Assignment Sheet: Final Course Project Instructor: David Lux
dlux@bryant.edu
His 385 – Patronage and Culture: The Social and X 6433
Economic Foundations of Italian Art and
Architecture
Fall 2010
COURSE PROJECT (25% -- 250 PTS.): Each student will complete a course research project involving the
role of patronage in the arts or architecture of Italy. For this course, the project will actually be completed
in a number of steps:
a 1-2 page preliminary proposal outlining the historical problem, issues, or questions to be
addressed (graded P/F for 10 points = it’s either done, or it’s not)
developed in consultation with the instructor; completed by week 10
development of an appropriate annotated bibliography to frame the project research
at least 15 primary and secondary (library/archival) sources, 7 – 10 pages (50 pts.)
in-class presentation of a final project proposal (process paper -- 50 pts.)
5-10 minutes, delivered in class during one of the final 3 regularly scheduled class periods
of the semester. A process paper of 2-3 pages outlining the scope of work and the products
planned for development during the field experience to accompany the presentation.
a research paper or media-based presentation developed, at least in part, on the basis original
materials created and/or primary sources consulted during the field study in Italy. (100 pts.)
a final essay (3-5pages) reflecting on the course experience, lessons learned, and critique of
the project completed during the field study. (40 points)
In effect, the project for this course follows the cycle of activity common to all historical research and
publication.
The first half of the course (overview survey covering the history of Italy) is intended to provide the
foundation for formulation of preliminary research interests and questions. That preliminary interest is
formulated in the 1-2 page preliminary proposals due in week 10.
The second half the course – topic treatment of patronage in areas of particular interest in the history of art
and architecture – aims to support students in gaining familiarity with the basic literature on patronage in
the arts and architecture of Italy. This course material will support students in development of an annotated
bibliography for the project and in the formulation of an operational research agenda. As outcomes, these
course activities are embodied both in the class presentation on the intended scope of work for the field
experience and in the annotated bibliography.
The actual research “product” in the course project must be based in activities carried out in during the field
experience in Italy. In some cases, this in-country activity may involve library research, but will more
likely be based in documenting observations or commentaries -- descriptions, drawings, or photography
used to illustrate a research paper.
The final essay is intended as a reflection and self-evaluation.
Some examples of appropriate undergraduate course project ideas:
“Caravaggio in Context”: One of the things we’ll learn about the production of Renaissance art involves
the important role of the patron in determining the placement of an artist’s works. Moreover, “placement”
most often expressed a value judgment on the quality of an artist’s work. In that light, one of the most
important of all the late Renaissance artists, Caravaggio, had work first displayed in some very odd places.
Given the significance and influence even his contemporaries recognized, he didn’t really get any good
placements or strong patronage. Moreover, much of his work remains where it was first hung. Despite the
significance of his work, very few of Caravaggio’s paintings appear in any of the major museums or
collections of the world. Why is that?
In this example, the preliminary proposal, annotated bibliography, and the final project proposal will need
to serve two purposes: First, they will need to lay out the typical ways in which Renaissance patronage
systems operated. Second, they will need to describe the handling of Caravaggio’s work. The field
research for a project such as this could involve a photographic essay documenting where and how
Caravaggio’s canvases now hang. This is a project that can be accomplished quite easily during a short
visit to Rome and Florence.
“Michelangelo’s Florence”: Although Florence claims Michelangelo as one of its own; most of his
greatest works are much more closely associated with his time in Rome. Indeed, Michelangelo had a
tempestuous relationship with his patrons in Rome. The façade of the Church of San Lorenzo stands
incomplete to this day at least in part because of the difficulties Michelangelo had dealing with his
Florentine patrons. The story of Michelangelo’s patronage relationships in Florence can be developed quite
readily on the basis of the standard historical literature. Indeed, multiple specific projects for an in-country
field experience might be developed on the basis of that literature. These could include, for example, the
documentation of Michelangelo’s plans for San Lorenzo, his antipathy toward the political pretensions of
his Medici patrons, and the results as seen in the resulting Medici Chapel and the façade of San Lorenzo.
“Who Were the Etruscans?”: Even today, Etruscan art and architecture receives relatively little attention
outside the very tight circles of dedicated scholarly research. In a curious way, this makes Etruscan art and
architecture a genuinely rich ground for undergraduate research. There are many artifacts and
archaeological sites that suggest the Etruscan world was a technically sophisticated one dominated by a
wealthy, aristocratic, urban class. Scholars describe this and the artifacts and artwork support the idea,
For undergraduate students, this is an ideal research area in which the scholarly literature can provide the
basis for projects illustrating what we can be said about the patronage system producing a rich heritage of
art and architecture.
“The Three Faces of Rome”: The architectural record of Rome reveals many layers that actually sort
themselves out into three dominant periods of politics and patronage. First, there is the record of Imperial
Rome. This is seen primarily in the great public works of the first and second centuries – baths, multiple
generations of forum, the Coliseum, the walls, and the aqua ducts. Second, there is Christian and papal
Rome as seen in St. Peter’s, the Baroque churches and villas, and the gardens of the Villa Borghese.
Finally, there is National and Fascist Rome as seen in the Piazza Venezia, the Garbatella neighborhood, and
the Via dei Fori Imperiale. The interaction and interconnections of these three “faces” of Rome is a
critically important factor in the city’s identity. Likewise, they are historically linked as artifacts of three
great eras of Rome’s power, patronage, and influence. This topic lends itself easily to undergraduate
research in the on-campus portion of the course as well as in the field experience.