Founded in 1917 to promote cultural exchange between Italy and the English-speaking world, the British Institute of Florence today offers a comprehensive program of courses in the Italian language, the English language, and History of Art as well as a wide range of cultural events.

Italy

Florence, Italy

Course

British Institute Of Florence

This course provides an introduction to the history, art, and architecture of Florence from the "comune" and republic of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries to the court culture created by the Medici princes. By focusing on a selection of major monuments and key works studied in relation to their style, purpose, and context, students develop foundation skills in visual analysis and historical interpretation. They develop an awareness and understanding of the materials and methods that art historians use in order to situate works of art and architecture in their appropriate historical, cultural, and creative contexts. This course encourages students to consider the historical background of the major monuments and masterpieces of Florence’s medieval and Renaissance art and architecture, and it develops their practical skills for identifying, defining, and discussing key features of specific artworks. Students engage directly with original artworks on their class visits to sites and collections, in which they study buildings, paintings, and sculptures in close detail.

On-Campus

FLORENCE: History and Culture, Art and Architecture

This course provides students with an introduction to two key areas of art historical analysis and recognition. This introduction serves as a primary foundation from which they develop their ability to view art and architecture technically, academically, and formally. Students are encouraged to contextualize what they see and to remain aware of the importance of the circumstances of every artwork’s conception. They consider how artworks can be viewed as bearers of both explicit and implicit meaning, and they carry out close readings of artworks in order to observe the significance of specific details. The principal aim of the course is to make students aware that each work of art that they scrutinize is an articulate and articulated object, and that they have the capacity to understand what they see through systematic visual examination. The course will introduce students to fundamental developments in art history exemplified in the work of selected writers, who laid the subject’s foundations.

INTRODUCTION TO ART HISTORY

This course introduces students to the history of techniques and the characteristics of specific techniques, in the Early Renaissance and Renaissance periods. Through the analysis of works of art as well as through practical workshops, the course covers Renaissance artistic methods and highlights the importance of painting, drawing, and sculpture for artists in the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It examines the ways in which artists were trained and acquired their skills, and also how artists’ workshops and academies functioned. Furthermore, this course explores the impact that the conservation and cleaning of Renaissance artworks have had on art-historical studies, and it introduces students to some of the controversies and ethical issues surrounding current debates about conservation and restoration. Students develop a sensitivity to the question of condition and become equipped with basic knowledge of Renaissance artist techniques and workshop practices, and this consolidates and enhances their understanding of Renaissance artworks.

British Institute Of Florence

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