aCademiC Catalog 2013-2014 - Lorenzo de Medici

Exhibition Management
ART 267 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
In this course students learn the main procedures involved in
planning and managing a museum exhibition. Most of the course
revolves around the development by each student of a complete
and viable exhibition proposal. Major effort is dedicated to the
proposal (research and development), the budget plan (key
elements and procedures), logistics and security (transport,
insurance, timetables), promotion (marketing research and
materials, sponsorship issues), physical planning (viewer flow,
display principles), and curatorship (scholarly validity and
impact, cataloguing and information, networking). The course
taps into the remarkable world-class experience and innovation
concentrated in Italy and especially Florence. The project may
relate to a real space in Florence. Local spaces and temporary
exhibitions are studied, and visits with specialists such as
architects, exhibition designers and museum curators, are
special features of the course.
Prerequisites: Art History or Restoration majors and sophomore
standing
The Genius of Michelangelo
ART 270 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course focuses on Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
and offers students the opportunity to explore in depth the life
and work of one of the most gifted and revolutionary artists
of the sixteenth century. It will look on his long artistic career
as a painter, sculptor, architect and poet. The artist’s personal
and artistic relations with other outstanding artists of his time,
in particular to Leonardo and Raphael, whom Michelangelo
perceived as great rivals, will also be a central theme of the
course. The course will be based on recent literature, sources
of the time and Michelangelo’s own writings (mainly his letters
and poetry). It will also explore artistic questions like the
hidden meanings in his works and Michelangelo’s influence on
contemporary and later artists. The course will also explore
relations with his commissioners, especially the Medici in
Florence and the papal court in Rome under pope Julius II.
Students will gain a detailed knowledge of Michelangelo’s work,
and will be able to identify and analyze major works in painting,
sculpture and architecture. Site visits will form an essential part
of the course.
Prerequisites: ART 180 Art History I, or ART 186 Art History II,
or equivalents
Materials and Techniques: from Antiquity to
the Renaissance
ART 272 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
The course aims to provide students with a basic background
about various materials and techniques used in art from Antiquity
up to the Renaissance, from painting on panel and canvas, to
the fresco, from the lost wax bronze casting to the creation of
hard-stone inlay, metal work and printmaking. Very often, in the
study of art history, the main artistic techniques are neglected,
if not completely ignored, while these were, on the contrary,
very important in the creation of the greatest masterpieces that
we still can admire. Using Powerpoint presentations, videos,
and Renaissance sources, by authors like Cennino Cennini,
Benvenuto Cellini and Giorgio Vasari, the course will analyze
various artistic processes, demonstrating how they contributed
to the final artistic result. Visits to museums and especially to
local craft shops, as well as showing students the materials,
tools and the way these have been used by the Renaissance
artists will be an essential part of the course.
Prerequisites: ART 180 Art History I, or ART 186 Art History II,
or equivalents
Italian Renaissance Art
ART 278 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
Florence, “the cradle of the Renaissance”, is the setting for this
introduction to the history of Renaissance art. The course is
intended to give the beginning student a general overview of the
main facts, causes and conditions that led artists from Giotto in
the fourteenth century to Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi and
Botticelli in the fifteenth century, up to Leonardo, Michelangelo
and Raphael in the sixteenth century, to create one of the most
fascinating periods in art history. In Italy these years witnessed
an extraordinary coming together of artistic talent, a passionate
interest in antiquity, civic pride and an optimistic belief in “man
as the measure of all things”. This course examines the most
important monuments from the Renaissance period in Italy and
the major artists and architects who contributed to the birth
of western art. Works are always compared with each other to
show various relationships, remembering how important it is to
view Renaissance art in the context of its creation.
Prerequisites: ART 180 Art History I, or ART 186 Art History II,
or equivalents
Lifestyle in Renaissance Florence
ART 280 F; Dual listed: HIS 280 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
Important Renaissance works of art, paintings, sculptures,
and art objects like wedding chests and furniture, ceramics,
and jewels and luxurious clothing are often characterized
by coats of arms, by family, individual, or wedding emblems,
and by symbols that are deeply related to their powerful
commissioners (such as the Medici, Rucellai, Strozzi, and Pitti
families in Florence). The course will illustrate and investigate
their possible meanings and connections with history, families,
and artists of the Renaissance, as well as with philosophy,
astrology, and iconography from the end of the 15th to the 16th
century.
Italian Villas and Gardens
ART 282 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course examines the development of Italian villa and
garden architecture from ancient Roman times to the present.
This course covers these artistic periods: 1) Ancient Rome;
2) Medieval; 3) Renaissance and Mannerism; 4) Baroque;
5) Romantic; 6) Modern. Special emphasis is placed on the
Renaissance, and on Florentine, Tuscan and Roman villas and
gardens. Lectures and visits illuminate the intimate relationship
between the villa, its formal gardens, and the surrounding
environment. The course examines structures and grounds in
terms of architectural design, typical features of each period
(paintings and statues, fountains, grottoes, plants), and
conceptual and symbolic meanings. The course will also explore
the social and aesthetic function of villas and gardens: “magic
places” in which nature and culture, work and pleasure meet.
The aim of this course is to offer students a comprehensive look
at the history and character of Italian villas and gardens, in the
process familiarizing them with Italian ways of life and thought.
Prerequisites: ART 165 History of Architecture, or ART 180 Art
History I, or ART 186 Art History II, or equivalents
Medieval Art
ART 285 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
The course deals with Early Christian and Medieval art, and
its political, social and cultural implications. Topics discussed
range from the origins of Christian art to Carolingian art; from
proto-Romanesque art to the development of Romanesque
art in Europe; from classicism in Florentine Romanesque art
to the Gothic style in architecture and sculpture. The course
includes a detailed study of Italian Gothic painting: the schools
of Siena and Florence, as well as Giotto’s works. The particular
Florentine experience during the Gothic period and the social,
political, economic, and cultural implications that form the
background of Renaissance civilization, will be considered.
Students gain understanding of the vitality and variety of
art in the Middle Ages. Visits to Romanesque, Gothic, and
Renaissance monuments help to understand the transitions,
either linked to or in contrast with earlier styles.
Prerequisites: ART 180 Art History I, or ART 186 Art History II,
or equivalents
Contemporary Architecture
ART 286 F; Dual listed: ARC 286 F
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
School of Arts & Sciences FLORENCE
LdM Academic Catalog 2013-2014
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