OVERVIEW

The course aims to offer a rich and precise overview of the discussions related to the world of art and artists in the modern age, with particular attention to the centuries between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. The emergence of teaching art history as a discipline within the academic and university world will also be examined, with particular regard to the Italian reality.

The lessons will examine also the peculiarity of Aby Warburg's research, which was able to spread both in the European continent (among all we remember the name of Fritz Sax) and in the United States, where the Erwin Panofsky's courses at the Princeton University had a wide echo in subsequent studies.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to offer a rich and precise overview of discussions related to the world of art and artists in the modern age, with particular attention to the period between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries. The emergence of the teaching of art history as a discipline within the academic and university world will also be examined, with a particular regard for the Italian reality.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course aims to provide students with a synthesis of discussions on the arts, with particular attention to those of the modern period (18th-20th century), as well as to illustrate and discuss the sources used by scholars as a subject for their writings. Particular attention will be paid to the ways in which the teaching of art criticism has gradually changed, in particular during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Therefore, the ultimate and most ambitious purpose of the course will be to provide students with a full mastery of the methodologies used as well as the vocabulary used by art criticism as it evolves over time.

PREREQUISITES

To understand the contents of the course effectively, a good knowledge of the history of art of  modern and contemporary art is required.

TEACHING METHODS

Classes are held in person. Attendance, although not compulsory, is recommended. The lecturer, at the specific request of a student (by e-mail), may allow him/her to follow classes remotely via “Teams” platform and to view class recordings.

The teacher will make available on AulaWeb supplementary materials useful for the preparation of the exam.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Program for students taking the course:

The course program includes the presentation and discussion of the following topics:
The tools of historical-artistic research: sources, archival documentation, figurative documentation and related historiography.
The history of artistic historiography from Luigi Lanzi to the twentieth century.

Warburg and his pupils in Europe and the United States.
Paths of historical-artistic research with particular attention to the problems concerning the periodization, the definition of styles, the examination of production processes, circulation of artefacts and collecting. 

Students who are NOT attending are required to contact the teacher at the institutional email address (eliana.carrara@unige.it) in order to be able to support a specific program.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography for students taking the course:

L. Venturi, Storia della critica d'arte, Torino, Einaudi, 2000;

La storia delle storie dell’arte, a cura di O. Rossi Pinelli, Torino, Piccola Biblioteca Einaudi, 2014;

G.C. Sciolla, La critica d’arte del Novecento, Torino, Utet, 1995.

Highly recommended book:

E.H. Gombrich, Aby Warburg: An Intellectual Biography, London, Phaidon, 1986 (or other edition).

Further bibliography will be provided in class.

Students who are NOT attending are required to contact the teacher at the institutional email address (eliana.carrara@unige.it) in order to be able to support a specific program, which is as follows:

L. Venturi, Storia della critica d'arte, Torino, Einaudi, 2000;

La storia delle storie dell’arte, a cura di O. Rossi Pinelli, Torino, Piccola Biblioteca Einaudi, 2014;

G.C. Sciolla, La critica d’arte del Novecento, Torino, Utet,1995,

two books to be chosen from the following:

E. Panofsky, Il significato nelle arti visive, Torino, Einaudi, 2010;

E. Panofsky, Rinascimento e rinascenze nell'arte occidentale, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2013;

E. Panofsky, Tre saggi sullo stile. Il barocco, il cinema e la Rolls-Royce, Milano, Abscondita, 2015;

E.H. Gombrich, Norma e forma. Studi sull'arte del Rinascimento, Milano, Leonardo Arte, 2003;

E.H. Gombrich, Arte e illusione. Studio sulla psicologia della rappresentazione pittorica, Londra, Phaidon, 2009;

E.H. Gombrich, Immagini e parole, Roma, Carocci, 2019.

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

ELIANA CARRARA (President)

PAOLO ANTONINO MARIA TRIOLO

MARIA CLELIA GALASSI (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

Tuesday 20 September 2022, h. 14.00-16.00.

Class schedule

HISTORY OF ART CRITICISM

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

The verification will be carried out through an oral interview.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

The oral exam will aim to ascertain knowledge of the topics covered in class and of the texts assigned for reading.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

In case of conclusion of the Covid 19 emergency, the exams can be carried out in person. Otherwise, the codes and information issued on Teams will be valid.