Details

ONLINE ART HISTORY COURSE
Makers and Markets: Italian Art in Britain

Course Description:

This course explores how Italian art came to Britain, from the 15th century Tudors hiring sculptors to the 19th century magnates buying up paintings from Tuscan dealers. Eager to own the latest in Renaissance and Baroque art, English kings and queens filled their courts with Italian imports. Desire to expand some access to the public eventually led to the creation of the national museums in London, and we will examine how these collections were formed.

Virtual Classroom: Full access to an online educational platform with discussion forum, videos of recordings, syllabus and readings.

Location: LIVE INTERACTIVE ON-LINE ART HISTORY LECTURES

Optional Readings:
Readings to be provided to students in PDF format prior to the beginning of course.

Complete syllabus will be provided upon registration.

• ALL LECTURES WILL BE RECORDED AND AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT YOUR CONVENIENCE IN OUR VIDEO LIBRARY FOR THE DURATION OF THE COURSE

Schedule

LECTURE 1 -The Tudors and Torrigiano

-Friday, May 19

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Tudors needed sculptors and artists to promote their family after Henry VII ascended the throne. Pietro Torrigiano needed an escape route after punching Michelangelo in the nose in Florence. The sculptor saw his opportunity and moved to England to work at the royal court and met other foreign artists. This talk explores how Italian artists brought Renaissance style to England.

LECTURE 2 – King Charles I, Charles II and Collecting

-Friday, May 26

In the 17th century Charles I brought Italian artists such as Orazio Gentileschi and Artemisia Gentileschi to his court. After he was executed by Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army, his son Charles II fled to the courts of Europe, where the rest of his family was protected. But upon the restoration of the monarchy, the English court was again filled with art and artists, and in this talk we’ll explore royal collecting.

LECTURE 3 – Making museums: How the V&A and National Gallery Built their collections of Italian Art

-Friday, June 2

While Italians reshaped their country during the Risorgimento, the need for money and modernity meant many nobles sold family heirlooms. At the same time, the British were forming national museums and seeking treasures from across the world. This session will explore how curators and directors built the collections at the Victoria and Albert Museum the National Gallery in London.

Lecturer

Dr. Meghan Callahan has lived and worked in London since 2006. Like Rocky, she earned her Master’s degree in Art History from Syracuse University as a Florence Fellow. She has a Ph.D. in Art History from Rutgers University. Meghan is the Assistant Director for Teaching and Learning at Syracuse University London, where she has taught art history and history classes on Italian Art in London and the UK; Women and Art: London and UK; and Underground London.

She worked on the reinstallation of the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and then with the sculpture dealer Patricia Wengraf. Meghan has published various articles and essays on the architectural patronage of the 16th-century mystic nun Sister Domenica da Paradiso, miraculous paintings in Renaissance Florence, and Italian Renaissance and Baroque sculpture.