Art History

MASSIMO MORETTI
MASSIMO MORETTI

The Course has the following objectives:
a) General objectives
- General knowledge of the iconological method, its origin, its developments, its main exponents.
- General knowledge of the History and culture of the Counter-Reformation.
b) Specific objectives according to the Dublin Descriptors
1) Knowledge and understanding
- Knowledge of the main iconographic themes of sacred art between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries
- Ability to recognize the main iconographic themes of the artworks examined
2) Applying Knowledge and understanding
- Ability to recognize the main iconographic themes of European sacred art between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries.
- Ability to apply the iconological method for the interpretation of works of art
3) Making judgements
- Ability to understand the artist’s and client’s intentions by the examination of the work of art and its creation context
- Ability to understand the meaning of the work of art in the different times and places of its use
- Ability to interpret the style of a work of art in relation to its content
4) comunication skills
- Ability to verbalize and to expose the work of art’s content.
5) Learning skills
- Ability to apply the learned knowledge and methodologies

Knowledge of the general lines of art history in the centuries from the fifteenth to the eighteenth.
Objective of the course: give an oriantation in the art historyknowledge, identifying the maingeographical and historicalcoordinates, whileoffering in-depth knowledge of the major artists and social dynamics and interactions betweenthem, and a knowledge of the basicmethodologiesrelated to the art history from the 15th to the 18th century.
Promote in the students an autonomouscapacity to deepen the mainissuesrelated to the historical-artisticdisciplines, to link them, and promote the abilities of connoisseurship in the art history field.

Program
This course aims to cover the fundamental aspects of art history from the Late Gothic period to the most extreme expressions of the Baroque (15th–18th centuries). It will examine the leading Italian and foreign artists, analyzing some of their major works from technical, stylistic, iconographic, and iconological perspectives. All genres and forms of artistic production will be considered, without neglecting the decorative arts. For each period, the historical and cultural context in which the artwork emerges as a manifestation of the “spirit of the times” will be examined, with particular attention to the history of patronage and collecting. The second part of the course will be dedicated to an in-depth study of Baroque Rome, its artistic figures, patrons, and the most significant works of the 17th century.
Participation in the educational visits is essential:
1. Villa Farnesina, frescoes by Baldassarre Peruzzi, Sodoma, Raphael, and Sebastiano del Piombo.
2. Permanent Collection of the Fondazione Roma
3. Visit to the National Gallery of Ancient Art at Palazzo Barberini
4. Visit to the collections and Palazzo dei Colonna at Santi Apostoli
5. A possible off-campus visit will be arranged in consultation with the students.

- Outline the main characteristics of the Italian Renaissance
- A Critical Biography of Donatello
- What does “Sacra conversazione” mean?
- Who are the leading figures of the Roman Baroque?
- What are the differences between a capriccio and a veduta?
- What are the characteristics of the 17th-century landscape?
- What were the main artistic styles in Rome during the reigns of Clement VIII and Paul V?