The course aims to promote the following learning objectives:

- to acquire knowledge of some fundamental concepts of aesthetics;

- to develop the ability to read and understand aesthetic texts;

- to develop a critical and educated consideration of the role of texts and representation in contemporary society

Figure and Sensation: Gilles Deleuze Witness to Francis Bacon

The course aims to investigate the relations between figure and sensation, form and force, order and chaos in the painting of Francis Bacon starting from the interpretation of the Irish artist's work given by the french philosopher Gilles Deleuze in his Francis Bacon. Logic of Sensation (1981) and in his recently published course, Sur la peinture (1981).

In Logic of Sensation, Deleuze frames Bacon's work from the unprecedented perspective of sensation understood as the capacity to trigger in the viewer a series of impulses beyond the realm of rational interpretation and representation. Bacon, in fact, assimilates the lesson of Paul Cézanne: "to give sensation without the tedium of communicating it", to record what has happened "avoiding the tedium of a story to tell". His aim is to go beyond figuration (and thus, at the same time, beyond illustration and storytelling) by inaugurating a third way compared to the two ways in which 20th-century painting strove to achieve the same goal: the optical way of abstract form and the manual way of informal art.

In Bacon's ‘haptic’ and ‘figural’ art, the two great definitions of painting that had been separated for centuries - that of line and colour, linked to the eye, and that of line and stain, linked to the hand - are unified in the vision of a new clarity and Aesthetics regains its proper status as the science of the sensible, transforming itself into a ‘logic of sensation’.

The eight lectures given by the French philosopher between March and June 1981 are entirely dedicated to the problem of painting and constitute the secret laboratory of the Logic of Sensation. They address the same questions: What relationship does painting have with catastrophe and chaos? How to deal with colour? What is a surface, a pure optical space, a colour regime? Bacon, together with Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Turner, Delacroix, Gauguin, Cézanne, Van Gogh, Klee, Mondrian and Pollock constitute for Deleuze as many occasions to discuss fundamental philosophical concepts such as those of code, diagram, figure, analogy, modulation in order to radically affect our ordinary understanding of the creative activity of painters.

No propaedeutics required

Knowledge and understanding.

At the end of the course the student

- will be able to orient him or herself in the field of Aesthetics, knowing its history and languages;

- will be able to understand the language and the philosophical method, to know the way in which aesthetics came to be constituted as an autonomous discipline in the 18th century and to make this knowledge dialogue with the new panorama of the arts in the contemporary world.

Applied knowledge and understanding

At the end of the course the student

- will be able to critically analyse, using the conceptual and methodological tools of philosophy, the various forms of artistic expression, with particular attention to the contemporary ones;

- will have acquired the tools to approach the philosophical structure of the discipline, relating it to the evolution of the arts and the languages of criticism.

These skills will be formed from the analysis and critical discussion of the texts that constitute the course programme.

Autonomy of judgement

At the end of the course the student

- will have acquired the critical tools to independently orient him or herself in the conceptual landscape of Aesthetics;

- Will have developed sufficient critical ability to identify dissonances between Deleuzian Aesthetics and traditional one;

- Will have developed an autonomous ability to critically compare modern aesthetic categories with those that have replaced them in the contemporary world;

Communication skills

At the end of the course the student

- will be able to summarise orally and in writing the contents of the texts examined, mastering the vocabulary of aesthetics.

Ability to learn

- On completion of the course the student will have acquired the necessary tools for an autonomous study of an aesthetic work.

- The student will be able to understand the importance of philosophical lexicons, of possible extra-philosophical materials to deepen the political-cultural context within which the works arise, in order to independently address the necessary bibliographical enquiries.

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

No teaching support activities are planned.

Teaching

The lectures will be organised in a predominantly frontal mode without, however, neglecting discussion with the students and in-depth seminars.

Lessons will mainly consist of a presentation, reading and commentary of the texts on the syllabus, urging students to recognise the hierarchy of concepts, distinguishing between the foreground and background of the argumentation.

Cooperative discussions with students on the topics addressed will help stimulate the development of transversal skills: autonomous judgement and the ability to extend the reading methods used in the course to other authors and other disciplines, especially as regards the rigorous argumentative practice of the philosophical method.

Traditional teaching tools will often be used.

Innovative teaching methods

Debates and seminar activities, including invitations to scholars from outside the university who are directly involved in the topics addressed through their research.

