churches and their components and the opportunities they presented for patronage.  How would the faithful have experienced a religious space?
    • Skim Vasari’s Life of Antonello da Messina

14.  December 5.  The Savonarola Episode and its Effects; then “Grand Synthesis”

  • Read Documents:
  • 4/VIII. a.  Alison Brown, Renaissance (“Publicity in Chapels”); Savonarola, Sermons on Zachariah.  What are the implications of Savonarola’s remarks for artistic production and reception?  Compare what he says about the building of monasteries with what Vespasiano said about Cosimo de’ Medici.
  • 19/VIII. b. Linnea Wren, Perspectives in Western Art (“Savonarola: The Compendium of Revelations”).  What was the nature of Savonarola’s vision? What were its implications for artistic production and consumption in Florence?
  • Reread Vasari’s Preface to the Lives and Preface to Part 2.  Review all your readings and class notes and come to class prepared to list and discuss what you think have been the major themes and issues we’ve addressed this semester.    

December 12,   Final Examination.  Part I like a second midterm; Part II a comprehensive essay with choice of at least two questions formulated from the discussion on December 5.