ART 573A: ITALIAN ART OF THE 14TH AND 15TH CENTURY
Fall 2014, Schedule #20293
INSTRUCTOR: DR. ALLYSON WILLIAMS
LECTURES: Tuesday, Thursday 12:30-1:45, Art 512B
SDSU OFFICE: Art Building A-559 (in lobby of Art Building to left of water fountain)
OFFICE PHONE: 594-5918
OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday, Thursday 9:30-10:30. Please don’t hesitate to contact me
if you are having trouble!
E-MAIL: allyson@mail.sdsu.edu (Please use Art 573a in the subject line, and
remember to sign your name!)
EXAM SUPPLIES: 3 small red Parscore forms, three blue books.
TEXTS: John T. Paoletti and Gary Radke, Art in Renaissance Italy, 4th edition; if you
already have the 3rd edition, that is fine too, although the pagination may differ.
There are also selected readings in pdf form on Blackboard. The 3rd edition of the
text will be placed on reserve in the library. Note: the library copy of Paoletti and
Radke is the trade version, which is entitled Art, Power and Patronage in
Renaissance Italy, call# N6915 P26 2005.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND EXPECTED LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students in this
course take an in-depth look at the art and architecture commissioned during the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in Italy, including such artists as Giotto, Donatello,
Mantegna, Botticelli, and Bellini. They will become familiar with painting, sculpture
and architecture commissioned by city-states such as Florence, Siena, and Venice, as
well as that of princely courts such as those in Ferrara, Mantua, and Urbino.
Students will be able to compare and contrast works commissioned by wealthy
private citizens, and by the church. Students will demonstrate an understanding of
how objects functioned in the society for which they were made, and how issues of
class and gender affected the artistic production in the early Renaissance. Students
will recognize the visual styles of various artists and centers of production, and will
be able to articulate the significance of stylistic change and difference in this period.
Another component of the course is the status of the artist and artistic techniques in
the Renaissance. The course will have a lecture format but will include class
discussions of the readings, in order to develop skills in critical analysis.
PREREQUISITES: Art 258 or 259 (or instructor permission for students with related
majors/experience)
ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS:
1. There will be two Mid-Term exams and one Final exam. The exams will include
slide identifications and essays. THERE WILL BE NO MAKE-UP EXAMS UNLESS
THERE IS A VERY SERIOUS DOCUMENTABLE REASON.
2. There will be one research paper of 6-7 pages (for Graduate Students, the paper
must be 15-20 pages). It will be submitted in hard copy in class, and electronically
to Turnitin
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3. The weekly readings (and films when indicated) are mandatory and will be
discussed in class and will appear in essay or multiple choice form on exams. Your
grade will suffer seriously if you do not do the assigned readings; there are no extra
credit assignments in this class.
4. Attendance in class is essential; much of the material presented in lecture is not in
the textbook. Participation in class discussions is appreciated, texting/email is not!
The grade breakdown will be as follows:
First Midterm 20%
Second Midterm 20%
Paper 30%
Final Exam 30%
Grading Scale:
A
93%
A90%
B+
87%
B
83%
B80%
C+
77%
C
CD+
D
DF
73%
70%
67%
63%
60%
59% or below
Definition of Grades for Undergraduate Students according to the SDSU Catalog:
A: (outstanding achievement; available only for the highest accomplishment),
B: (praiseworthy performance; definitely above average)
C: (average; awarded for satisfactory performance; the most common
undergraduate grade)
D: (minimally passing; less than the typical undergraduate achievement)
Your research paper will be submitted in hard copy in class and electronically
through a component of Blackboard called Turnitin, which also checks text for
plagiarism.
Students agree that by taking this course all required papers may be subject to
submission for textual similarity review to Turnitin.com for the detection of
plagiarism. All submitted papers will be included as source documents in the
Turnitin.com reference database solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of
such papers. You may submit your papers in such a way that no identifying
information about you is included. Another option is that you may request, in
writing, that your papers not be submitted to Turnitin.com. However, if you choose
this option you will be required to provide documentation to substantiate that the
papers are your original work and do not include any plagiarized material.
