Courses offered | ARS 310, Summer 2009

The Art and Culture of the Renaissance in Florence

Professor Anthony Gully

Course Overview :

This course traces the artistic, political, social, religious and economic history of Florence, Italy from 1300 to 1600. The course explores the historical context in which the forces outside the artist's studio affected the course of Italian art and architecture. The course is divided into six units:

(1) The cultural and political tensions between two medieval cities: Florence and Siena

(2) The impact of the Bubonic Plague on Italian culture

and the arts

(3) Florentine banking houses, Mediterranean trade and

patronage of the arts

(4) Art and politics in late 15th century Florence: The

Medici and Savanarola

(5) Papal Rome posed against the Florentine Republic:

artistic consequences

(6) The Grand Duchy of Tuscany and artistic decline in

the Sixteenth century

Course Texts:

I. Major Required Texts:

Michael Baxandall, Painting and Experience in Fifteenth

Century Italy: A Primer in the Social History of Pictorial Style

Ross King, Brunelleschi's Dome

A. Richard Turner, Renaissance Florence: The Invention of a New Art

Texts may be purchased in Florence at The Paperback Exchange, Via delle Oche, #4R

II. Supplementary Texts

The following texts will be available from the instructor. In some instances portions of these texts will be copied and distributed to members of the class.

Cole, Alison, Virtue and Magnificence: Art of the Italian

Renaissance Courts

[Chapters on courts of Urbino, Mantua and Papal Rome ]

Gilbert, Creighton, (ed.), Sources and Documents: Italian Art 1400-1500 [Selected Readings ]

Klein, Robert and Henri Zerner,(eds.)) Sources and Documents: Italian Art 1500-1600 [Selected Readings ]

Olson, Roberta, Italian Renaissance Sculpture

[Chapters on Ghiberti, Donatello and Michelangelo]

Sherman, John , Mannerism

[Chapters on Florentine painters].

Vasari, Giorgio Lives of the Artists

[Selected biographies]

ARS 310 

Summer 2006

Goals of the Course:

The purpose of the course is to develop a critical understanding of the chronological development of Florentine art and its relationship to the political and social life of the city from 1300 to 1600. This three-hundred year period witnessed an extraordinary fluorescence of artistic, scientific and philosophic thought and influential political theories.

Requirements for ARS 310

Examinations

There will be one examination. This final exam will be administered on the last Thursday of the program. The exam is worth 30% of the course grade.

Required Writing Assignments

Each student will be asked to write five short essays, 2-3+ pages of text [exclusive of endnotes and bibliography if these are included]) Each paper will be worth 12% of the total course grade [60%]. Papers may be hand-written or printed, double-spaced . Papers will be submitted each Thursday except for the last week of class. Papers will center around the interaction between social and political forces and the art produced in Florence during the Renaissance. Each essay will require the student to study first-hand one or more original works of art to be found in the museums, churches or public spaces of Florence. Some of the essays will ask the students to consider ideas encountered in the course texts or special exhibits on view during the summer of 2006.

This summer will witness two important exhibitions of art which the class will visit. "Giambologna: Gli Dei, Gli Eroi" ('Giambologna: Gods and Heroes') will close shortly after our arrival in Florence. Giambologna is one of the two major Florentine sculptors of the sixteenth century. The second exhibit focuses on the most influential art theorist of the fifteenth century and a leading Florentine architect, Leon Battista Alberti. The exhibit at the Palazzo Strozzi "Leon Battista Alberti: L'Uomo del Rinascimento" ('The Renaissance Man Leon Battista Alberti and the Arts of Florence: Between Reason and Beauty" will be visited midway through the course.

Required Participation in Class Discussions

10% of the course grade will be based on participation in class discussions and regular attendance to class meetings

Organization of ARS 310

For the summer of 2006 this art history lecture class has been organized in a new fashion. Monday night slide lectures have been replaced by on-site visitations to museums, churches and collections of art on Mondays. Therefore four days a week the class will 'be on the streets.' The added day of on-site visits will allow members of the class to visit major art museums on repeated occasions. The class will be broken into small groups in order to encourage discussions of works and to answer any questions students may have. It is expected that students will have completed all assigned readings prior to all on-site class meetings.

Instructors:

Professor Anthony Lacy Gully

History of Art & Art Theory Faculty

School of Art

Katherine Herberger College of Fine Arts

Arizona State University

email address: anthony.gully@asu.edu

Ms. Elena Bender, Graduate Teaching Assistant

email address: elena.bender@asu.edu

The Art of Renaissance

Florence and Tuscany  

I. Late Gothic/ Proto-Renaissance Art in Tuscany

A. Trecento Sculpture

Andrea Pisano (ca. 1290-1348)

South Doors, Baptistery, Florence, gilt bronze, ca. 1336

Reliefs, Campanile, Florence, marble, 1330, Museo del Duomo

B. Trecento Painting

Cenni di Pepi [called Cimabue] (Active ca. 1272-1302)

Virgin Enthroned, t/w, ca. 1285, Uffizi Gallery

Crucifix, t/w, before 1288, Santa Croce

Giotto da Bordone (ca. 1267-1337)

Ognissanti Madonna, t/w, 1310, Uffizi Gallery

Bardi Chapel (Legend of St. Francis cycle), fresco, after 1317,

Santa Croce

Andrea Bonaiuti [called da Firenze ] (Active ca. 1343-1377)

Spanish Chapel Cycle, fresco, 1365, Santa. Maria Novella

Duccio di Buonisegna (Active 1278-1318)

Rucellai Madonna, t/w, 1285, Uffizi Gallery

Maestà Altarpiece, t/w., 1308-11, Museo dell'Opera, Siena

and other locations.

