Art History

This course provides a systematic survey of the development of Scottish architecture from the 11th Century to mid-17th century. There is strong focus on the social and political context and the development of the castellated tradition and its transformation to domestic and civic forms. Students examine buildings, styles and designing, vernacular buildings, and designed landscapes. There is a strong emphasis on archival skills and interpretation and the way that different historiographies impact on our understanding. 

Based on an exploration of visual and literary culture, this course addresses the place of women photographers and writers in the history of art; the expression of gender stereotypes in literary production and visual culture; and the deconstruction of these clichés by a new generation of artists, favoring a female gaze.

This course discusses the relationship between text, art, and the nature of the Renaissance. This course demonstrates how, in the 16th century, literature dictated the representation of space and the natural elements.

This course covers the history of fashion from antiquity to the present day, since its first expressions in ancient times to its latest contemporary evolution. Through the study of fashion trends, clothing manufacturers, and critical commentary, the course analyzes the evolution of masculine and feminine silhouettes, as well as the links between the textile economy, clothing design, and the materials used to make clothing. These studies are based on emblematic visual and material objects to identify tools for describing the history of fashion and its obsessions. Each session revolves around one chronomatic issue in order to retell the history of clothing, silhouette, and the culture of fashion.

This course is a challenging introductory course and is specifically for non-History of Art students. It examines early modern European art from the 13th to the 16th century, focusing on objects in London's galleries and museums and taught predominantly in front of works in these collections. The specific content of this course changes each year but the aim is to introduce students to key issues in Italian Renaissance and northern European art, focusing on paintings, sculpture, and the decorative arts in London institutions such as the National Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum. 

Although the content of this course may be labeled as "modern" art theory, it mainly deals with the first half of the 20th century.  This course examines how art has come to be established in modern times, in relation to the broader cultural and ideological context. The goal of the course is for participants to be able to view not only so-called works of art, but also objects that participants engage with that is inseparable from art. 

This course is a challenging introductory course and is for non-History of Art students. It examines modern and contemporary art focusing on objects in London's galleries and museums. The content of this course changes each year, but it introduces students to key issues and themes in British, European, and North American art from the mid-19th century through to the present day, by focusing on works in institutions such as Tate Britain and Tate Modern as well as smaller contemporary galleries such as The Whitechapel.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale degree program and is intended for advanced level students. Enrolment is by permission of the instructor. This course focuses on the historical, theoretical, and methodological foundations of iconographic and iconological research. Through a diachronic examination of some examples, from Prehistory to the Middle Ages, the course explores the world of ancient images and their semantic value. In particular, the topics covered include: reading images: theoretical approaches; history of the studies in iconology; iconography and iconology in archaeology; current research methods and tools and their issues; and case studies (in FALL 2023) in Mediterranean Antiquity, from Prehistory to the Middle Age (the presented samples change every year).

Amid political revolutions and widespread social movements, the interwar period in Europe (1918–39) witnessed a dramatic reinvention of the figure of the artist and a broad questioning of the role of art in everyday life. Centered around movements such as Dada, Constructivism, and De Stijl as well as institutions like the Bauhaus and Vkhutemas, these activities engaged directly with technological shifts and industrial production, generating new formats and avenues for artistic production (textiles, photomontage, graphic design, exhibition displays, and more). Surveying this rich field of experimentation, this seminar places special emphasis on the role of women and the productive breakdown of notions of art, craft, and design.

Students examine how artists have explored the way in which contemporary galleries and museums function. Since the 1960s artists have adopted the museum as both subject and medium in their artworks. The course examines how such projects impact on our idea of what galleries and museums are, how they operate, and what role they have in public life today. Throughout, key ideas regarding aesthetics, politics, memory, and audience participation are approached by way of specific artworks and exhibitions.