Art History 441
Florence and the Medici
On the Paper
The Master of the L.A..
Lanckoronski Annunciation. 1445/1450.
San Francisco, Museum of the Legion of Honor
|
Art History 441 Florence and the MediciOn the Paper | ||
|
|
| |
|
| ||
|
| ||
|
| ||
On the Paper
IndexBasic Perimeters and Some Suggestions Some Preliminary Ideas Online Resources Due Dates, etc Paper Topics for 410/510 and 441/541 Return to Main Page Basic Perimeters
Each student enrolled in the course will complete a paper, the type to be determined by the student's level of enrollment. Those who are taking this as 441 will write a "state of research" survey of a particular subject, to result in a paper of about ten pages. Suggestions are listed below. Those who take this class as 541 will write a more in-depth paper on a subject, to result in a paper of 15 to 20 pages. This paper will incorporate the "state of research" survey as part of the completion of a more developed treatment of the chosen topic. Those topics listed below can most likely be pursued satisfactorily by students who do not know Italian. Please note that these are only (considered) suggestions. If you have other ideas, or if you can handle Italian, please come see me for other ideas.
Suggested topics for 441:
One basic idea would be to take a particular work of art, such as Donatello's David(s) or one of Botticelli's paintings and trace its history and critical fortune. Questions to answer would include: How much to we really know about this object? What is its factual history? What problems does it seem to pose, or answer? What is the critical history of the object? How have (selected) art historians considered and evaluated the object? What do art historians think is significant about the object in terms of the larger history of art and of Florence? This kind of topic and approach would probably be appropriate for most 410 students, and could be adequately explored in a paper of about ten pages.
Suggested Topics for 541:
Students at the graduate level may also look at one work of art, but you will do this in the context of producing an in-depth consideration. A list of other ideas is below. Whichever you choose, your paper will use the "state of research" survey as a preliminary paper, whose results will be summarized and integrated into a more personal interpretation of the subject. Questions to explore include: What does the object tell us about the artist, the patron, Florentine art and culture? What problems for further exploration are opened here?Some Preliminary Ideas: Fifteenth-century Topics (more or less)
- A particular work of art.
- On an artist: some aspect of the career or style.
- Urban design in Florence (probably either Brunelleschi or Lorenzo de'Medici)
- The Medici Palace
- Michelozzo and Cosimo de'Medici
- Alberti as architect in Florence
- Palace design in Florence
- The Villa (pick one or two; most of the Medici villas are very well-published)
- Church design (pick one and relate it to other work by the architect, etc)
- A Notable Chapel; such as Old Sacristy of San Lorenzo
- The Humanist tomb
- Medici tomb monuments
- The Della Robbia
- The Cantoria for the Duomo of Florence
- Donatello (some aspect of his style)
- Donatello and Michelozzo : artistic collaboration in Florence
- Verrocchio as sculptor or painter
- Sculptors of the "sweet style" (probably best to look at two or maybe three; lots of the more specialized work here is in Italian or German)
- Portraiture (too big on its own; isolate one subtopic, such as women; men; portraits in paintings by Botticelli; others...)
- The young Leonardo
- The young Michelangelo (there has been some major work in this area)
- Raphael in Florence
Sixteenth-century topics
- Mannerism in Florence (use the survey to isolate a subtopic)
- Portraitists of the Medici (look at Bronzino, Cellini, Vasari--may want to subdivide this as research indicates)
- The Capponi Chapel of Santa Felicitv (Pontormo and Bronzino)
- Cosimo I : portraits; as patron of art; and the Counter-Reformation (your paper would probably want to focus on one aspect with one or more as subtopics)
- Eleanora of Toledo as a patron of art (lots of fighting in this area)
- Ammanati: sculpture; design for the Juno Fountain
- Vasari's renovations in the churches of Florence
- Vasari as architect in Florence (good sources for this; pick a subtopic)
- The Fortezza di Basso or the Forte Belvedere (ie, fortifications)
- The Studiolo of Francesco I
Online Resources
- Knight Library
- National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- JSTOR An online collection of citations and articles that you can read here or print out. As there are several people in the course with an interest in topics such as humanism, Medici patronage, and domestic life, this would be a good place to look. Don't forget to ask for the book reviews, too. [N.B.: a search for "Lorenzo de'Medici" turned up over 200 items.]
- CAA Reviews This Web site contains reviews of recently-published books in art history. It is still a new site, and so is not very big, but it is searchable and so you may find something useful.
Due Dates for each part of the Paper
There will be three parts to each paper:
- A preliminary description of the subject to be explored;
- An annotated bibliography of the most relevant sources;
- The completed paper
Each part will have its own due date. [To be added.]
Return to the Main Page
TOP OF PAGE Your College Here | Art History Main Page
