HISTORY OF THE ARTISTIC TECHNIQUES

The course is intended for the three-year degree in Sciences and technologies for cultural heritage and aims to provide a basic knowledge of the techniques, materials and tools used in the creation of works of art and their evolution from antiquity to contemporary era.

The primary objective of the course is to make students aware of the multiplicity of materials, tools and techniques used over the centuries for the creation of works of art and able to orient themselves in the sources and bibliography useful for finding information on the subject.

The notions learned will allow students to recognize the techniques for making artistic artefacts, to connect these techniques to different schools and eras and to trace historical information related to works of art.

-knowledge and understanding: to know the specific vocabulary related to the methods of production of works of art, from painting, to sculpture, to the art objects; to understand the reasons related to taste that have influenced the evolution of techniques, the adaptation of materials and the refinement of tools; to understand the relationship between technique and style in works of art.
- ability to apply knowledge and understanding: to know how to use specific vocabulary and to be able to recognize the techniques and tools used in the creation of artistic artefacts; to determine the conservation conditions of a work of art; to know how to find the sources related to the context of realization of the work, useful for acquiring detailed information on the procedures used in a given place at a given chronology.
- Judgment skills: to know how to evaluate the investigations useful to deepen the understanding of the materials and techniques used in a work of art on the basis of the knowledge acquired.
- communication skills: to be able to use adequate and specific terminology, introduced and explained in lectures or in the reference texts; to be able to interact profitably with teachers and colleagues on the topics of the course; to be able to participate in the interdisciplinary dialogue that will characterize the professional field for which you are training.

No particular prerequisites required.

The course (6 credits) will be dedicated to the history of artistic techniques and aims to provide students with a basic but comprehensive knowledge of techniques, materials and tools historically used in the creation of artistic artefacts.
During the lessons the specific vocabulary relating to the various techniques analyzed will be learned, with particular attention to painting and sculpture, without however neglecting art objects.
The works of art and the textual sources fundamental for the knowledge of the techniques of realization will be considered in parallel, in order to solicit a familiarity with the treatises, the recipe books and in general the sources of artistic literature of ancient and modern age that constitute the fundamental supports for the investigation of artistic techniques (from Plinio to Cennino Cennini, to Giorgio Vasari, to Giovan Battista Armenini). The course also intends to consider the methods of organizing work in the various techniques and in the various eras, from the construction sites for the large fresco decorations of the early modern age, to the proto-industrial production of sculpture in the early nineteenth century, up to considering the aspects of production serial in design.
At the end of the course, students will be able to recognize the executive techniques of artistic artefacts and will possess the tools to evaluate the material data in relation to the geographical, chronological, commissioning, intended use context.

Bibliography for attending students:

- Simona Rinaldi, "Storia tecnica dell’arte. Materiali e metodi della pittura e della scultura (secc. V-XIX)", Carocci editore, Roma 2011.
- Giuseppina Perusini, "Il restauro dei dipinti e delle sculture lignee", Del Bianco, Udine 1989, pp. 153-168;184-189.
- Marina Pugliese, "Tecnica mista. Materiali e procedimenti nell’arte del XX secolo", Bruno Mondadori, Milano 2006, pp. 3-68.
- Simona Rinaldi, Claudio Falcucci, "Raffaello lettore di Plinio e la tecnica del chiaroscuro", in "Metafore di un pontificato. Giulio II (1503 - 1513)", a cura di Flavia Cantatore, Maria Chiabò e Paola Farenga, Roma 2010, pp.
387-402.
- Andrea Felice, "L’arte di cavar forme di gesso. Brevi note sulla Tecnica esecutiva dei calchi in gesso", in "Il valore del gesso come modello, calco, copia per la realizzazione della scultura", atti del quarto convegno
internazionale sulle gipsoteche (Possagno, 2-3 ottobre 2015), a cura di Mario Guderzo e Tomas Lochman, Fondazione Canova, Possagno 2017, pp. 403-415.

Additional bibliography for non-attending students:

- Silvia Bianca Tosatti, "Trattati medievali di tecniche artistiche", Jaca Book, Milano 2007
- Bruno Zanardi, "Giotto e Pietro Cavallini. La questione di Assisi e il cantiere medievale della pittura a fresco", Skira, Milano 2002

The exam aims to verify that the knowledge derived from the topics covered during the course has been acquired and the basic concepts of the teaching materials have been acquired.

Verification of learning takes place through a written test consisting of ten closed-ended questions and four open-ended questions. Each correct answer to the closed-ended questions will be awarded a score of 1; each open-ended question will be awarded a score from 0 to 5. The sum of the maximum score of the correct closed-ended questions (10 points) and fully satisfactory open-ended questions (5x4 = 20) will make up the exam grade.

Students wishing to integrate the written exam with an oral interview will be able to agree it with the teacher after the outcome of the test.

Lectures supported by teaching materials on power-point, made available at the end of each lesson on the moodle platform.
If the restrictions relating to the health emergency allow it, some lessons will be held at museums or churches.

Italian

written