The course aims to provide students with the methodological, critical and historiographical tools to understand the history of art from the mid-19th century to the 1980s. The lectures aim at the acquisition of historical and philological skills based on the interpretation of the works and on the reconstruction of contexts and their relationships (places of production and use, public and taste, exhibition events and the art system). Alongside the analysis of works, currents and artistic movements, particular attention will be given to the historical-cultural context of production and use of the works, with an additional focus on on the themes of the public and the art system.

The course addresses the main artistic currents and personalities from the second half of the nineteenth century to the 1980s against the backdrop of the broader historical context. It will be divided into the following chronological and thematic subjects: 

- From Naturalism to Realism: the reconfiguration of the art system - the public, magazines, the salon.

-  Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Symbolism. 

- The historical avant-gardes of the early twentieth century. 

- The years between the two wars: the crisis of the avant-garde and the return to order. 

- The Neo-avant-gardes of the second half of the twentieth century. 

- Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art. 

- Arte Povera. Conceptual art (Body / Minimal / Land Art). Video art. The Eighties: the forms of Postmodernism.

Students will have to acquire the basic critical-analytical skills in the recognition of the works of art examined in class or present in the manuals and demonstrate maturity of critical analysis. They must be able to clearly express their knowledges using specific terminology and be able to use an analysis model for the study and understanding of the work of art, demonstrating a mature comprehension of contexts and relationships (places of production and the art system, audience and taste, exhibition events and museum systems).

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

There are no teaching support activities.

Teaching

In-class lessons

Attendance

Attendance is highly recommended.

Course books

Textbooks:

- Dal Barocco all’Impressionismo. (vol. IV) Arte. Una storia naturale e civile, a cura di S. Settis e T. Montanari, Mondadori Education - Einaudi Scuola, Milano 2019, pp. 386-437.

- Dal Postimpressionismo al contemporaneo (vol. V), in Arte. Una storia naturale e civile, testi di Fabio Belloni,  a cura di S. Settis e T. Montanari, Mondadori Education - Einaudi Scuola, Milano 2019.

Additional focus:

- Francesco Poli, Il sistema dell'arte contemporanea. Produzione artistica, mercato, musei, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2011.

Assessment

The final evaluation will be based on the following criteria

a) punctuality and attendance at lessons, class participation: 30% (9/30 of the final grade)

b) assessment through the final test: 70% (21/30 of the final grade). Assessment will take place through an oral exam. This test will consist in the recognition of three works of art among those studied in class or present in the textbooks  (7 + 7 + 7 = 21/30). For each image, starting from the recognition of the author, the title, the year and the technique of execution, the student must be able to describe the work using appropriate specific terminology and to place it in the correct historical and cultural context. Students are also invited to establish connections and comparisons between works, styles and materials.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Individual study.

Assessment

The final evaluation will be based on the following criteria:

a) assessment through the final test: 70% (21/30 of the final grade). Assessment will take place through an oral exam based on the verification of the learning of the textbooks. This test will consist in the recognition of three works of art among those present in the textbooks  (7 + 7 + 7 = 21/30). For each image, starting from the recognition of the author, the title, the year and the technique of execution, the student must be able to describe the work using appropriate specific terminology and to place it in the correct historical and cultural context. Students are also invited to establish connections and comparisons between works, styles and materials.

b) Two open questions on the supplementary texts (9/30 of the final grade): Denys Riout, "Qu’est-ce que l’art moderne?", Paris: Gallimard, 2000; trad. it. "L'arte del ventesimo secolo. Protagonisti, temi, correnti", Einaudi, Torino 2002; Francesco Poli, Il sistema dell'arte contemporanea. Produzione artistica, mercato, musei, Laterza, Roma-Bari 2011.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.