F1004 Art and Exchange: Venice as a Center of the Global Market

\"Venice is inconceivable without its lagoon; it would not, could not, exist without its lagoon.\" (UNESCO RAMSAR Report, 2003) This course will explore the artistic accomplishments of Venice from the Byzantines through Giambattista Tiepolo by examining key topics relevant to the lagoon environment. To interpret Venice and its cultural achievements the course will scrutinize four themes in particular: environment, cultural heritage, tourism and early globalization.\r\n

To comprehend the environmental impact exerted upon the city and its inhabitants, an evaluation of the lagoon\'s physical characteristics and its influence upon the development of the Venetian pictorial language will be considered. Among the topics to be addressed will be the \"floating\" environment with constant exposure to oscillating light sources, vulnerability to weather patterns affected painters not only in their choice of support, but also determined a fundamental interest in color. At the course conclusion, the issue of environment will be revisited addressing the controversy of life on the lagoon in contemporary Venice in light of environmental changes and economic development.

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Cultural heritage and preservation will be explored in the context of the history of tourism in the Veneto. To begin we will explore Padua and its relationship with Venice. The course shall consider the Scrovegni Chapel as a case study to examine how centuries of tourism affects and currently controls access to artistic environments. The rise of the \"Grand Tour\" will investigate the architecture of Andrea Palladio through the eyes of Thomas Jefferson. Palladio\'s influence on Jeffersonian architecture provides a new identity and ideology developing a style for a new country across the Atlantic. Lastly, the organizations such as the Biennale of Contemporary Art and UNESCO will also follow as contemporary topics of discussion as such entities seek to preserve Venice as a hub for cultural preservation and an international center for the global art market.

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Finally this course will chronicle Venice as a historic center of globalization serving an international center of trade since the seventh century. The birth of artistic exchange truly begins when Titian sets his sights on the Venetian lagoon. Through Titian\'s painted images of power and status, the early globalization of portraiture begins. The rise of the powerful merchant class established by the seventeenth century generates a new phenomena of art collecting and the seriality of copies. Long after their passing Bellini, Giorgione, Titian, Veronese and other sixteenth-century masters become among the most coveted artists by collectors not only in Venice, but also in Germany, England and Flanders. By 1650 Venice appears as a starting point for the global art market which eventually reaches the New World.

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Learning outcomes and course objective
Students will develop a critical understanding of the history of art and architecture of Venice augmented by a consideration of four core issues: environment, cultural heritage, tourism and early globalization. The aim of this course is to provide an interdisciplinary approach to Venice addressing its cultural and aesthetic complexities.

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