Undergraduate Course: Caravaggio, 'the man who came to destroy painting,? (HIAR10122)
Course Outline
| School | Edinburgh College of Art |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | History of Art |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | żCaravaggio came into the world to destroy paintingż (Nicolas Poussin as reported by André Félibien).
This course will situate Caravaggiożs controversial painting within the historical parameters of its making, while at the same time addressing the complex critical legacy that his work invoked. If his paintings stimulated a European-wide following among artists and patrons, they also provoked vehement criticism as well as outright rejection. Against the didactic precepts of Europeżs emerging art academies dedicated to the principles of disegno, Caravaggio painted large canvases without recourse to preparatory drawings. According to his own statements he worked without reference to the canons of ancient sculpture or High Renaissance art, instead painting an unmediated art of natural observation directly transposed onto canvas. Thus he claimed to work outside the history of art. The course will both consider and challenge this claim. We will analyse both the means, and the effects, of his painting methods, considering his use and choice of models as well as his extempore technique brought to light by twentieth-century scientific probings of his paint surfaces. Finally, we will study the writings of his critics to understand the traditions of art against which Caravaggio pitted his work.
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should have at least 3 History of Art courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this). We will only consider University/College level courses.
** as numbers are limited, visiting students should contact the Visiting Student Office directly for admission to this course ** |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: 20 |
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| Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
16/09/2013 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
200 )
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| Additional Notes |
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| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Assessment Methods
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| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours & Minutes |
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| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | Caravaggio, 'the man who came to destroy painting,? | 2:00 | |
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| Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
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Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: 5 |
|
| Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
16/09/2013 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
200 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Assessment Methods
|
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1. The aims of the component are:
to acquire a sound knowledge of Caravaggio's oeuvre and biography through an understanding of his life and works in historical context.
2. to develop historical, critical, and visual skills in the examination and description of the art of this period by using different types of historical source material ż visual, scientific, critical, and historical ż in a reflective manner.
3. to access relevant bibliography, analyse scholarly debate within the field, and organise acquired knowledge and understanding within a coherent argument.
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Assessment Information
| 1 x 2000 word essay (50%) and 1 x 2 hour examination (50%) |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
1. Overview
2. Caravaggiożs Biographies: Mancini / Baglione / Bellori
3. Caravaggiożs Working Processes: conservation histories
4. Painting the Streets: Gypsies and Cardsharps
5. Painting to Please: Music Paintings
6. Painting Faith: Contarelli Chapel, S Luigi dei Francesi
7. Painting Faith: Cerasi Chapel, S Maria del Popolo
8. Painting Faith: Death of the Virgin / Entombment, S Maria in Vallicella
9. After Rome: Painting in Naples, Malta, Sicily
10. Painting? Or Iconoclasm? Medusa / Capitoline St John
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| Transferable skills |
Not entered |
| Reading list |
Please be aware that while the English language literature on Caravaggio is rich, there is also further literature on him in other languages, chiefly French, German and Italian. Any student with reading knowledge in these languages should speak to me for orientation. I have also included a few titles in other languages if they have particularly good illustrations, which all students can consult in order to learn the Caravaggio corpus.
You can develop further bibliography by making use of the bibliographies at the back of all the major recent monographs on Caravaggio.
Please make use of all libraries available to you within the University of Edinburgh, as well as the cityżs Central Library.
NB 2012: more books have been ordered for this new course, which will be made available as soon as they arrive.
