Renaissance Art (ARTS 4338-01): Spring 2018 Dr. Fischer, Assistant Professor of Art History Department of Art, College of Fine Arts and Communication, Lamar University Classroom: Dishman 101 Class Time: Tuesday/Thursday 9:35-10:55 Office: Dishman 202A Office Hours in Dishman 202A: Tuesday/Thursday 8:40-9:35 or by appointment Virtual Office Hours via Skype, Google Voice call and text, Blackboard IM: Mondays and Wednesdays 1:30-2:30 PM (Skype username [email protected]) or by appointment Email: [email protected] Office Phone: 409-880-7784 (the best way to contact me is via email and Google Voice) Google Voice (Call or text): 409-768-0387 (You can call or text me at this number; please call/text only from 8AM-5PM, write your name and what class you are in) COURSE DESCRIPTION AND STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES This course will introduce students to the history of painting, sculpture, and architecture in Italy during the Renaissance from the Trecento to the Cinquecento (1200-1600). Lectures will serve as an introduction to the major artists of the period as well as to the functions, themes, and patronage behind their most significant works. We will focus on the major urban centers (Florence, Rome, Siena, Venice) as well as some of the Italian courts (Mantua, Milan), each of which had its own distinctive artistic tradition and system of patronage. Among the artists and architects discussed will be Giotto, Masaccio, Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Andrea Mantegna, Bramante, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Titian, among many others. We will also discuss the relevant ancient and medieval background that Renaissance art and architecture grew from. Upon successful completion of this course, students will Renaissance Art - Spring 2018 1 Introduction to Conversational French ✴Recognize the visual characteristics of period and individual styles through a study of major monuments from Trecento to the Cinquecento. ✴Learn to situate works of art and architecture within their cultural context through interdisciplinary methodologies. ✴Analyze and evaluate Italian Renaissance artworks beyond considerations of style and authorship, understanding their creation in the context of the religious, political, and social concerns of the period. ✴Acquire proficiency in the principles of visual analysis. ✴Use critical thinking skills to interpret, analyze, and assess works of art based upon formal concerns, iconography, and historical context. ✴Improve visual literacy. TO SUCCEED IN THIS COURSE YOU WILL NEED TO 1. Become familiar with the syllabus, course requirements, and course policies. 2. Attend every class and take notes. 3. Turn in all assignments on time. 4. Follow ALL directions for the assignments. Be sure that you do what is asked so read these instructions carefully. 5. Write down all the due dates in your planner or set a reminder on your phone so you won’t forget to complete any course requirements. 6. Do not wait until the end of the semester to worry about your grade. 7. Do the extra credit assignment. Please read the following syllabus very closely. Before emailing me, please ensure that your answer cannot be easily found within the syllabus or on Blackboard/LU Learn. REQUIRED TEXTBOOK All readings must be completed before class. Your required reading is listed in the far right column of the Course Schedule. The following book is available at the university bookstore: • Laurie Schneider Adams, Italian Renaissance Art You also will be required to regularly read sections of Giorgio Vasari’s Lives of the Artists, which can be found online: http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/basis/vasari/vasari-lives.html. Additional readings will be posted on Blackboard from the following: Frederick Hartt, A History of Italian Renaissance Art, 7th edition George L. Hersey, High Renaissance Art in St. Peter’s and the Vatican: An Interpretive Guide Whitney Chadwick, Women, Art, and Society BLACKBOARD/LU LEARN This course has a Blackboard component which can be accessed through your https://my.wip.lamar.edu/ account. On Blackboard, there are links to essential materials such as the syllabus, handouts, powerpoints, and announcements. Any changes to the schedule will be announced in class or via email. You are responsible for checking your Lamar email account and Blackboard on a regular basis! Renaissance Art - Spring 2018 2 Introduction to Conversational French COURSE REQUIREMENTS Your grade will be based on FIVE weighted evaluations: 1.) Exams (2): 40% 2.) Short Papers (3): 30% 3.) Attendance and Participation: 5% 4.) Discussion Leader: 5% 5.) Virtual Exhibition Project and Presentation: 20% (15% for project, 5% for presentation) The grading scale I employ is a traditional 100% system: A = 90-100%, B = 80-89%, C = 70-79%, D = 60-69%, F = 59% and below. No public posting of grades will ever be made so please