ARTH 625.

00: ART AND ARCHITECTURE IN BAROQUE ROME

“We build to impress.”

—Pope Nicholas V, De gestis Nicolai Quinti Summi Pontificis

Rome was the focal point of Western European art and culture in the early seventeenth century. The campaign for the Renovatio
Romae (“Restoration of Rome”) that had been launched by the papacy in the fifteenth century reached its apogee and a series of
seventeenth‐century popes poured vast sums of money into the rebuilding, modernization, and embellishment of the city. The goal
of these monumental building campaigns, impressive sculptural groups, and lavish painting cycles was to prove—visually—that early
modern Rome was the worthy successor of the ancient capital as well as the seat of the one legitimate faith. Throughout the
century, artists and architects flocked to the city to win the prestigious commissions—public and private—that would secure both
wealth and renown. The result is an abundance of dynamic masterpieces that still define the urban fabric of the Eternal City.

Although the course aims to be comprehensive, many of our lectures will concentrate on the seminal figures of the period,
including the painter Caravaggio, the sculptor and architect Gianlorenzo Bernini, and the architect Francesco Borromini. Our
discussions, however, will not only track the careers of these major figures but also explore the ambitions and motivations of the
patrons responsible for their major commissions. In other words, we will be tracing the activities and achievements of the popes
and their courts. Our goal will be to determine how the political strategies, devotional concerns, and socio‐economic status of the
early modern papacy affected the urban morphology of Rome.

Requirements include assigned readings, one short in‐class presentation, a final examination, and a term paper (approximately 12
pages in length).

GENERAL ORGANIZATION

Class sessions will include lectures, discussions of the assigned readings, short student presentations, and one writing workshop
during which students will present working drafts of their assignments to a small group. This workshop, schedule at the end of the
semester, will allow students to offer and receive valuable feedback as they complete the final version of their essays.

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES AND READING ASSIGNMENTS

 A Tour of Rome, Ancient and Early Modern, and the Apostolic reinsediatosi of Pope Martin V (1417–1431)
WEEK ONE

 The Renovatio Romae and a Case Study: Papal Tombs, Sites of Honor and Glory. Antonio Pollaiuolo’s (?) Commissions for
Sixtus IV (1471–1482) and Innocent VIII (1482–1492)

Reading: Jessica Maier, “A ‘True Likeness’: The Renaissance City Portrait” (2012), pp. 711–52 (on Blackboard)

Vasari, Giorgio. “Preface to Part III.” In Lives of the Artists, 2nd ed., 1568 (on Blackboard). Please also skim through the sections on
Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo online: http://members.efn.org/~acd/vite/VasariLives.html

Giovanni Battista Agucchi, “The Carracci” from Treatise on Painting, composed ca. 1615 (excerpt on Blackboard)

Catherine Puglisi, Caravaggio (2000), pp. 1–88 and pp. 351–56 (selection of early modern biographies of Caravaggio)

 Pope Clement VIII (1592–1605) and the Rebuilding of Saint Peter’s Basilica
WEEK TWO

 Annibale Carracci in Rome: Projects for the Farnese Family

Reading: Catherine Puglisi, Caravaggio (2000), pp. 91–139

Franca Trinchieri Camiz, “Music and Painting in Cardinal del Monte’s Household” (1991), pp. 213–26 (on Blackboard)

Keith Christiansen, “Caravaggio and ‘L’esempio davanti del natural’” (1986), pp. 421–45 (on Blackboard)

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  Caravaggio and His Cardinals: Early Still‐life and Genre Scenes
WEEK THREE

Reading: Catherine Puglisi, Caravaggio (2000), pp. 143–253.

Anthony Blunt, “The Council of Trent and Religious Art” (1940) (excerpt on Blackboard)

Andrea Lepage, “Art and the Counter‐Reformation” (2013) (excerpt on Blackboard)

 Caravaggio and the Counter‐Reformation: His Roman Altarpieces

WEEK FOUR

Reading: Gabriele Paleotti, Discourse on Sacred and Profane Images (2012), book one (pp. 45–155)

Richard E. Spear, “Di sua mano” (2002), pp. 79–98 (on Blackboard)

 Pope Paul V (1605–1621): Carlo Maderno and the Completion of the Façade of Saint Peter’s; the Acqua Paola; and the
WEEK FIVE

Career of Guido Reni

Reading: Gabriele Paleotti, Discourse on Sacred and Profane Images (2012), book two (pp. 157–329)

Maria H. Loh, “New and Improved: Repetition as Originality in Italian Baroque Practice and Theory” (2004), pp. 477–504 (on
Blackboard)

