81723 - History of Indian Art (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student will have acquired a thorough knowledge of the main art-historical topics regarding South Asia. He will be able to discuss them effectively both orally and in writing, using the appropriate terminology and with suitable bibliographic references. He will be in possession of the skills required to place artworks from the area in question in their proper context.

Course contents

Monumental Indian sculpture (3rd c. BC - 8th c. AD)

The course will present monumental Indian sculpture from the earliest Maurya-period works to post-Gupta regional art, with a brief overview of medieval developments. The lectures will provide students with a general outline of the art-historical evolution of ancient Indian statuary and the means to make a critical appraisal of the works in the light of the architectural context of which they are a part.

Readings/Bibliography

- C. Pieruccini, Storia dell’arte dell’India. I Dalle origini ai grandi templimedievali, Torino, Einaudi, 2013, pp. 5-18; pp. 28-72; pp. 94-148; pp. 153-159; pp. 165-176. Schede nn.: 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 48, 49, 50, 54, 56, 61, 62, 64.

- A. Hardy, The Temple Architecture of India, Chichester, Wiley, 2007.

Foreign students may contact the lecturer for a reading list in English

Teaching methods

Frontal lesson: presentation, reading and analysis of selected works

Assessment methods

The exam will be conducted orally and will assess the student's command of the material studied in the course. The student will be asked to provide a commentary on images selected from among those found in the course texts and will be judged on his ability to summarise and critically discuss topics raised in the course, making use of the exam bibliography and the course tools provided.

The assessment will thus consider the student's:
- competence in commenting on the images, i.e. in identifying, dating and contextualizing the works illustrated;
- knowledge and understanding of the topics covered;
- ability to summarise and analyse themes and concepts;
- familiarity with the terminology associated with the subject and his ability to use it effectively.

Top marks will be awarded to a student displaying an ability to provide a full description of the images and an overall understanding of the topics discussed during the lectures, combined with a critical approach to the material and a confident and effective use of the appropriate terminology

Average marks will be awarded to a student who has memorized the main points of the material and is able to summarise them satisfactorily and provide an effective critical commentary, while failing to display a complete command of the appropriate terminology.

A student will be deemed to have failed the exam if he displays significant errors in his understanding and failure to grasp the overall outlines of the subject, together with a poor command of the appropriate terminology.

Teaching tools

Power point presentations

Office hours

See the website of Nicoletta Celli