Italy Through Art

Catalog description

In this language and culture course students refine their skills while learning about Italy through the medium of art. The approach encourages the development of a critical understanding of individual works by introducing students to the visual language of art. As a survey course, the subject content is chronologically wide ranging, extending from Magna Grecia to the Novecento, and includes a variety of media, including painting, sculpture and architecture. Among the artists covered are Cimabue, Giotto, Donatello, Masaccio, Piero della Francesca, Botticelli, Leonardo, Raffaello, Michelangelo, Cellini, Giorgione, Tiziano, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Canaletto, Guardi, Canova, Modigliani, and De Chirico. By analyzing a variety of cultural artifacts, students will build vocabulary and use advanced grammatical structures. We will also read critical articles on art history and study the University's Art collection, which includes replicas of Michelangelo's most famous sculptures. The course is complemented visits to the Barnes Foundation and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Conducted in Italian.