Main textbooks:
Langdon, Helen. The Lives of Caravaggio by Mancini, Baglione, Bellori, 2005. (available for Ł5 on Amazon, this has all the major sources on Caravaggio in English translation)
Ebert-Schifferer, S. Caravaggio: The Artist and His Work, 2012
Puglisi, Catherine. Caravaggio, 1998
Schütze, Sebastian. Caravaggio, the complete paintings, 2009
Varriano, John. Caravaggio: The Art of Realism, 2006
Vodret, Rossella. Caravaggio: The Complete Works, 2012
For books that give a lot of historical context:
Langdon, Helen. Caravaggio: A Life 1998
Vodret, Rossella. Caravaggiożs Rome, 1600-30, 2012
Vodret, Rossella Caravaggio in Rome: An Itinerary 2010
Major exhibition catalogues:
The Age of Caravaggio, exh cat., Metropolitan Museum, N.Y., 1985
The Genius of Rome, exh cat. London & Rome, 2001 (review: Mieke Bal, Journal of Visual Culture, 1, 2002, 25-45)
Caravaggio: The Final Years, exh. Cat., 2004
Bayer, Andrea. Painters of Reality: The Legacy of Leonardo and Caravaggio in Lombardy, New York, 2004
Darkness and Light: Caravaggio and his World, 2003
Strinati, Claudio, ed., Caravaggio, Milan, 2010 (exhibition catalogue, Palazzo delle Scuderie, Rome)
Vodret, Rossella. Caravaggio, Milan, 2009
Franklin, David & Sebastian Schütze, Caravaggio and his Followers in Rome, New Haven & London, 2011
Other illustrated survey texts:
Hibbard, Howard. Caravaggio
Friedlaender, Walter. Caravaggio Studies 1955
Further bibliography:
Please also consult the bibliographies in the recent 2010-11 centenary publications
Askew, Pamela. Caravaggiożs Death of the Virgin, 1990 (see also the review by Keith Christiansen, Zeitschrift fur Kunstgeschichte, 61, 1992, 300)
Askew, Pamela. Caravaggio: Outward Action, Inward vision, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Macioce ed., 248-59 (on the Calling of St Matthew)
Aronberg Lavin, M. żCaravaggio documents from the Barberini archivesż Burlington Magazine, CIX, 1967, 470-3
Bal, Mieke. Quoting Caravaggio
Bauer L & S Colton, żTracing in some works by Caravaggioż, Burlington Magazine, 2000.
Bell, Janis & Thomas Willette. Art History in the Age of Bellori Scholarship and Cultural Politics in Seventeenth-Century Rome, Cambridge, 2002
Bell,Janis. żLight and Color in Caravaggiożs Supper at Emmausż, Artibus et historiae, 16, 31, 1995, 139-70
Benedetti, Sergio. Caravaggio: The Master Revealed, Dublin, exh. Cat., 1993-4.
Bersani, L. and U. Dutoit. Caravaggio's Secrets, Cambridge MA & London, 1998.
Caravaggio and Caravaggism., Burlington Magazine, 116, 859, October 1974, special issue
Christiansen, Keith. żThoughts on the Lombard training of Caravaggioż, Come dipingeva il Caravaggio, ed. Mina Gregori, Milan, 1996, 7-28
Christiansen, Keith. żCaravaggio and żlżesempio davanti del naturależ Art Bulletin, 68, 1986, 421-45
Christiansen, Keith. żCaravaggiożs second versionsż, Burlington Magazine, 134, 1992, 502-3
Christiansen, Keith. A Caravaggio Rediscovered: The Lute Player, 1990
Christiansen, Keith. żSome Observations on the Relationship between Caravaggiożs Two Treatments of the Lute Playerż, Burlington Magazine, 132, 1042, 1990,
Chorpening, J. żAnother look at Caravaggio and Religionż, Artibus et historiae, 16, 1987
Corradini, Sandro & Maurizio Marini, żThe earliest account of Caravaggio in Romeż, Burlington Magazine, 140, 1998, 25-8.
Cropper, Elizabeth. żThe petrifying art: Marinożs poetry and Caravaggioż, Metropolitan Museum Journal, 26, 1991, 193-212
Cropper, E. żVincenzo Giustiniani's żGalleriaż: The Pygmalion Effect,ż in J. Montagu et al., Cassiano Dal Pozzo's Paper Museum, vol. 2, Quaderni Puteani 3, Milan, 1992, 101 26.
Ebert-Schifferer, Sibylle & Veronika Birbaumer. Caravaggio : Sehen, Staunen, Glauben : der Maler und sein Werk, Studi della Bibliotheca Hertziana, 3, Munich, 2009
Fried, Michael. żThoughts on Caravaggioż, Critical Inquiry, 24, 1997, 13-56
Fried, Michael. żSevered representations in Caravaggioż, Pathos, Affekt, Gefühl: die Emotionen in den Künsten, Klaus Herding, ed., Berlin, 2004, 314-329
Fried, Michael, The moment of Caravaggio, Princeton, 2010.
Gilbert, Creighton. Caravaggio and his two cardinals, 1995
Haas, Angela. Caravaggiożs Calling of St Matthew Reconsideredż, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 51, 1988, 245-50
Langdon, H. żSources for the life of Caravaggio,ż letter to Editor, Times Literary Supplement, April 30, 1999, 19.
Lavin, Irving. żDivine Inspiration in Caravaggiożs two St Matthewsż Art Bulletin, 56, 1974, 59-81
Lavin, Irving. Caravaggiożs Calling of St Matthew: The Identity of the Protagonistż, Past-Present: Essays on Historicism in Art from Donatello to Picasso, 1993, 85-99
Marin, Louis. To destroy painting, 1995
Moffitt, John F. żPoisoned Love Posited in an Emblematic Lizard by Caravaggioż, Gazette des Beaux Arts, 140, 2002, 1-18
Moffitt, John F. Caravaggio in Context, Learned Naturalism and Renaissance Humanism, 2004.
