N.Y.U. Freshman Seminar Syllabus, 2015
THE ART OF PAPAL ROME: MICHELANGELO AND CARAVAGGIO
FRSEM-UA 366.001
Instructor: Prof. Emeritus Guy Walton; Email: gw1@nyu.edu
Class location: 302 Silver, Department of Art History. Wednesdays: 9:30
to noon.
Notices posted by Email
Instructor’s Office hours: Tuesday 5-6 PM and Wednesday before and
after class, but appointments must be made in advance for these times,
in person or by Email. Thursday mornings are also possible.
(Consultations on class presentations and papers before they are given
or submitted are strongly suggested.)
Recent biographies of Michelangelo by Antonio Forcellino
(Michelangelo, A Tormented Life), and of Caravaggio by Andrew GrahamDixon (Caravaggio, a Life Sacred and Profane), will provide the basic
framework for this course, along with early biographies of the artists
and other modern studies. [The two books are available at the N.Y.U.
bookstore in paperback, or through Amazon, and may be available on
Kindle, though the paperback versions, as opposed to electronic, should
prove more convenient for this course. The illustrations are far better.]
Students should try to read through these books over the course of
the term. Best of all would be to read them before the course
begins. In connection with students’ class presentations presenters may
assign readings from the biographies to their classmates as a basis for
class discussions. There will be two short quizzes on these biographies
of Michelangelo and Caravaggio in class in October that will presume
study of both these works and of films/videos viewed in class. Shama’s
Caravaggio video is available on line (see below).
Note: The class is scheduled from 9:30 to noon. Our class time will
generally be organized in two parts with a five or ten-minute break. The
class sessions will include movie videos, two museum visits and a
library session on research for the term paper. Some class time will also
be given to the discussion of issues about research and the writing and
the preparation of research papers. There will be some short written
assignments, including the handing in of class notes on the films viewed
and short exercises related to special skills relevant to the study of the
history of art, such as writing descriptions of works of art.
The Library of the Department of Art History: The Reserve Reading
Room of the Art History Department, located on the third floor of Silver,
is, exceptionally, open to the students of this seminar, both for
convenience and to supply additional material beyond that available at
the University’s Bobst Library. It is located at the South end of the
corridor beyond 303 Silver and our classroom, #302. While this
material does not circulate and must be used in the reading room, some
important books and articles may be studied there. (The books must be
requested from the student monitor and ID cards should be left as
security, and their use must be on the premises.) The monitors will have
lists of the books and articles on the reserve for this course. There may
also be some photocopies on the reserve. Exceptionally, these copies
may be taken out for copying. The instructor will provide copies for the
class of some important articles. Read these carefully soon after you
receive them.
PLEASE NOTE: Given the limited number of class meetings (only
14) students are required to attend all class meetings and the field
trips. In the event of unavoidable absence the instructor should be
informed in advance, in person or by Email, or as soon as possible after
the absence. He can also be reached on his home phone at (646) 486
6986 early on Wed. mornings. For those who cannot be at the
Metropolitan Museum with the class-- for a good reason explained to
the instructor in advance-- short papers and make up visits will be
required. Students in the past have found the first visit a high point of
the course. The second museum visit is on the day before Thanksgiving.
Students are strongly advised to attend if conflicting long distance travel
is not in question.
Content of the course: The course will focus at the start on the
biographies of Michelangelo and of Caravaggio, thus covering more than
a century of the history of the art of Renaissance Rome, from the High
Renaissance though the Counter-Reformation. Special stress will be on
these two unique artistic personalities and on their lives in the context
of the unusual culture of papal Rome-- a city at once a secular state and
the world center of the Catholic Church-- overlapping periods of great
artistic and cultural achievement.
Participation in class discussions will be an important component of
students’ course grade, as will two quizzes and a few short exercises (1
to 5 pages) related both to the classes and to the development over the
course of the term of a substantial Term Paper.
The paper, roughly 10 to 12 pages in length-- due at the end of the
term-- will be a principal requirement of the course. It should reflect
the material studied in class meetings and demonstrate both the
research done for the project as well as students’ ability to write clear
academic English supporting a central thesis or argument. The term
paper should include both a commented bibliography and foot or end
notes-- both bibliography and notes rendered in the current manner
used in serious academic publications in the history of art.
There will be a discussion at the end of each calendar month about
whether the course is meeting the expectations of the class, and all
students will be asked to submit to the instructor their individual
written evaluations of how things are going for both the class and with
their their research and writing at that time.
Each student will be expected to make a ten to 15 minute power point
presentation to the class on some subject related to his/her research for
the term paper that she/he feels is particularly interesting or relevant
for the class. The week before the power point presentation an
appropriate reading in our texts should be recommended to the class to
facilitate a discussion by the class of the topic to be presented. This may
be supplemented by the assignment of a short article to be read, if the
presenter intends to focus ideas contained in such a work. Each
presenter will also be expected to lead a class discussion about
her/his topic after his/her talk. The whole class should prepare for each
discussion by doing the recommended readings to prepare for the
discussions following each presentation.
Class descriptions and assignments to follow:
1. September 2
First hour; Course perimeters and goals outlined; brief discussion
of the syllabus.
Instructor and students introduce each other.
Second hour: Background lecture: Two great artists.