Giambattista Marino, “How to Steal,” 1620 (excerpt on Blackboard)

 The Great Art‐Lover: Scipione Borghese and His Collection

WEEK SIX

 Pope Gregory XV (1621–1623) and the Bolognese School: Domenichino, Lanfranco, Guercino, and Baroque Classicism

Reading (for 10/16): Filippo Baldinucci, The Life of Bernini (2007), passim

 Pope Urban VIII (1623–1644) and Gian Lorenzo Bernini

WEEK SEVEN

Reading: Federico Borromeo, Sacred Painting (2012), pp. 3–143

Emanuele Tesauro, “On Witty Expressions and their Productions in General” etc., from The Aristotelian Telescope, 1654 (excerpts on
Blackboard)

 Power on Display: The Palazzo Barberini

WEEK EIGHT

Reading: Federico Borromeo, Museum (2012), pp. 145–205

 Cardinals and Their Collections: Poussin, Claude, and the Devotional Landscape
WEEK NINE

Reading: Joseph Connors, “Borromini and Roman Urbanism” (1982), pp. 10–21 (on Blackboard)

John Beldon Scott, “S. Ivo alla Sapienza and Borromini’s Symbolic Language” (1982), pp. 294–317 (on Blackboard)

 Pope Innocent X (1644–1655) and the Rise of Francesco Borromini

WEEK TEN

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  The Development of the Piazza Navona

Reading: Franco Mormando, Bernini: His Life and His Rome (2011), pp. 1–143

 Alessandro Algardi and Roman Baroque Sculpture Beyond Bernini

WEEK ELEVEN

 The Jubilee of 1650, and a Visit from Diego Velázquez

Reading: Franco Mormando, Bernini: His Life and His Rome (2011), pp. 144–244

Tod A. Marder, “Alexander VII, Bernini, and the Urban Setting of the Pantheon in the Seventeenth Century” (1991), pp. 273–92 (on
Blackboard)

 Pope Alexander VII (1655–1667) and Il Nuovo Teatro

WEEK TWELVE

 Pietro da Cortona as Architect, and Borromini’s Final Projects

Reading: Franco Mormando, Bernini: His Life and His Rome (2011), pp. 245–351

 Sculpture and Ritual at Saint Peter’s

WEEK THIRTEEN

 Clement IX (1667–1669), Clement X (1670–1676), and Bernini’s Last Works

 WRITING WORKSHOP (please bring three copies of a draft of your essay to class)

Reading: Guarino Guarini, “First Treatise” from Civil Architecture, written ca. 1678 and published in 1737 (excerpt on Blackboard)

Gauvin Alexander Bailey, “‘Le style jésuite n’existe pas’: Jesuit Corporate Culture and the Visual Arts” (1999) (excerpt on Blackboard)

Clara Bargellini, “Jesuit Devotions and Retablos in New Spain” (1999) (excerpt on Blackboard)

 WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT DUE

WEEK FOURTEEN

 The Legacy of Baroque Rome, Part I: Guarino Guarini

 The Legacy of Baroque Rome, Part II: Baroque Splendor in Asia and The New World

 FINAL EXAMINATION
WEEK FIFTEEN

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 GENERAL INFORMATION

Reading Assignments

Please consult the schedule of lectures and assignments at the beginning of this syllabus for the weekly reading assignment
and complete the assigned readings before class to facilitate classroom discussion.

Required textbooks

Baldinucci, Filippo. The Life of Bernini. Trans. Catherine Enggass, with an introduction by Maarten Delbeke, Evonne Levy,
and Steven F. Ostrow. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2007 (1966 edition on reserve).

Borromeo, Federico. Sacred Painting; Museum. Ed. and trans. Kenneth S. Rothwell Jr., with an introduction and notes by
Pamela M. Jones. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2010 (available at FARL and NYPL).

Mormando, Franco. Bernini: His Life and His Rome. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2011 (on reserve).

Paleotti, Gabriele. Discourse on Sacred and Profane Images. Trans. William McCuaig, with an introduction by Paolo Prodi.
Los Angeles: Getty Research Institute, 2012 (on reserve).

Puglisi, Catherine. Caravaggio. London: Phaidon Press, 2000 (on reserve).

Additional assigned readings can be accessed on Blackboard

Policy regarding late papers

10% will be deducted from the assigned grade of any term paper submitted after the end of class on December 11th. No term
papers will be accepted after our last class on December 18th.