Simone Martini (Active ca. 1314-1344)

Annunciation, t/w, 1333, Uffizi Gallery

Quattrocento Painting in Florence

Gentile da Fabriano (1385?-1427)

Adoration of the Magi (Strozzi Altarpiece), t/w., 1423

Uffizi Gallery

Paolo Uccello (1397-1475)

Monument to Giovanni Acuto (Sir John Hawkwood), fresco,1436,Duomo

Chiostro Verde Genesis Cycle, fresco, 1445-47, Santa Maria Novella

Fra Angelico [ Guido di Pietro] (ca. 1400-1455)

Santa Trinità Altarpiece, t/w, 1436-37, San Marco Museum

Decorations for the Conventi di San Marco, fresco, ca. 1425-27, in situ

Maso di Cristofano Fini [ called Masaccio ] (1401-1428/29)

Holy Trinity, fresco, 1426, Santa Maria Novella

Brancacci Chapel Decorations, fresco, ca. 1425-27, Santa Maria del Carmine

Domenico Veneziano (ca. 1410-1461)

St. Lucy Altarpiece, t/w, 1445, Uffizi Gallery

Fra Filippo Lippi (ca. 1409-1469)

Annunciation, o/w, ca. 1440, San Lorenzo

Andrea Castagno (1417-19-1457)

Last Supper, fresco, 1444, Refectory, Sant'Apollonia

Monument to Niccolo da Tolentino, 1456, fresco, Duomo

Piero della Francesca (ca. 1423/24-1492)

Urbino Diptych, t,o/w, 1465, Uffizi Gallery

Hercules and Antaeus, t/p, 1460, Uffizi Gallery

Domenico Ghirlandaio (1449-1494)

Last Supper, fresco, 1480, Refectory, Convento di San Marco

Lives of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist cycles, fresco, 1485-90, Capella Maggiore, S.M. Novella

Adoration of the Shepherds, o/p, 1485, Santa Trinità

Pietro Perugino (ca. 1445-1523)

Pietà, o/p, 1493, Uffizi Gallery

Filippino Lippi (1457/58-1505)

Brancacci Chapel Decorations, fresco, 1481-85, Santa Maria

del Carmine

Vision of St. Bernard, o/p, ca. 1485, Badia, Florence

Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510)

La Primavera, o/c, ca. 1478, Uffizi Gallery

Birth of Venus, o/c, ca. 1482, Uffizi Gallery

Madonna of the Magnificat, o/c, ca. 1483, Uffizi Gallery

Annunciation, o/c, 1489-90, Uffizi Gallery

Andrea del Verrocchio (1436-1488)

Baptism of Christ, o/p, 1472, Uffizi Gallery

III. Quattrocento Sculpture

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1445)

Competition Panel, 'The Sacrifice of Isaac', gilt bronze,

1402, Bargello

Crucifix, polychrome wood, nd., Gondi Chapel, S.M. Novella

Lorenzo Ghiberti (1381?-1455)

Competition Panel, 'The Sacrifice of Isaac', gilt bronze,

1402, Bargello

North Doors, gilt bronze, 1407-1413, Baptistery of San Giovanni

St. John, the Baptist, bronze, 1412-16, Orsanmichele

East Doors (Gates of Paradise), gilt bronze, 1425-52, Museo dell'Opera (copy on Baptistery)

Nanni di Banco (1385?-1421)

Four Crowned Saints, marble, 1411-1413, Orsanmichele (copy)

Donato di Bardi [ called Donatello ] (1386-1466)

First Period: 1406-1423

David, marble, 1408-09, Bargello

St. Mark, marble, 1411-13, Orsanmichele

St. George, marble, 1415-17, Bargello

Habakkuk ['Lo Zuccone'], marble, 1423-25, Museo dell'Opera

Second Period: 1433-1443

David, bronze, 1430-33, Bargello

Annunciation Tabernacle, mm, ca. 1433, Sta. Croce

Cantoria, mm., 1434-39, Museo dell'Opera

Third Period (Paduan)

Gattamelata, bronze and marble, 1443-53, Padua

Fourth Period (1454-1466)

St. Mary Magdalen, polychrome wood, 1454-55, Museo dell'Opera

Judith and Holofernes, bronze, ca. 1456, Palazzo della Signoria

Lucca della Robbia (1400?-1482)

Cantoria, marble, 1431-39, marble, Museo dell'Opera

Medallions of the Four Evangelists, terra-cotta, after 1443,

Pazzi Chapel, Sta. Croce

Bernardo Rosselllino (1409-1464)