Discussion: “Looking at Art Works: What do students see in some
works of Renaissance art on Sept. 2, 2015? (To compare with a
similar discussion at the end of the course, Dec. 2)
Assignment before classes on Sept. 9 and 16 : Study Giorgio
Vasari’s Life of Michelangelo Buonarroti 1568 and study Giovanni
Baglione’s Life of Michelangelo da Caravaggio. Also, Sybelle EbertSchifferer “From Painting Angels to the Corrupter of Painting; The
Birth of a Dark Legend” Caravaggio, the Artist and His Work 2012
p 15-27(distribution of the texts in class on 9/2).
2. September 9
First hour: Discussion of the early biographies of Michelangelo.
Discussion: How to approach taking notes on film.
Second hour: Introduction to and viewing the first part of the
Michelangelo film by Irving Stone and others, The Agony and the
Ecstasy.
Submission at the end of class of student notes on the part of
the film seen.
Assignment to be completed or Emailed by Sept. 23/25: A two
to three page paper discussing the use of the early (16th/17th
century biographies) by the modern film makers while also
comparing the different approaches to a film biography of 1) by
the maker of a popular film of the 1950’s with 2) in another
popular work, but one by a reputable art historian.
Reading Assignment to be completed by class Sept. 16.
Loren Partridge “Patronage and Popes: Saints or Sinners” The Art
of Renaissance Rome 1400-1600 1996 p 9-17 (copy to be
distributed 9/9).
.
3. September 16
First hour: Continue viewing the Agony and the Ecstasy.
Continue taking notes.
Discussion: The popes as art patrons. What does Partridge have
to say?
Second hour: Introduction to Simon Schama’s Caravaggio.
Viewing the film. Taking notes on the second film.
4. September 23 Class visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
European Painting. Viewing Caravaggio’s painting in actual works
by the artist.
An attempt will be made to arrange a visit on Tues. or Thurs. for
students observing the Yom Kippur holiday if a time can be found
compatible with our different schedules.
5. September 30
First Hour: Writing workshop on writing descriptions of works
of painting and sculpture. Donatello’s Habakkuk discussed.
Second hour: Talk: Patronage in Papal Rome: High Renaissance
and Counter Reformation, similarities and differences.
Course evaluation due by Email.
Assignment: Due October 7, in class or by Email: a 2 page paper
describing either 1) an early sculpture by Michelangelo or 2) a
secular (mythological, genre, still life, etc.) painting by Caravaggio.
Students’ choice. List of possible works for the assignment will be
provided.
6. October 7
Distribution: List of some possible TP subjects for discussion.
First hour: Talk/ discussion: The Aims and scope of the term
paper and the research required, stressing introductions and
conclusions.
Second hour: Class visit to Bobst Library for a session on
Resources, electronic and books, for research in art history and on
art works.
Assignment: Due Oct. 14. A short, 1 page, paper proposing three
research topics that might be appropriate for further research
giving reasons for the choice.
One must be about each of the artists we are studying. Thus at
least one Michelangelo and a Caravaggio topic should be
proposed by every student.
.
7. October 14
First hour: Discussion of the research topics proposed by
students and the assignment of term paper topics & class
presentation dates.
Discussion of the form and content of a bibliography appropriate
to the assignment below and of the research appropriate for this
assignment. Also, a discussion of the bibliography due Oct. 30.
Second hour: Short quiz on the Michelangelo Biographies.
Assignment: Submission of an annotated bibliography-- of at
least 16 items after preliminary research on the term paper
topics. Due Oct. 30.
8. October 21
First hour: Short quiz on the G. Dixon Caravaggio biography.
Second hour: Discussion of the similarities of the lives of
Michelangelo and of Caravaggio.
Assignment: Preparation for class presentations, and the
submission of a short paper by every student of a possible central
argument or thesis of the term paper and the present state of the
work on the paper. Due, at the latest, by Nov. 4.
Those presenting on the 28th must Email the instructor and class
members the required readings for the discussions following the
presentation by the 23rd.
9. October 28
First hour: Presentations, followed by a class discussion.
Second hour: Presentations, followed by a class discussion.
Assignment: Those presenting on the 4th must Email the
instructor and class members the required readings for the
discussions following the presentation by the 30th.
Submit evaluation of the course so far, ½ page.
10.November 4
First Hour: Presentations, followed by a class discussion.
Second hour: Presentations, followed by class discussion.
Assignment: Those presenting on the 11th must Email the
instructor and class members the required readings for the
discussions following their presentation by the 6th.
11. November 11
First hour: Presentations, followed by class discussions.
Second hour: Presentations followed by discussions.
Assignment: Those presenting on the 18th must Email the
instructor and class members the required readings for the
discussions following their presentation by the 13th.
12.November 18
First hour: Presentations followed by discussion.
Second hour: Presentations, discussion.
13.November 25
Second class visit to the Metropolitan Museum.
No presentations.
Assignment: Those presenting on the 2nd must Email the
instructor and class members the required readings for the
discussions following their presentation by the 27th.
14. December 2
First hour: Presentations and discussions of them.
Second hour: “Looking at Works of Art, What do students see in
some unfamiliar works of Renaissance art at the conclusion of the
course?” Are there changes, additions to their perceptions since
the September 2 discussion?
The Term Paper is due during the final examination period. There
will be no final exam.