METHODS, APPROACHES AND TECHNIQUES IN ART HISTORY

This course is among the core subjects of the Master’s Degree in Art History and Conservation of Artistic Heritage as well as the Master's Degree in Economics and Management of Arts and Cultural Activities. It aims to provide you with in-depth knowledge—building on what you have hopefully acquired in your previous educational experiences—and sufficient skills to understand the evolution of the historical-artistic debate and research methodology in the modern and contemporary areas. This understanding spans from the late 20th century, enabling you to apply it in the fields of study, conservation, cataloging, management, and enhancement of the historical-artistic heritage; in the organization and management of artistic and cultural exhibitions; and in the planning and implementation of cultural and educational activities.

Students will acquire:
1. Knowledge
in-depth knowledge that allows to understand the processes over the past thirty years in which a new historical knowledge of the arts has emerged. This new knowledge, while not abandoning established ones, has added and emphasized current dynamics and established connections with other fields of the humanities (from semiotics to anthropology) and recent areas of investigation, such as Visual Studies and Information and Communication Technologies.
2. Communicative skills
an updated and more mature critical lexicon that enables to develop complex arguments and, primarily, to concretely apply some updated methodologies of analysis and judgment to contexts, trends, figures, and works in Art History.
3. Critical skills
the ability to recognize and clarify the general theoretical framework in which the Artistic and Visual Turn has developed, as well as to assimilate, with concrete evidence, the tools and approaches of recent historical-artistic research.

Requirements: students will have studied Research Methodology for the History of Art as part of their undergraduate studies. Nevertheless, a basic knowledge of this disciplinary area and a general reference basis will be provided.

a) Traditional historical-artistic knowledge with respect to the Spectatorship Turn
b) A chronological history of visual civilization between the 19th and 20th centuries
c) Criteria and approaches of Visual Studies
d) Pictorial and Iconic Turn
e) The Semiotics of the Visual Act
f) Artistic practices in the context of culture, with particular reference to the research of Yuri Lotman
g) Art and temporality
h) Visual Narrativity
i) Art History and Information and Communication Technologies
j) Art History and Curatorship

a) Lecturer’s notes on the Moodle page: these notes extensively cover all course topics and were made available during the pandemic. They are updated with examples and applications year by year. They are indispensable not only for studying but also for interaction possibilities in class.
b) Andrea Pinotti, Antonio Somaini (eds.), Teorie dell’immagine. Il dibattito contemporaneo, Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 2009.
c) Kresimir Purgar, Luca Vargiu (eds.), Studiare le immagini. Teorie, concetti, metodi, Roma, Carocci, 2023: chapters 5, 6, 7, 13, 15.

Additional Bibliography (each student will choose one of the following texts and the indicated parts). The chosen essay will be the subject of a specific question in the written exam:
- Jonathan Crary, Le tecniche dell'osservatore. Visione e modernità nel XIX secolo, 1990, tr.it. Torino, Einaudi, 2013 (chapter I: La modernità e la questione dell'osservatore; cap. IV: Le tecniche dell'osservatore)
- Juri M. Lotman, Il girotondo delle muse. Semiotica delle arti, Milano, Bompiani: pp. 90-104; 167-181; 201-220; 408-424
- Andrea Balzola, Paolo Rosa, L’arte fuori di sé. Un manifesto per l’età post-tecnologica, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2011: capp. 1-9
- Hans Belting, Antropologia delle immagini, 2001, tr.it. Roma, Carocci, 2013: Introduzione; Mezzo-Immagine-Corpo. Un’introduzione al tema
- Gottfried Boehm, La svolta iconica, a cura di Maria Giuseppina e Michele Di Monte, Roma, Meltemi, 2009: Il ritorno delle immagini; Al di là del linguaggio? Osservazioni sulla logica delle immagini; Mnemosyne: La categoria del vedere rammemorante
- Horst Bredekamp, Immagini che ci guardano. Teoria dell’atto iconico, 2010, tr.it. Milano, Raffaello Cortina, 2015, chapters 3-5
- Arthur C. Danto, La trasfigurazione del banale. Una filosofia dell’arte, 1981, tr.it. Roma-Bari, Laterza, 2008: chapters 1, 6, 7
- David Freedberg, Il potere delle immagini. Il mondo delle figure: reazioni ed emozioni del pubblico, 1989, tr.it. Torino, Einaudi, 1993 (e successive): chapters I e XI
- Meyer Schapiro, Per una semiotica del linguaggio visivo, Roma, Meltemi, 2002: chapter III
- Victor I. Stoichita, Effetto Sherlock. Occhi che osservano, occhi che spiano, occhi che indagano. Storia dello sguardo da Manet a Hitchcock, 2015, tr.it. Milano, Il Saggiatore, 2017: chapters 1-4

A written exam lasting 3 hours with four open-ended questions, one of which will be on the essay chosen by the student. If at least three questions are not adequately answered, the exam is considered insufficient. The use of books, notes, and electronic supports is not allowed during the written test.

Lectures and possible seminar exercises depending on the number of attendees. As all slides and course materials are provided on the Moodle platform, it will be possible to interact with the lecturer by requesting clarifications and in-depth information on the course forum. This interaction can also form the basis of seminar activities that accompany the lectures. Possible interventions by Italian and foreign lecturers and visits to specific temporary exhibitions.

Italian

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development