ART HISTORY 354
ITALIAN RENAISSANCE SCULPTURE
- TTh 2:50-4:10
- Arty Hall 104
- Prof. Adrienne DeAngelis
- Office Hours: TBA Room 006C
Description of the Course: This is an upper division survey of sculpture in Italy from Nicola Pisano to Michaelangelo and the later Venetian sculptors: generally, the period from the mid-thirteenth century to the late sixteenth century. Special attention will be paid to major artists of this period, including the Pisani, Ghiberti, Nanni di Banco, Donatello, Verrocchio, Jacopo Sansovino, and Ammannati, and to special sculptural projects and themes such as religious sculpture, Orsanmichele and the ideals of public sculpture, tomb monuments, and portraiture.
Prerequisites: Art History 105 and Art History 106. Or, permission of the instructor.
Texts:
- Roberta J.M. Olson, Italian Renaissance Sculpture. NY, 1992. Please read ASAP.
- Charles Avery. Donatello: An Introduction. NY, 1995.
- Howard Hibbard. Michelangelo. Another paperback. NY, 1985.
- A Short Guide to Writing About Art. Sylvan Barnet. 5th Ed. Optional; copies on hold in the Art Library.
N. B. : You will also be asked to read some articles, mostly from Sarah Blake McHam's Looking at Italian Renaissance Sculpture, and a few of Vasari's Lives of the Artists. The ones you are expected to read are included among those attached to this Website. Copies of all of the other readings will be placed on reserve at the Art History Library.
Index of Art 354 Course Site
| On the Quizzes |
Course Requirements in Brief
There will be four quizzes, worth 25 points each. You will have a midterm, a final, and a 7-10 page research paper. Each unit is worth 100 points and counts 25% of your grade. The RESEARCH PAPER: for this you will choose a sculpture from an area museum to analyze according to a particular format. More details on this paper can be found at its Website, listed above.
Basic Advice for This Class
As you know from having taken Art 105 and/or Art 106, the history of art is a cumulative subject; the material cannot be crammed in an overnight session before the exam. Do the reading before coming to class; take notes from the lectures; go over your notes and your reading periodically. Take advantage of the Web sites, slides, and photographs posted downstairs. You will need to use the Art Library next door both to do the article readings, research, and general browsing. Take advantage of my office hours! If you have a very specific question (Ex: "When is the Midterm?") you can contact me.
Lecture Schedule and Reading for Art 354
Note that this schedule may be adjusted due to prevailing circumstances; however, we will cover all of the material.
| LECTURE/DATE | READING | |
| NO. 1 Jan. 19 | Introduction to the Course; Background to Italian Renaissance Sculpture | Begin Olson; Helms; begin to explore Web sites |
| WEBSITE | Italian Romanesque Sculpture | Look over |
| NO. 2 Jan. 21 | Italian Romanesque Sculpture | Olson |
| WEBSITE | Late Gothic Art in Italy AND : Trecento Sculpture | |
| No. 3 Jan. 26 | Pisa and the Pisani: Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano | Vasari's life of Nicola Pisano; Raspi (look over) ALSO: visit the Pisa Baptistery |
| NO. 4 Jan. 28 | Sculpture for the Facades of Religious Buildings | Olson |
| NO. 5 Feb. 2 | First Quiz Venice and the Veneto | Olson; Demus |
| WEBSITE | Trecento Sculpture | |
| NO. 6 Feb. 4 | Tombs : For Saints, Holy People; for Rulers and Ecclesiastics | Moskowitz; Robertson |
| WEBSITE | Trecento Tombs | |
| No. 7 Feb. 9 | Civic Sculpture | McHam, "Public Sculpture..." |
| WEB SITE | Some Civic Sculpture | |
| No. 8 Feb. 11 | The Bronze Doors for the Baptistery of Florence: From Andrea Pisano to Ghiberti | Vasari's Life of Brunelleschi : Pt. 1; Vasari's Life of Ghiberti; Krautheimer |
| No. 9 Feb. 16 | Second Quiz Donatello I: Early Sculptures and Orsanmichele | Begin Avery |
| WEBSITE | Fifteenth Century Italian Art I and Quattrocento Sculpture | |
| No. 10 Feb. 18 | Orsanmichele | Avery; Zervas |
| WEB SITE | Orsanmichele Please note that this is a commercial site. | |
| No. 11 Feb. 23 | Donatello II: circa 1420-1445 | Avery; Janson; Pope-Hennessy, Donatello: look over |
| No. 12 Feb. 25 | PLEASE READ THIS | |
| No. 13 March 2 | Donatello to circa 1440 | Avery |
| No. 14 March 4 | Donatello to ca. 1450. | Avery |
| No. 15 March 9 | Quattrocento Tomb Monuments; Portraiture | Lavin Pico della Mirandola, Oration on the Dignity of Man |
| WEBSITE | Fifteenth Century Italian Art II | |
| No. 16 March 11 | Donatello IV: Padua and the Last Works in Florence | Finish Avery |
| No. 17 March 23 | Popular Devotional Sculpture; Small Bronzes; the Collector | Posner OR Klapisch-Zuber; Kenseth; Pope-Hennessy |
| No. 18 March 25 | Third Quiz Later Quattrocento Tomb Monuments | The Chapel of the Cardinal of Portugal (look over) |
| No. 19 March 30 | Venice and the Veneto, 1450s-1490s : I | McHam (look over) |
| No. 20 April 1 | Venice and the Veneto : II | Luchs; Sheard |
| WEBSITE | Sculpture in Venice and the Veneto: ca. 1460-1620 | |
| No. 21 April 6 | Leonardo and his influence (Rustici); Begin Michelangelo | Begin Hibbard; Wallace (Pieta) |
| WEBSITE | Michelangelo | |
| No. 22 April 8 | NO CLASS | Hibbard; Wallace (Looking) |
| No. 23 April 13 | Michelangelo II | Hibbard; Liebert; Saslow |
| No. 24 April 15 | Michelangelo III; Lorenzetto, Andrea Sansovino | Bonito; Poeschke: look over |
| No. 25 April 20 | FOURTH QUIZ Jacopo Sansovino, Leone Leoni | Vasari's Lives of Sansovino and his disciples (skim); Poeschke: look over |
| No. 26 April 22 | PAPER IS DUE Mannerism and the Medici I: Baccio Bandinelli, Benvenuto Cellini | From Cellini's Autobiography; Posner ("Bandinelli and Michelangelo") |
| No. 27 April 27 | Mannerism and the Medici II: Ammannati, Danti, Giambologna | Avery, Giambologna (look over) |
| No. 28 April 29 | Sansovino's School: Danese Cattaneo, Girolamo Campagna, Alessandro Vittoria | Vasari's Life of Jacopo Sansovino (browse) |
| MONDAY, MAY 10 FROM 12 NOON TO 3 p.m. | BE THERE OR BE SQUARE |