Academic accommodations are available for students with documented disabilities

In compliance with the American Disability Act of 1990 (ADA) and with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Hunter
College is committed to ensuring educational parity and accommodations for all students with documented disabilities and/or
medical conditions. It is recommended that all students with documented disabilities (emotional, medical, physical and/or
learning) consult the Office of AccessABILITY located in Room E1119 to secure necessary academic accommodations.

For more information and online forms, please visit: http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/studentservices/access

Information regarding recording and videotaping lectures

Any type of recording is prohibited.

A warning regarding plagiarism and academic dishonesty

Despite warnings, plagiarism continues to be a significant problem in higher education. CUNY has articulated the following
statement on academic integrity and plagiarism:

“Hunter College regards acts of academic dishonesty (e.g. plagiarism, cheating on examinations, obtaining unfair
advantage, and falsification of records and official documents) as serious offenses against the values of intellectual
honesty. The college is committed to enforcing the CUNY Policy on Academic Integrity and will pursue cases of
academic dishonesty according to the Hunter College Academic Integrity Procedures.”

For more information, please access: http://web.cuny.edu/academics/info‐central/policies/academic‐integrity.pdf

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 The penalty for plagiarism and/or any other example of academic dishonesty or misconduct including but not limited to
fabrication of data, falsification of documentation, deception, cheating on the examination, submitting work completed for
another course, and sabotage (i.e. tampering with another student’s work) will be a failing grade for the course.

EVALUATION AND GRADES

Students will be evaluated in three areas: class participation, in‐class testing, and expository writing.

Class Participation

A positive contribution to our discussion will be noted and assessed and is worth 25% of your final grade. Please note that if
you miss more than two classes or the equivalent thereof (i.e. habitual or exceptional tardiness), your grade for class
participation may be jeopardized.

Student Presentations

Each student will be required to present a brief outline of the one or more (depending on length) of the original source
documents that we will be reading. This presentation should last ten minutes maximum. A visual component (e.g. a
PowerPoint presentation) is not required (or recommended). Basically, the presentations are designed to help jumpstart our
discussion of the assigned readings. Thus, please offer a concise outline of the main points of the author’s argument and pose
one or two questions regarding issues that you believe are most deserving of examination and analysis. Then be prepared to
answer additional questions from your classmates as well as lead the subsequent class dialogue. This presentation is work
10% of your final grade for the course.

Final Examination

The final examination for this course will consist of two parts. The first will feature a series of three visual comparisons
designed to illuminate an issue discussed in class and developed in the assigned reading. You will be expected to identify the
works of art (artist or architect, title, and date) and be prepared to write a short essay that compares the two works, analyzes
their significance in terms of patronage, location, and/or use, and, most importantly, develops a thesis regarding the issues at
play in the two objects. The second part of each examination will consist of a longer essay question that focuses on a major
theme explored throughout the semester. The examination will last one and a half hours.

A study list of thirty objects will be posted on Blackboard one week before the examination.

Please be aware that it is prohibited to enter or leave the classroom once the examination begins. Therefore, I encourage
everyone to think carefully about having a second cup of coffee before class on December 18th.

Finally, an absence from the examination will be excused only for documented reasons of illness or emergency (e.g. a signed
letter from a doctor or health professional). If your situation warrants an exemption, then the examination will be
rescheduled at a mutually convenient time.

Written Assignment

One formal expository essay is required. The essay must be submitted in hard copy in class at 7:00 p.m. on December 11th.
Because of word processing compatibility issues as well as complications involving email accounts and attachments, no
emailed assignments will be accepted.

Topic

You are required to complete an expository essay of approximately 12 pages (not including footnotes or endnotes). A list of
possible subjects will be distributed in class and you may select one of these topics or design your own. Please be aware that I
have developed these topics with the selection of early modern works of art on view in New York City in mind so that you may
study examples in person. Thus, this assignment should include a detailed visual analysis as well as substantial original
research. Your paper must be properly documented using footnotes, endnotes, or in‐text citations and include a bibliography.
Please make every effort to include illustrations of the art works mentioned in your essay.

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 Please note that longer papers as well shorter ones will be accepted: be aware, however, that you will be evaluated primarily
on the originality and strength of your thesis. While the background research that you complete for this assignment informs
your thesis, you should not waste valuable pages outlining the artist or patron’s career in detail. Focus your discussion on
your argument and only include information relevant to its defense.

Grades

Final grades will be calculated on the basis of the following percentages:

Short in‐class presentation: 10%

Written assignment: 30%
Final examination: 35%
Class participation: 25%

“Extra credit” work will not be accepted.