Art History

The course examines pre-Columbian art history in one or more areas of the American continent. The course explores the potential and limits of applying the “art” category to pre-colonial indigenous productions. The course includes an overview of fundamental elements of the current debate on the anthropology of art. The course analyzes the artistic productions of Mesoamerican pre-colonial indigenous peoples to explore their multiple aesthetic, religious, and political functions. The course discusses how such products were perceived, collected, and exhibited in museums in modern times, focusing attention on the objects’ materiality and agency, here perceived as their ability to continuously arouse new questions and discourses. The course examines topics including art and anthropology; artistic practices in ancient Mesoamerica (Olmecs, Maya, Teotihuacan, Aztecs); Indigenous American artefacts in early modern European collections; birth and transformation of the Ethnographic museum, with specific focus on the musealization of Haida artifacts; and contemporary indigenous art and politics of display.

The millennium following the collapse of the Roman Empire saw the development in Europe of a radically new form of civilization now called "medieval." With its nuns and monks, knights and nobles, troubadours and artists, plagues and famines, crusades and cathedrals, and cities and castles, the Middle Ages left an indelible mark on the western world. Rome, the city of the Popes, played a key role in medieval western civilization and was the center of a long-lasting tradition of pilgrimage to the apostles' and martyrs' relics preserved in its many churches. This course is intended as a broad survey of medieval culture and history with a specific emphasis on Rome. The course takes advantage of the city's abundance of medieval monuments and works of art: mosaics and paintings, sculptures, and religious architecture, which are analyzed in comparison to the artistic production of the rest of Europe, the Byzantine East, and other cultural contexts such as the Islamic world. The reading of relevant historical and literary texts completes the course.

The course presents an outline of Swedish art and visual culture from prehistoric times on to the present era, with insights in art from other Scandinavian countries.  The objects of study comprise diverse types of work such as artwork, mass-produced images and photographs, architecture and urban planning. 

This course is designed for students interested in an in-depth exploration of the artistic production of Italy from the 14th to the 16th centuries, with a special focus on Florence and its social, political, and devotional context. Starting with the Gothic, the course follows the development of different forms of art – painting, sculptures and architecture – up to the middle of the 16th century, thus covering the period known as the Renaissance. The course analyzes how the recovery and study of ancient sources and the work of contemporary humanists inspired and stimulated painters, sculptors, and architects. For the analysis of the Early Renaissance and its continuity with and renovation of Medieval art, special emphasis is placed on such figures as Giotto, Ghiberti, Donatello, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, and Fra Angelico. Moving on to the High Renaissance in the second part of the course, the works of Botticelli, Leonardo, Michelangelo, the young Raphael, and Giorgio Vasari are considered in the light of the Medici family political rule and artistic patronage. Through lectures, class discussions, and frequent site visits, the course aims at training students to study works of art in their original context, to recognize iconographic features and subjects, and distinguish the different styles and techniques used by the artists.

This course provides a panorama of art history from the beginning of the 1900s to the 1950s, following the history of the avant garde in the United States and in Europe. Various topics are explored including color, movement, and deformation. These topics are treated in relation to fauvism, futurism, expressionism, cubism, dadaism, and surrealism, as well as the debut of abstraction and the numerous other schools of thought linked to modernity. Additionally, this course investigates the terms of modernity and contemporality to better understand the artistic revolution of the beginning of the 20th century.

This course is part of the Laurea Magistrale program. The course is intended for advanced level students only. Enrollment is by consent of the instructor. The course covers the basic information necessary for understanding the complexity of modern Archaeological Museology: from knowledge of the scientific subject of Museology to Museum Practice. The course focuses on topics including the history of museology: from the “archetype” of museums in the ancient world to the “relational” museum today; the question of the role of media in museums today; experimental archaeology and ethno-archaeology in connection with archaeological preservation and enhancement; the question of archaeological parks designed to create interest and foster critical debate; and archeological tourism: management and culture. Students submit a case study that focuses on a specific museum, exhibition site, or archaeological park, or is an analysis of a specific theme related to the course. Case study outlines are provided during the course. The course includes two visits to local museums at the end of the scheduled class lectures. Assessment is based on a final oral exam covering course materials and a discussion of the case study. Students in Art History can take the course for under the Art History subject area in consultation with the instructor. In this case, students concentrate on the history of museum exhibits that focus on art objects such as paintings, ceramics, and even jewelry. Topics covered include museum architecture, history of museums, museums and cultural heritage, management of museums, and marketing of museums and exhibits: museum tourism.

This course examines Scandinavian design from the 20th century to the present, in light of the international development of design during this period. The growth of modern design in Scandinavia is discussed in relation to early modernist and contemporary design. Upon completion of the course, students should be able to give an overview (from an international perspective) of key events in the history of design in Scandinavia from the past century, describe and characterize objects of Scandinavian design from the past century, and give a global comparative overview of the current place Scandinavian design has in society with regard to the balance of power, gender, ethnicity, and diversity.