OSK/NIKI Winter School: Florence and the Renaissance: purpose(s), limits and validity of periodization

Date: 8-22 January 2024. Preparatory meeting in Amsterdam in December 2023, exact date time tba.
Venue: NIKI – Florence, Italy
Open to: RMa students and PhD candidates in Art and Architectural History, max. 15 participants. RMa students have precedence over PhD candidates
Credits: 6 EC
Instruction language: English
Convenors: Dr Jan de Jong (em. Groningen University, j.l.de.jong@rug.nl) & Dr Gert Jan van der Sman (NIKI, sman@nikiflorence.org)
Coordination: OSK (osk-fgw@uva.nl)
Fees: (See below)

Registration: Via website and send a CV and short letter of motivation to osk-fgw@uva.nl.

Deadline for application is November 1, 2023. Students will be informed about admittance no later than November 10.

Programme

The history of (western) art is usually subdivided in several time periods: Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Baroque, etcetera. As each of these periods may cover several centuries, they are often subdivided, for instance into Greek and Roman Antiquity, Early, High and Late Middle Ages, etcetera. This periodization (and its subdivisions) is considered necessary for classification, analysis and understanding of the arts of the various periods. But how useful and valid are these periodizations actually? Do they really help to analyze and understand, or does classification block an unbiased view and thus keeps us from a true understanding?

These and similar questions are the starting point for the study of a very special time period: the Renaissance, which supposedly originated in Florence. What makes the Renaissance so special compared to other time periods such as Antiquity, Middle Ages and Baroque, is that the concept and name were not coined afterwards, but during the period itself. Moreover, soon after its supposed origin in Florence, the notion of a Renaissance affected large parts of Italy and subsequently (Western) Europe.

In this course we will study the Renaissance in Florence, asking: how did it originate and can we ‘explain’ why this (supposedly) took place in Florence? Can we explain its origin by pointing to, for instance, political circumstances or propagandistic purposes? What were the reasons that other Italian states were so quick to follow the example of Florence – or did they? To what extent is our view of Florence and the Renaissance shaped or distorted by nineteenth-century views of the Renaissance and changes to the city, which made nineteenth-century Florence look more like a Renaissance city than it did during the Renaissance itself?

Studying and analyzing these issues may lead to a better understanding of the historical accuracy of the term Renaissance and its validity. It will, moreover, also help to think critically about periodization in general and its usefulness in teaching, explaining and thinking about art.

Pondering these issues, we will study in the first week artworks that were made during the Renaissance (ca. 1300-1600) and that were either used to propagate the idea of Florence as a ‘Renaissance city’ or were intentionally made with that purpose. We will discuss how these works originally were seen and how they functioned, and how we now see and understand them. During the second week we will study a number of nineteenth-century interventions and alterations – such as the erection of statues and monuments, and restauration projects – which are all related to the concept of Florence as a Renaissance city. We will analyze what these interventions tell about the nineteenth-century century notion of Florence and the Renaissance, and how they influence the way we now see Florence.

All the meetings will take place in Florence, near and between the art works and buildings which are the subject of our study.

Practicalities

Participation in the OSK-NIKI RMA Winter School is open to all students enrolled in a Research Master Program or PhD program at a Dutch University. The number of participants is limited to 15. RMa students have precedence over PhD candidates. Deadline for application is November 1, 2022. Students will be informed about admittance no later than November 10. Students are expected to attend all seminars and lectures and read and analyze the texts in advance.

There is no course fee. All students will be offered free housing at the NIKI (rooms are for 2 persons, shared dining room, kitchen, bathrooms and toilets). Students who are registered with OSK will be offered a travel grant of €150. Students are responsible for booking a flight themselves. The travel grant will be paid after delivering a successful paper and presentation. Make sure to keep your (digital) ticket and proofs of payment, without them the grant cannot be paid.

Credits: 6 EC, to receive after delivering a successful paper and presentation. Students have to check with their home university themselves whether the transfer of credits for this course is accepted. OSK will provide a testimonial of workload and EC.

Note: The programme may be subject to changes.