Art History

RAFFAELLA MORSELLI

The Course aims to offer students tools for historical-critical analysis of art from the 15th to the beginning of the 19th century - through a theme-based and chronological cut, which allows students to orient themselves in the sources and in the bibliography, in order to develop - in time - ability to read, interpret, link works and historical-artistic events.

The course has the following objectives:
(a) General objectives.
- General knowledge of Rubens' artistic production during his Italian years;
- General knowledge of the influence of 16th-17th century Italian culture on the work of Pieter Paul Rubens.

(b) Specific objectives
1) Knowledge and comprehension skills
- Knowledge of fundamental essays on Rubens and Italy;
- Ability to recognize the main historical and iconographic themes of Rubens' artistic production during his Italian years.

2) Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
- Ability to apply the art historical method to reading the works of Pieter Paul Rubens;
- Ability to apply the art historical method to the analysis of the Italian and Flemish socio-historical context of the 16th-17th centuries.

3) Autonomy of judgment.
- Ability to identify the content of an image from examination of documents or context of origin;
- Ability to understand a work of art-particularly by Pieter Paul Rubens-in relation to the different times and places of its fruition.

4) Communication skills
- Ability to verbalize and expound the content of a historical document and a work of art.

5) Learning skills
- Ability to apply knowledge and methodologies learned in lectures independently.

General knowledge of art history between the 15th and 17th centuries.

Title of the course:
Peter Paul Rubens and Italy

Description of the course:
The course aims to highlight Rubens' interest in Italian culture and how much the latter was a constant point of reference throughout his life, devoting time during his eight years in Italy to studying ancient art and the great Renaissance masters, as well as examining the works of contemporary artists such as Caravaggio and Baglione. Rubens' deep affinity for Italian civilization provided a rich source of archival, iconographic and stylistic materials that enabled an understanding not only of his painting, but also of the complex diplomatic and personal relationships Rubens developed throughout his life. During his years in Italy, the Antwerp master established crucial career ties with Roman and Genoese collectors, with foreign political figures such as the Richardot family and the governors of Flanders, and with members of religious orders such as the Jesuits, the Philippites, and the Carmelites.

Course goals:
The course aims to guide students in the understanding of history and art, identifying the main geographical and temporal reference points, providing an in-depth knowledge of the most important artists and the social and cultural dynamics that influenced them, as well as a mastery of the fundamental methodologies of art history. Furthermore, the course aims to encourage in students the ability to independently explore and connect the main themes of the art-historical disciplines, as well as the ability to recognise works of art.

- R. Morselli, Tra Fiandre e Italia: Rubens 1600-1608: Regesto biografico-critico, 2018.

Teaching will be face-to-face, with the aid of audio-visual and Power Point teaching materials; it will be interspersed with seminar meetings and guided tours.

Attendance for students on the course is not compulsory, but recommended.

For the purposes of assessment, account will be taken of clarity of exposition, punctuality of argument, precision in answering questions, the ability to make connections and to organise an articulate discourse.

Discussing Rubens' commission for Santa Maria in Vallicella.

Rubens' artistic production for the Gonzaga court.

Peter Paul Rubens, Philip Rubens and the neostoicism of Giusto Lipsio.

• • Books:  R. Morselli, C. Paolini (a cura di), Rubens e la cultura italiana, Roma, Viella, 2020.