Moir, A. The Italian Followers of Caravaggio, Cambridge, MA, 1967.
Moir, A. Caravaggio and his Copyists, New York, 1976.
Mormando, Frank. Saints and Sinners: Caravaggio and the Baroque Image, ed. Frank Mormando, exh. Cat., Boston, McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, University of Chicago Press, 1999.
Nicholson, Benedict. Caravaggism in Europe, 199
Olson, T. P., "'Pitiful Relics': Caravaggio's Martyrdom of St. Matthew", Representations 77, Winter 2002, 107-142.
Pacelli, V. żNew Documents concerning Caravaggio in Naplesż, Burlington Magazine, CXIX, 1977, 819-29
Papi, Gianni. Caravaggio e caravaggeschi a Firenze , Florence, 2010
Pericolo, Lorenzo. żVisualising Appearance and Disappearance: On Caravaggiożs London Supper at Emmausż, Art Bulletin, 59, 1977, 375-82
Pericolo, Lorenzo. żCaravaggiożs Cardsharps and Marinożs Gioca di primera: A Case of Intertextuality?ż, Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome, 53, 2008, 129-52
Poseq, Avigdor. żCaravaggiożs Medusa Shieldż, Gazette des Beaux Arts, 113, 1989, 170-4
Poseq, Avigdor. żCaravaggio and the Antiqueż, Artibus et Historiae 11, 1990, 147-67
Puttfarken, T. "Caravaggio's `Story of St Matthew': a challenge to the conventions of painting", Art History, 21, 1998, 163-181.
Puttfarken, Thomas. żCaravaggio and the Representation of violenceż, Umeni, 55, 2007, 183-95.
Sciberras, Keith & David Stone, Caravaggio: Art, Knighthood, and Malta, 2006.
Sciberras, Keith & David Stone, żMalaspina, Malta, and Caravaggiożs St Jeromeż, Paragone / Arte, 56, 2005, 3-17.
Sohm, Philip. żCaravaggiożs Deathsż Art Bulletin, 84, 2002, 449-68
Spear, R. "The Critical Fortune of a Realist Painter", The Age of Caravaggio, exh. cat., New York, 1985, 22-7.
Spear, Richard. Caravaggio and his followers, 1971
Spezzaferro, Luigi Caravaggio e lżeuropa, Milan, 2005.
Steinberg, Leo. żObservations on the Cerasi Chapelż, Art Bulletin, 51, 1959, 183-90
Stone, David. żThe context of Caravaggiożs Beheading of St John on Maltaż, Burlington Magazine, 139, 1997, 161-70
Trinchieri Camiz, Franca. żDeath and Rebirth in Caravaggiożs martyrdom of St Matthewż, Artibus et historiae, xi, 1990, 89-105
Trinchieri Camiz, Franca żMusic and Painting in Cardinal del Monteżs householdż, Metropolitan Museum Journal, 26, 1991, 213-16
T Thomas, żCaravaggiożs First Inspiration of St Matthewż, Art Bulletin, LXVII, 1985
Tuck-Scala, A. żCaravaggiożs Roman Charity in The Seven Acts of Mercyż, Parthenopeżs Splendor: Art of the Golden Age in Naples, eds. Chenault Porter & Scott Munshower, 1993, 126-63
Varriano, J. żCaravaggio and Violence.ż Storia dellżarte 97, 1999, 317-32.
Warwick, Genevieve, ed. Caravaggio: Realism, Reception, Rebellion, 2006
Wolfe, Karin. żAnother Lute Playerż, Burlington Magazine, 127, 988, July 1985, 450-52
There is a vast literature on early modern Romeżs religious, cultural, political and social history. Here are a few titles as pointers, you can glean further titles from the notes and bibliographies of other readings.
Battisti, E. "Reformation and Counter-Reformation", World Encyclopedia of Art, XI, pp. 893-916.
Haskell, Francis. Patrons and Painters: Art and Society in Baroque Italy, Yale University Press, multiple editions.
The Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius of Loyola
McGinness, FJ. Right thinking and sacred oratory in counter-reformation Rome, 1995
Jones, Pamela ed. From Rome to Eternity, 2002
Ginzburg, Carlo The Cheese and the Worms, multiple editions
Hammond & Walker, Life and the Arts in the Baroque Palaces of Rome
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| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Genevieve Warwick
Tel: (0131 6)50 4111
Email: |
Course secretary | Mrs Sue Cavanagh
Tel: (0131 6)51 1460
Email: |
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