Syllabus assignment

Course Outline

The title of my course is called The Scultpure, Scandal, And Unfinished Business of Michelangelo. The topic will surround Michelangelo’s commission of the Tomb of Pope Julius II, his other commissions and dealings with patrons during the same time, and the unfinished sculptures from the Tomb. It will be composed of 4 sections that will give students the knowledge to fully understand the context of the commission, the artists position, and the sculptures themselves.

Section One: Classicism & Sculpture

 This section will spend time explaining the history of classicism in Renaissance Italy, how the styles of ancient Greece influenced many artists, and how the revival of Classic literature and philosophy influenced the whole Italian society. The classical style embodies a more formal, dignified, restrained, and less emotional figure. This is important to understand because their ideas of beauty and perfection came from these past sources. More emphasis will be placed on the popular classic style of sculpture and how it is seen throughout the work of Michelangelo as well as his contemporaries. Students will be presented with the figures of the Unfinished Slaves, and asked to find classical elements as well as contrary elements.

Questions:

-          Can the classical style be seen in the unfinished figures of Michelangelo’s Slaves? What are the significant differences?

-          Why might these figures seem more “emotional” than Michelangelo’s other sculptures?

Section Two: The Patron & The Artist

                The relationship between patrons and artists is absolutely vital to understanding the context of artwork in the Renassiance, and especially to understanding the Tomb of Pope Julius II and Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures. Before looking at that commission, students will be taught about the important role patrons played in developing Renaissance artists and artwork. This includes discussing their contracts, financial support, materials, norms and expectations, and how the value of artwork was culturally constructed. This is important because these details and relationship between the patron and artist would influenced how the art and objects ended up looking. Papal commissions, and the church as a patron will be emphasised.

Questions:

-          Who has more power in the patron/artist relationship? How do these contracts ensure this?

-          How do these contracts affect the final product of a commission?

-          Which types of patrons do you think would provide the most esteemed commission?

Required reading:

Burke, P. (1986). The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Soceity. Cambridge: Polity Press. Pg. 88-123

Section Three: About Michelangelo

                This section will give a brief biography of the artist, and look more at his contemporary writings by Vasari and Condivi. He was the first Renaissance artist to have a biography published during his lifetime, which was written by Vasari. Shortly after, a rival biography was written by Asciano Condivi, who was also a close friend of Michelangelo’s. Within this section, students will also learn about Michelangelo’s personal theories of sculpting and specifically how he viewed his craft as the “freeing” of the figures from stone. They will look briefly at a number of his completed sculptures, such as the Pieta, David, and the Tombs of Guiliano and Lorenzo de’ Medici.

Questions:

-          How is Michelangelo portrayed by his peers? What are some of his major characteristics?

-          Are there any themes or differences between the two portrayals?

-          What was Michelangelo’s view on sculpting? How would this view have influenced his character?

-          Do you think Michelangelo was unique among other sculptors?

Required readings:

Burroughs, B. ed. The Essential Vasari. Londond: Unwin Books. 1962. Pg. 178-216.

Condivi, A. Life of Michel-Angelo. Penn State Press. 1999.

Section Four: The Tomb of Pope Julius II

                This will be the largest section of the course, and will follow the narrative of Michelangelo’s dealings with Tomb of Pope Julius II and requests and commissions of following Popes (firstly, Clement VII). Here students will learn about all three contracts drawn up between Michelangelo and Pope Julius’ family, the della Rovere’s. Primarily, emphasis will be on the clause in the contracts which prohibited Michelangelo from taking on other sizeable work that would impede with the production of the Tomb. This will be important when analysing the events that brought Michelangelo to undertaking other projects, which arguably went against his initial contract to Julius II’s tomb. Different accounts say different things, one that he pleaded against the project with Pope Clement VII (Ramsden), while another states he was happy to take it on (Coughlan). These differences are important to understanding the nature of Michelangelo’s intentions. It is clearer later on that once he had been committed to both projects he was stressed and guilt-ridden, and his reputation was put in a compromising position.

Questions:

-          How were the contracts of the Tomb of Pope Julius II changed over Michelangelo’s lifetime? Why do you think these changes were made?

-          From reading both accounts of the story, what do you personally think Michelangelo’s intentions were with each commission?

Required reading:

Ramsden, E. H. The Letters of Michelangelo. London: Peter Owen Limited. 1963. Pg. 249-258.

Coughlan, R. The World of Michelangelo. New York: Time Life Inc. 1964. Pg. 151-167.