ABSTRACT: 1940, Diego Rivera was commissioned to paint a large-scale mural as part of the Golden Gate International Exposition in the San Francisco Bay. The masterpiece, originally entitled Unión de la Expresión Artistica del Norte y Sur de este Continente (The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and South of this Continent) and often referred to as Pan American Unity (Fig.1), is composed of five sections in which the artist unfolds his multi-layered belief system, synthetizing Communist utopia and indigenous way of living with Christianity and proletarian art. Yet, this magnificent mural has been neglected in studies of Rivera’s works in the U.S; as such, the literature produced on it is still limited if considering its primary importance for the understanding of Rivera’s artistic and ideological evolution. In order to fully grasp the artist’s visual discourse, a thorough analysis of the overt and covert elements is essential; indeed, the main scope of this thesis is to suggest a different reading of Pan American Unity. Apparently a straightforward ‘innocuous’ mural, depicting and celebrating America continental unity, once its iconography is unveiled, Rivera’s political radicalism becomes clear in his choice of references, albeit concealed under a peaceful and harmonious mask. Unfairly overlooked, this mural reveals the artist’s intricate dialectic of a unified American continent. The present thesis proposes to bring Pan American Unity to the foreground as a necessary work to unfold Rivera’s debated personality and artistic practice, thus opening up new possible fields of research.
ABSTRACT: The 20th century is a historical period dominated by events that eventually drastically changed the path of history and the world itself. Considered as the “brief century”, it is characterized by its fast changes due to technological innovations and the evolution on political-economical assets1. If cultural products have always been strongly influenced by the historical environment in which they develop, art, in the 20th century, was particularly influenced by the new political systems and social changes which ended up giving birth to a large amount of movements and styles. Generally, the century can be split into two major cultural tendencies, even if they each involved several different styles: modernism (indicating the first half of the 20th century), and postmodernism (beginning from the second half). The former was particularly enthusiast of the industrial development focusing on the research of new imagery, materials, and technique which could create artworks reflecting the new hope of modern society2.
Postmodernism, instead, developed as reaction to Modernism. The artworks reflect a new skeptic vision of the world about the previously praised universal truths and objective reality3. This artistic approach was particularly relevant for the large amount of works based on the phenomenon of Appropriation. Even though the act of appropriating pre-existing styles, images, techniques has always occurred in art history, the past century stressed this tendency further so that the concept of originality and authenticity of the work of art has been strongly threatened.
In this thesis, I will explore the meaning and phenomenon of Appropriation. I will analyze how it acted out during 20th century art, focusing on its postmodernist tendency, and how it radically changed the concept of originality and authorship. Through the analysis of two artists, the thesis will clarify the two major fields in which Appropriation stands: how Appropriation art defines the act of translating into artworks images coming from the everyday life and culture, and how it uses the reproduction of an existing work of art which is be modified or not in order to confer a totally new contemporary meaning.
Andy Warhol and Sherrie Levine are among the symbols of the appropriative impulse. Studying their works will allow to identify how Appropriation is possible to understand, and why this problematic issue has actually gained great importance in art history.
I will also explore the theme of authenticity, questioning the idea of aura4. In other words: if these contemporary works are inspired by the mass media culture of the present, or quote masterpieces and styles of the past how has their “aura” and value changed?
Through a historical and visual study of these artists, the phenomenon of the issue of authenticity will finally be investigated. The main aim of the thesis is answering to three research questions:
- what Appropriation actually means, and how it applies to contemporary art;
- how Postmodernist artists exploited iconic images coming from their everyday, and their final aim;
- how Postmodernist artists interpreted past and contemporary works and their final aim;
- how scholars and critics interpreted this common tendency in contemporary art.
