THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2022/2023

Timetable information in the Course Catalogue may be subject to change.

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : Centre for Open Learning : Creative Arts

Undergraduate Course: The Art of 15th-Century Italy (LLLA07157)

Course Outline
SchoolCentre for Open Learning CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 7 (Year 1 Undergraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis course explores the development of art in Italy in a period that laid the foundations for the Renaissance. Using a wide variety of material this course will assess the influences of 15th-century Italian art, and will place it in the context of contemporaneous developments in literature, philosophy and science.
Course description 1: forerunners; Pisa
2: Siena
3: Naples
4: Venice
5: Venice: part 2
6: Urbino
7: Florence
8: Florence: part 2
9: Florence: part 3
10: Rome


1: forerunners: GIOTTO, whom Vasari considered to have ¿rescued and restored art¿, and Nicola and Giovanni PISANO. Their masterpiece in the Cathedral of Pisa anticipated the shape of things to come
2: Siena: favouring the elegant grace of the International Gothic style, the artists of Siena produced some of the most beautiful works of the 15th century. Sienese artists will include the Master of the OSSERVANZA and Il SASSETTA
3: Naples: the adoption of the Netherlandish technique of oil painting marked a pivotal development in fifteenth-century Italian art and it was almost certainly in Naples that the method was first assimilated by the Italian painter, Antonello da MESSINA

4: Venice: the artists of 15th century Venice were responsible for some of the most idiosyncratic paintings of the period. Works by the VIVARINI and CRIVELLI will be considered
5: Venice: the monumental work of MANTEGNA and CARPACCIO
6: Urbino: In his ducal palace in Urbino, the condottieri, Federico da Montefeltro attracted some of the most gifted artists of the day. His court worked like a laboratory bringing together a scholarly interest in the art of antiquity and a fascination with perspective and geometry. Artists considered will include Piero della FRANCESCA
7: Florence: perhaps more than any other centre, the roots of Renaissance art can be traced to Florence and the work of BRUNELLESCHI, the architect of the dome of Florence Cathedral and MASACCIO, one of the first artists to employ linear perspective
8: Florence: part 2, artists considered will include DONATELLO, GHIBERTI and Filippino LIPPI
9: Florence: part 3, artists considered will include VERROCCHIO, BOTTICELLI and GHIRLANDAIO
10: Rome: thanks to the princely patronage of Pope Sixtus IV, and the group of artists he commissioned to decorate his newly restored Sistine Chapel, the early Renaissance was established in Rome. These artists included PERUGINO, BOTTICELLI and GHIRLANDAIO


Students should be able to display the above learning outcomes through the essay submitted at the end of the course. Students¿ progress with these learning outcomes will also be assessed in the formative exercise (non-compulsory) mid-way through the course.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs 0
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Demonstrate, through the summative assessment, a wide-ranging knowledge of the artwork which characterised 15th-century Italy.
  2. Demonstrate, through the summative assessment, an ability to show familiarity with the artists of the time and analyse the iconographic and compositional elements of their works of art.
  3. Demonstrate, through the summative assessment, an ability to engage critically with the historical circumstances and the extant evidence.
Reading List
Dorey, Claire, 1996. History of Italian Art, Volume II. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Schneider, Laurie, 2001. Italian Renaissance Art. London, Westview Press.
Welch, Evelyn, 2000. Art in Renaissance Italy. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Brown, Patricia Fortini, 1997. The Renaissance in Venice. London: Everyman Art Library
Cole, Bruce, 1987. Italian Art 1250-1550: The Relation of Renaissance Art to Life and Society. New York: Harper Row Publishers
Creighton, Gilbert, 1980. Italian Art 1400-1500: Sources and Documents. New Jersey: Prentice Hall
Hartt, Frederick, 2007. A History of Italian Renaissance Art. London: Thames and Hudson
Partridge, Loren, 1996. The Renaissance in Rome, 1400-1600. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Syson, Luke, 2007. Renaissance Siena: Art for a City. London: London National Gallery
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Synthesis of information on a particular subject area; handling of sources; analysis of sources; oral communication.
Special Arrangements N/A
Study Abroad N/A
Additional Class Delivery Information 1 x 2hr class per week.
1 hr lecture followed by discussion.
KeywordsItaly,renaissance,15th century
Contacts
Course organiserDr Sally Crumplin
Tel:
Email:
Course secretaryMs Kameliya Skerleva
Tel: (0131 6)51 1855
Email:
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information