Loyola University Chicago

Course Description and Objectives

     The course is a study of painting, sculpture, and architecture from the late sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth centuries, the period known in art history as the Baroque. This term was originally used as an expression of contempt for works of art judged to be decadent and in bad taste. In the nineteenth century, the Swiss German art historians, Jacob Burckhardt and Heinrich Wolfflin, redefined the use of the term and gave it a positive meaning. Art historians agree that the Baroque style originated in Rome: “The cradle of the Baroque was Italy and the artistic capital of Italy was Rome.” (Held & Posner, 21) There is also agreement that the Baroque arose from the new spirit in the Catholic Church following the sixteenth century Counter Reformation which reaffirmed the role of the arts in religious worship as a stimulus to devotion and a means of instruction. These requirements found expression in the new Baroque style.  Anthony Blunt says that this new art was essentially rhetorical in the sense that “Artists aimed at arousing astonishment, at creating strongly emotional effects, at imposing them immediately, even abruptly, on their audience….”

     The course emphasizes the origins and development of Baroque art in Rome. Many artists, in varying ways, contributed to this: Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci, Francesco Borromini, Pietro da Cortona, and especially Gian Lorenzo Bernini who has been called the “artistic dictator” of the age. From Rome the Baroque style spread to other parts of Europe, especially to the Catholic countries. The course will also study some aspects of the international Baroque.

     This study will be implemented through slide lectures, classroom discussion, and on-site visits for a direct contact with masters of the Roman Baroque and their works.  The main objective of the course is to know and appreciate the painting, sculpture, and architecture of the Baroque period in relation to historical context, iconography (content and meaning), and stylistic features. This will also serve as an introduction to the specific problems, methods, and terminology of the historical study of works of art. A wider objective of the course is to enrich the student’s knowledge and experience of Rome and its enduring contributions to the culture of Europe and the world.

Required Texts

• Julius Held & Donald Posner. 17th & 18th Century Art. Prentice-Hall. (Library reserve).
• Howard Hibbard. Caravaggio. Westview Press.
• _____________. Bernini. Viking Penguin.
• John Varriano. Italian Baroque & Rococo Architecture. Oxford University Press. (Library reserve).
• On-Site Course Notes and other photocopied material.

Course Requirements

Examinations

First exam, Sept. 30. Second exam, Nov. 4. Final exam, Dec. 9.

Note. Changes in examination dates are not open to negotiation.

-          Make-up examinations will not be given for travel-related absences.

-          Cheating or dishonesty of any kind on an examination will be penalized by an F (0 points).

Participation/Attendance

Questions and discussion are encouraged during classroom and on-site meetings. Presence at these meetings will also be considered as a form of participation.

Note. Twenty points have been assigned for participation and attendance. Those absent from two meetings will forfeit five points; those absent from more than two meetings will forfeit all twenty points.

On-Site Classes

Because of heavy traffic and crowded buses, you must leave the Rome Center more than one hour before the beginning of class.

Information on meeting sites and transportation will be posted on the bulletin board opposite the porter’s desk. Be sure to check this before leaving.

You are asked not to eat, smoke, or take photographs during on-site lectures.

Office Hours (Bookstore)

Mon., 1:30 – 3:00 pm. Tues. 3:45 – 4:30 pm. Wed. 1:30 – 3:00 pm. And by appointment.

E-mail: jnich1@luc.edu

Grading

Course Grade. First exam, 20%. Second exam, 30%. Final exam, 30%. Participation and attendance, 20%.

Grading System.

95-100 = A. 92-94 = A-.  88-91 = B+. 84-87 = B. 80-83 = B-. 77-79 = C+. 73-76 = C. 70 -72 = C-.  65-69 = D+.  60-64 = D.

59 and below = F.

Lectures. Visits. Reading

1. Classroom. Historical/Religious Background of the Baroque Period.

    Architectural Forms and Structures.

    Anthony Blunt, Roman Baroque. Held & Posner, 11-24.

2. On-Site. S. Pietro in Vaticano.  On-Site Notes 1.

3. Classroom.  Caravaggio and the Reform of Painting. Hibbard, Caravaggio. 1-88.

                          Bernini’s Early Sculpture. Hibbard, Bernini. 23-67.

4. On-Site. S. Luigi dei Francesi. Doria-Pamphili Gallery (Adm. Fee)

    On-Site Notes 2.

5. First Examination.

6. On-Site. S. Maria della Vittoria. S. Susanna. S. Carlo alle Quattro Fontane.

     S. Andrea al Quirinale. Fonatana di Trevi.  On-Site Notes 3.

7. Classroom. Caravaggio’s Later Painting. Hibbard. Caravaggio, 164-267.

     Classicism in Baroque Painting. Photocopied material.

8. On-Site. Pantheon. S. Ignazio. Il Gesu. S. Andrea della Valle. On-Site Notes 4.

9. Second Examination.

10. On-Site. Piazza di Spagna. Via del Corso. Piazza del Popolo & S. Maria del   

      Popolo. On-Site Notes 5.

11. Classroom. Painting in Flanders and Holland. Held & Posner, 196-281.

12. On-Site. S. Ivo alla Sapienza. Piazza Navona. S. Maria della Pace. S. Maria in  

      Vallicella. Ponte S. Angelo. On-Site Notes 6.            

13. Classroom. The Rococo: Origin and Stylistic Features. 18^th Century Venetian

      Painting. Held & Posner, 339-55. Late Roman Baroque Architecture. Varriano,

      159-82.