In 1478 the Florentine banking family of the Pazzi, aided and abetted by intimates of Pope Sixtus IV, prepared an attempt on the life of the capi of their rivals, the Medici, at that time the dominant party in Florentine finance and politics. The leading role of the Medici in Florence promised that the undertaking, were it to be successful, would be considered a spectacular feat. Yet by itself the violent disposal of political enemies was by no means exceptional in early modern Italy.

In deze tweedelige cursus, georganiseerd door het Nederlands Interuniversitair Kunsthistorisch Instituut (NIKI) in Florence en de Fondation Custodia – Collectie Frits Lugt (FC) in Parijs, staan de theorie en praktijk van de tekenkunst tussen de vijftiende en de negentiende eeuw centraal.

The Minor program Italian Art & History, hosted and financed by the Dutch University Institute for Art History (NIKI) in Florence and the Royal Netherlands Institute (KNIR) in Rome, offers the opportunity to do so to a group of motivated students from Dutch universities, allowing them to work with a large variety of methodologies in order to understand present-day Italy through its historical developments, as well as stimulating them to critically assess their disciplinary orientation in a cross-disciplinary context.

Florence, originally founded by the Romans, was governed by the Medici family for centuries. Most of them had a passionate interest in painting, sculpture, architecture, and literature. Still Florence keeps an exceptional artistic heritage, which is marvelous evidence of its aged culture. This course offers students the opportunity to study the works of art from the Renaissance period, while staying in Florence.

In this pioneering course, we will explore previously unexplored territory. How did late-renaissance scientists and artists navigate between biblical and ancient texts, and their own observations? How did they negotiate between received scholarly and pictorial traditions and their own – often conflicting – observations?