Attendance

The course requires regular attendance (at least 2/3 of the lectures). Alternatively, please use the directions for non-attenders.

Course books

-        G. Deleuze, Francis Bacon. Logica della sensazione (ed. Quodilibet 2008);

-  G. Deleuze, F. Guattari, Che cos'è la filosofia? (capitolo 7 – ed. Einaudi 1995 – dispense fornite dal docente);

-        G. Deleuze, Sulla pittura (ed. Einaudi 2024)

-  F. Bacon, La brutalità delle cose. Conversazioni con David Sylvester (ed. Garzanti 1991 - testo fornito dal docente)

Assessment

Oral Examination

Knowledge of the aesthetic themes and problems addressed in the course is assessed.

Particular emphasis is placed on expository ability with appropriate philosophical vocabulary as well as the ability to understand and expound on passages from the texts studied.

A critical approach to the theories studied is required.

Particular attention in the assessment will be given to the ability to personally rework and compare the various topics and authors studied.

- The following will be assessed as excellent: a clear exposition of the theories studied, with property of language; a thorough knowledge of the texts read and commented on during the course; the ability to connect the various theories; the possession of good critical and in-depth skills.

- The following will result in fair marks: a clear, albeit mnemonic, exposition of the theories studied; a good knowledge of the texts read and commented on during the course; a relative ability to connect the various theories; possession of a relative critical capacity.

- Sufficient marks will be awarded for: a minimal knowledge of the theories studied, albeit with some educational gaps; a minimal knowledge of the texts read and commented on during the course; the use of inappropriate language.

- The following will result in negative assessments: little knowledge of the theories studied; evident gaps in training; little knowledge of the texts read and commented on during the course; the use of inappropriate language.

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

Non-attending students may contact the lecturer during office hours to ask for explanations regarding the content of the examination texts.

Attendance

Please contact the lecturer at least three months in advance of the scheduled appeal date to agree on the examination schedule.

Course books

Mandatory texts shared with attending students:

-  G. Deleuze, Francis Bacon. Logica della sensazione (ed. Quodilibet 2008);

-  G. Deleuze, F. Guattari, Che cos'è la filosofia? (capitolo 7 – ed. Einaudi 1995 – dispense fornite dal docente);

-        G. Deleuze, Sulla pittura (ed. Einaudi 2024)

-  F. Bacon, La brutalità delle cose. Conversazioni con David Sylvester (ed. Garzanti 1991 - testo fornito dal docente)

-        P. Godani, Deleuze (ed. Carocci 2009)

A text of your choice from the following:

-  M. Leiris, Francis Bacon (ed. Abscondita 2019)

-  F. Bacon, Conversazioni con Michel Archimbaud (ed. Abscondita 2019)

-  J. Littell, Trittico. Tre studi da Francis Bacon (ed. Einaudi 2014)

Assessment

Oral Examination

Knowledge of the aesthetic themes and problems addressed in the course is assessed.

Particular emphasis is placed on expository ability with appropriate philosophical vocabulary as well as the ability to understand and expound on passages from the texts studied.

A critical approach to the theories studied is required.

Particular attention in the assessment will be given to the ability to personally rework and compare the various topics and authors studied.

- The following will be assessed as excellent: a clear exposition of the theories studied, with property of language; a thorough knowledge of the texts read and commented on during the course; the ability to connect the various theories; the possession of good critical and in-depth skills.

- The following will result in fair marks: a clear, albeit mnemonic, exposition of the theories studied; a good knowledge of the texts read and commented on during the course; a relative ability to connect the various theories; possession of a relative critical capacity.

- Sufficient marks will be awarded for: a minimal knowledge of the theories studied, albeit with some educational gaps; a minimal knowledge of the texts read and commented on during the course; the use of inappropriate language.

- The following will result in negative assessments: little knowledge of the theories studied; evident gaps in training; little knowledge of the texts read and commented on during the course; the use of inappropriate language.

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.

Students who have registered their disability certification or DSA certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office may ask to use concept maps (for key words) during the exam.

To this end, the maps must be sent, two weeks before the exam call, to the course lecturer or teacher, who will check their consistency with the indications of the university guidelines and may ask for them to be modified.

The lecturer is available to students, during the appropriate office hours, for clarification, in-depth study and further bibliographical information on the examination programme.