Tomb of Leonardo Bruni, marble, ca. 1445, Sta. Croce

Desiderio da Settignano (ca. 14300-1464)

Tomb of Carlo Marsuppini, marble, after 1463, Sta. Croce

Antonio del Pollaiuolo (ca. 1432-1498)

Hercules and Antaeus, bronze, ca. 1475, Bargello

Andrea Verrocchio (1435-1488)

Doubting Thomas Group, bronze, 1465-83, Orsanmichele

David, bronze, 1476, Bargello

Bust of an Unknown Woman, marble, 1476, Bargello

IV. Fifteenth Century Florentine Architecture

Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1446)

Ospedale delgi Innocenti, ca. 1420

Dome of Duomo (Sta. Maria del Fiore), 1418-1436

San Lorenzo, begun 1419

Santo Spirito, 1434

Pazzi Chapel, Sta. Croce, 1443

Michelozzo di Bartolommeo (1396-1472)

Library, Convento di San Marco, ca. 1437-51

Santissima Annunziata, 1444-45

Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, begun 1444

Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472)

Palazzo Rucellai, 1446-51

Façade, Sta. Maria Novella, 1470

Benedetto da Maiano (1489-1507) and Simone del Pollaiuolo

[ called il Cronaca ], (1457-1508)

Palazzo Strozzi, 1489-1507

V. The High Renaissance in Florence

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519)

Annunciation, o/c, early 1470s, Uffizi Gallery

Adoration of the Magi, o/c, 1481, Uffizi Gallery

Raffaello Sanzio [ called Raphael ] ,(1483-1520)

Madonna of the Granduca, o/c, 1505, Palazzo Pitti

Self-Portrait, o/c, ca. 1508, Uffizi Gallery

Doni Pendant Portraits, o/c, 1506-07, Palazzo Pitti

Pope Leo X and Nephews, o/c, ca. 1517-19, Uffizi Gallery

Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1506)

First Florentine Period (1490-1505)

Battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, marble, ca. 1492, Bargello

Bacchus, marble, ca. 1496-97, Bargello

David, marble, 1504, Accademia

Holy Family of the Doni Family, o/c, ca. 1496, Uffizi Gallery

Pitti Madonna, marble, ca. 1504-06, Bargello

Second Florentine Period (1515-1523)

Project for the façade of San Lorenzo, 1516-20

(Wooden Model in Casa Buonarroti)

Figures (so-called 'Slaves') for Tomb of Pope Julius II,

marble, 1505-47, Accademia

Third Florentine Period (1524-1534)

The Medici Sacristy, marble, 1519-34, San Lorenzo

The Designs for Laurentian Library, 1524-34, San Lorenzo

Fourth Florentine Period (1535-1564)

Pietà, marble, ca. 1547-55, Museo dell'Opera

Baccio della Porta ( called Fra Bartolommeo ) (1472-1517)

Lamentation, o/c, ca. 1516-17, Palazzo Pitti

Andrea del Sarto (1486-1530)

Decorations for Chiostro SS Annunziata, fresco, 1509, in situ

Annunciation, o/c, 1512, Palazzo Pitti

Madonna of the Harpies, o/c, 1517, Uffizi Gallery

St. John the Baptist, o/c, 1528, Palazzo Pitti

VI. Mannnerist Florentine Art

(1.) Painting

Jacopo Carucci [ called Pontormo ] (1494-1557)

Supper at Emmaus, o/c, 1523, Uffizi Gallery

Entombment of Christ (Deposition), o/c, ca. 1526-28,

Capponi Chapel, Santa Felicità

Giovanni Battista di Jacopo [called il Rosso Fiorentino ]

(1495-1540)

Moses defending the Daughters of Jethro, o/c, 1523, Uffizi Gallery

Agnolo Bronzino (1503-1572)

Pendant Portraits of Panchatichi Family, o/c, 1540, Uffizi Gallery

Francesco Mazzola [ called il Parmigianino ] (1503-1540)

Madonna of the Long Neck, o/c, 1534-40, Uffizi Gallery

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)

The Forge of Vulcan, o/c, 1588, Uffizi Gallery

(2.) Sculpture

Benevenuto Cellini (1500-1571)

Perseus and Medusa, mm, ca.1540 Loggia dei Lanzi

Bust of Duke De' Medici, Cosimo 1st, bronze, 1555, Bargello

Bartolommeo Ammanati (1511-1592)

The Fountain of Neptune, bronze & marble, 1560-75, Piazza

della Signoria

Jean de Bologne [ called Giambologna ], (1529-1608)

Rape of the Sabine, marble, 1583, Loggia dei Lanzi

Plaster modello, ca. 1582-3, Accademia

(3.) Architecture

Bartolommeo Ammanati (1511-1592)

Ponte Santa Trinità, 1566

Additions to Palazzo Pitti, ca. 1588

Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574)

Palazzo degli Uffizi, 1560-1580

** Enrollment limited to 35 students who must have taken 101/102 Art History Survey or have permission of Instructor. Once full a waiting list will be established for those still interested.