History of Artistic Literature

Title of the course: Outlines of the History of Art Literature and a focus on the Memorie dei fatti di Leonardo da Vinci a Milano by Giovanni Ambrogio Mazenta.

Part A (20 hours, 3 cfu): Introduction. The History of Art Literature from Vitruvius to Vasari. General outlines and insights.
Part B (20 hours, 3 cfu): The History of Art Literature after Vasari up to the first chair of History of Art in Italy (1901). Topics and insights.
Part C (20 hours, 3 cfu): Commentary on Giovanni Ambrogio Mazenta's Memorie di Leonardo da Vinci.

Part A
Introduction. History of Art Literature from Vitruvio to Vasari. General Features.

Julius Schlosser Magnino, La Letteratura artistica. Manuale delle fonti della storia dell'arte moderna, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1964.
This book was first published in full in 1924: it is a cultural privilege to be able to study on such an irreplaceable source. It is out of print but can be downloaded (in Italian) as a pdf from the Heidelberg University website:
http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schlosser1964/0052/ocr

Students will study the following chapters of the book
- I libro = from Chapter I, number 2.-Nell'Occidente latino; please study: A), B), C) excluding parts written in small size fonts, D); Chapter II; Chapter III: please study starting from number 2, La bottega del Trecento.
- II libro = please study Chapter I, La Letteratura storica, excluding parts written in small size fonts; Chapter cap. II, I teorici del primo Rinascimento, excluding parts written in small size fonts; Chapter IV, Sulle tesi teorico artistiche del primo Rinascimento and Chapter V, excluding parts written in small size fonts.
- IV libro = Chapter III, please study: Continuazione degli studi su Vitruvio, excluding parts written in small size fonts.
- V libro = Il Vasari: please study it, excluding final bibliography.

Many fundamental topics (like Vitruvio, Plinio, Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio etc) will be illustrated during classes; powerpoint will be gradually available on the website: MYARIEL, Storia della Letteratura artistica.

Part B
History of Art Literature after Vasari up to the first History of Art Chair in Italy. Themes and insights.

Julius Schlosser Magnino, La Letteratura artistica. Manuale delle fonti della storia dell'arte moderna, Firenze, La Nuova Italia, 1964.

This book is out of catalogue; it can be downloaded (in Italian for free) from the website of the Heidelberg University :
http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/schlosser1964/0052/ocr
Students will study the following chapters of the book :
- VI libro = please study Chapter I, Scritti storici e periegesi, and Chapter II, Gli scritti sulla teoria dell'arte nel periodo del Manierismo, excluding parts written in small size fonts.
- VII libro = please study Chapter I, La storia universale romano-fiorentina, and Chapter III, Alcune osservazioni , excluding parts written in small size fonts.
- VIII libro = please study Chapter I, La storiografia artistica locale, excluding parts written in small size fonts, and Chapter II, La letteratura dei Ciceroni, up to the end of the section about Giovanni Battista Marino.
- IX libro = please study Chapter I, La teoria artistica italiana del secolo XVII, excluding parts written in small size fonts.

This book (Schlosser) ends with Neoclassicism; please add, and study, from:
Ferdinando Bologna, La coscienza storica dell'arte in Italia. Introduzione alla "Storia dell'Arte in Italia", Torino UTET 1982 oppure Milano Garzanti, 1992.
- Chapter VI (Dalle Scuole seicentesche al "Sistema delle Scuole" di Luigi Lanzi),
- Chapter VII (Dall'Ottocento a Longhi. L'Italia artistica tra soppressione ideologica delle diversità e recupero comparato delle culture locali)
- Conclusion
This book is out of catalogue, but students can download these selected chapters from the website: MYARIEL, Storia della Letteratura artistica.

And then, please add and study:
Udo Kultermann, Storia della Storia dell'arte, Vicenza Neri Pozza 1997,
from p. 39 to p. 229, excluding pp. 113-115; 183-190, 198- 202, 219-220.
This book is out of catalogue, but students can download these selected parts from the website: MYARIEL, Storia della Letteratura artistica.

Many fundamental topics will be illustrated during classes; powerpoint will be gradually available on the website: MYARIEL, Storia della Letteratura artistica.

Part C :
Commentary on the Memorie dei fatti di Leonardo da Vinci's Giovanni Ambrogio Mazenta.
In order to study this part of the course, which does not concern students intending to take the 6 CFU exam, it will be necessary to download Mazenta's text from the MYARIEL platform, which will be made available in the edition edited by Luigi Gramatica in 1919. The commentary will be presented in progressively prepared powerpoints as Part C of the lectures progresses (not before: the course is defined as it is proposed to the students, modelling itself in progress). The Vita di Lionardo da Vinci written by Giorgio Vasari in 1550 and 1568 will also be downloaded, commented on and studied: it will always be found on MyAriel, taken from the edition edited in 1976 by Rosanna Bettarini and Paola Barocchi (Florence, ed. SPES).

Not attendant students will also read:
Rudolf e Margot Wittkover, Nati sotto Saturno. La figura dell'artista dall'antichità alla Rivoluzione francese, Torino, Einaudi 2016.
There are numerous editions of this book since the first Italian edition in 1968, all still available; the book can also be found in many libraries. Warning: the text must be read (not studied); in essence, it must be understood, paying attention to the massive use of sources of artistic literature proposed by the authors.