keep a written tally of your exams and papers. I will not respond to emails asking me what your current grade is. There will be TWO EXAMS during the course of the semester: a midterm and final. Your exam will consist of some or all of the following: short slide identifications, slide comparisons, identification of unknown artworks, an objective portion (with terms, artists, movements, important historic events and people), and essays. About a week prior to the exam you will get a study guide which will have a list of works and terms for which you are responsible. There will be no make-up exams unless an extremely unusual circumstance prevents you from taking the test (i.e. medical emergency or death in the family)—and even then only if you have contacted me before the test and can provide appropriate documentation. If you are granted and excused an absence for the exam (due to serious illness, for example, or a family emergency), it is your responsibility to request and make an appointment for a make-up exam. Students who miss an exam without being excused will receive a zero. There are also three Short Papers (30%). Each paper is a two-page précis paper of a selected journal article. You will summarize the main thesis/theses of the selected article and discuss the main arguments of the author. Instructions and dropboxes can be found on Blackboard and will be discussed in class. On days that the short papers are due, we will have a discussion in class, led by selected student discussion leaders (5%). Each student will be in a discussion leading group ONCE during the semester. This group should communicate with each other to come up with questions and comments to discuss regarding the selected article, prior to coming to class that day. Virtual Exhibition Project and Presentation (20%): This course will culminate in a semester project involving the curation of a virtual exhibition. After first developing a question or subject for their exhibition, students will select five Italian Renaissance artworks to include in their exhibition. Exhibitions may be thematic (ie. mythology, marriage chests, the study of human anatomy, regional variations on a particular theme, such as the Madonna and Child, etc.) or retrospectives of a single artist’s work. In each case students will be expected to draft short narratives for 1) the theme of their exhibition and 2) for each object in their exhibition, explaining the general history of the object and how it relates to the broader topic/theme. At the end of the semester, students will then present their exhibition to the class in a formal presentation. Further details for this project will be discussed in class and posted on Blackboard. LATE WORK POLICY: Students are expected to submit all work at the specified times. If a student knows that he/she will be absent on the day that an assignment is due, it is the student’s Renaissance Art - Spring 2018 3 Introduction to Conversational French responsibility to turn in the assignment prior to their absence. For every day that an assignment is late, 10% of the assignment grade will be subtracted. For example, a paper that would have received a 100 would receive a 90, and so on. I do not accept work via email unless specified in the assignment. A late paper must be turned in via the Dropbox on Blackboard. Finally, Attendance and Participation are worth 5% of your overall final grade. Throughout the semester, you are expected to participate in class discussions and comparisons. In addition, attendance is crucial to your success in the course. Being late is not acceptable. After the first week of class, the auditorium doors will be locked immediately at 9:35 and if you are not in class at that time, you will be absent. DEPARTMENT OF ART ATTENDANCE POLICY Please be advised of the following Department of Art policies apply to missed classes: three absences will automatically result in a lowered letter grade. After that, the course letter grade will be lowered half a letter grade for each additional absence. A student absent on the day of scheduled presentation/exam or other in-class work, or who fails to present on the day of scheduled presentation/exam or other in-class work while in attendance without prior instructor approval for rescheduling his/her presentation/exam or other in-class work WILL NOT be granted the privilege of rescheduling. IMPORTANT DATES Midterm Exam: 3/1 Final Exam: 5/8 Short Papers: 2/1, 4/3, and 4/17 Discussion Leaders: 2/1, 4/3, and 4/17 Virtual Exhibition Project: 4/24 Virtual Exhibition Presentations: 4/24 and 4/26 Last day to drop or withdraw from the course WITHOUT academic penalty: 2/19 Last day to drop or withdraw from the course WITH academic penalty: 4/14 CLASS ETIQUETTE AND DECORUM You are expected to arrive on time and not disturb those around you with private chatter, doing work for other classes, answering cell phone calls, texting, or playing games.