Note on Plagiarism and Cheating:
These will not be tolerated in class and will result in failure of the course and
reporting to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. As stated in the SDSU
Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities “Examples of cheating include
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unauthorized sharing of answers during an exam, use of unauthorized notes or
study materials during an exam, altering an exam and resubmitting it for regrading,
having another student take an exam for you or submit assignments in your name,
participating in unauthorized collaboration on coursework to be graded, providing
false data for a research paper, or creating/citing false or fictitious references for a
term paper. (Submitting the same paper for multiple classes may also be considered
cheating if not authorized by the instructors involved). Examples of plagiarism
include any attempt to take credit for work that is not your own, such as using direct
quotes from an author without using quotation marks or indentation in a paper,
paraphrasing work that is not your own without giving credit to the original source
of the idea, or failing to properly cite all sources in the body of your work.”
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
I am more than happy to assist students with disabilities. If you are a student with a
disability and believe you will need accommodations for this class, it is your
responsibility to contact Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473. (Calpulli
Center, Suite 3101), To avoid any delay in the receipt of your accommodations, you
should contact Student Disability Services as soon as possible. Please note that
accommodations are not retroactive, and that I cannot provide accommodations
based upon disability until I have received an accommodation letter from Student
Disability Services. Your cooperation is appreciated. The web site for Student
Disability Services is: http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/sds/index.html
DUE DATES: First Exam: Tuesday September 30
Second Exam: Tuesday November 4
Term Paper Outline and Bibliography: Thursday November 13
Term Paper: Tuesday December 2 in class and Turnitin
Final Exam: Thursday December 11, 10:30 a.m.
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES (subject to change)
Week of August 26: Introduction and course overview: Late Gothic Art in Italy: St.
Francis, St. Clare and a new piety; Late Medieval Rome:
miraculous images and papal power
Week of Sept. 2:
A pilgrimage site and a rich merchant’s chapel, Assisi and
Giotto in Padua; Civic architecture in 13th and 14th century
Florence
Week of Sept. 9:
Marian devotion in Florence; Civic Art in a Tuscan hill town:
Siena
Week of Sept. 16:
South, North and points in between: Art at the court of Naples
and in the Republic of Venice; Art and the Black Death
Week of Sept. 23:
Art for a courtly setting: Milan and the Visconti: Review
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No class Thursday Sept. 25
Week of Sept. 30:
Mid-term Exam #1, Tuesday September 30
Civic Competitions in fifteenth-century Florence: architecture
and sculpture
Week of Oct. 7:
Florentine painting in the fifteenth century, domestic and
sacred. Gentile da Fabriano, Masaccio and Fra Filippo; the rise
of single point perspective
Week of Oct. 14:
Florentine painting in the fifteenth century, con’t: Domenico
Veneziano, Andrea del Castagno, Piero della Francesca; Film
Week of Oct. 21:
Decorating the Duomo: commissions for Florence cathedral by
Donatello, Luca della Robbia; The Medici family patronage: art
and political propaganda,
Week of Oct. 28:
Medici patronage con’t; Review; Antiquity in fifteenth-century
Florence
Week of Nov. 4:
Mid-term Exam #2, Tuesday Nov. 4
Antiquity in fifteenth-century Florence, cont; Large scale
sculpture; Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Alberti.
Week of Nov. 11:
No class Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day
Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, and Alberti, con’t; Rome and the Papacy
in the fifteenth century
•Topic statement/Outline and Sources for the Research paper
are due in the Journal module by Nov. 13
Week of Nov. 18:
Venetian Art and Architecture: sacred and secular, personal
and civic; the Bellini family, Vivarini, Carpaccio, early Mantegna
Week of Nov. 25:
The Este Court in Ferrara; Naples; Alberti and the Tempio
Malatestiano in Rimini, No Class Nov. 27, Happy Thanksgiving
Week of Dec. 2:
Research paper due Tuesday December 2 in class and
Turnitin; The court of a Condottiere prince: Federigo da
Montefeltro and Urbino Mantegna in Mantua, the Camera Picta;
Week of Dec. 9
The Studiolo and Grotto in Mantua: special rooms for a courtly
lady: Isabella d’Este and the gendering of interior decoration;
final review (Tuesday only)
THURSDAY DECEMBER 11, 10:30-12:30 AM: FINAL EXAM (2 hours) as set by
SDSU Registrar
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