ABSTRACT: This thesis will analyze Palazzo Barberini’s development with its inhabitants and patrons
while considering the concept of collection and display. The aim is to examine the change of
function and decoration of Palazzo Barberini from the time is was built (1625-1628) until its
restoration and remodeling in the late seventeenth century (1670s). To do so, I will first analyze
the Barberini family history, the background of the property before the Barberini purchased it, as
well as the original floor programs and decoration (from 1628-32) and the idea of the secular and
ecclesiastical sections of the palace. Following, I will explore Cardinal Antonio Barberini’s use
of the palace (1640s). Then, I will discuss the social and historical context surrounding Roman
palace plans and ornamentation in the seventeenth century, as well as the societal changes that
took palace in the seventeenth century such as the evolution of the Grand Tour. Finally, I will
investigate Francesco’s renovations in the 1670s as well as his interests in collecting and his
contributions to the Palazzo Barberini collections.
Overall, this thesis is focused on the evolution of the use of space through the analysis of
the Palazzo’s plan and use in one period and then the reuse of the same space well regarding the
importance of collection and display. Research questions that drove guided the development of
this work were: How did the function, use and decoration of Palazzo Barberini change through
its multiple inhabitants who were of secular and ecclesiastical positions? What was the
difference between the secular and ecclesiastical parts of the palace? Were the collections and
display in the palace constant, or did they change? What prompted Francesco’s renovation of the
palace in the 1670s?
ABSTRACT: this thesis I will argument the difference that exists between Boccioni’s triptych and his other canvases, as well as the artist’s States of Mind I and the other Futurists’ artistic production: to do so, the three paintings will be examined under the light of several topics and considerations, which will enhance and question the meaning of each of the triptych’s canvas. Moreover, the peculiarity of the paintings will be drawn near to Boccioni’s own uniqueness in the Futurist group, which made him surpass the already marked limits of his avant-garde. The thesis consists of two distinct parts: the first section focuses on the analysis of Umberto Boccioni’s triptych States of Mind I (1911), and on the distance between the triptych and the rest of the Futurist production. Each analysis of the three canvases is linked to and shaped by different and specific themes, including Henri Bergson’s ideas, Gaetano Previati’s production, and Symbolist art, which allow to better understand the artist’s intentions and the messages that are concealed in the canvases. The second part aims at highlighting an aspect of Boccioni’s artistic character: even though imbued with a strong futurist ideology, he maintained a marked anti-Futurist sensibility, which allowed him to analyze his contemporaries’ inner-world with particular care. These main two sections are preceded by a description of the social and political situations that were going on before and during the artistic creation of Umberto Boccioni, as well as the Italian and European artistic production that had an impact on the artist’s production, and in particular on States of Mind I.
ABSTRACT: In 1922, Armando Spadini (1883-1925) appeared in Florence at the Fiorentina Primaverile exhibition with the Valori Plastici group, the most significant advocates for modern “classical” art in the 1920s. Only a couple of years earlier Spadini had been criticized for his “lustful Impressionism” by those same people who would later accept him in the Valori Plastici group. In 1924, Spadini, widely appreciated as one of the best contemporary painters, held his first solo show at the Venice Biennale. This thesis will attempt to better situate Spadini in the context of the 1920s, analysing the shift in style and critical reception which occurred around 1918-1920, and studying as case studies his participation in the two above-mentioned exhibitions. A picture will emerge of a painter who was more seriously engaged with the debates of his time than it is often credited. Spadini elaborated his own peculiar synthesis of elements, such as colour, drawing, construction, intuition, and tradition, which were all variously tied to the notion of the “classical.” The exploration into his own response to this issue will serve to underline the various connotations of the “classicisms” of the 1920s and of the Valori Plastici group, questioning some assumed narratives of the studies on this period. The term “classical” was a repository of disparate - at times divergent - artistic conceptions and expressions. It was generally made to stand for the modern standard of “meaningful” and “grand” art; used and instrumentalized by critics, often with nationalistic overtones. The term can serve as a methodological tool only if each of these diverse elements is examined in its own peculiar significance in the critical and ideological context of its occurrence, and not when “classical” is discussed as a transhistorical and univocal “style.” Thus, the ultimate aim of this thesis is to highlight how labels – those constructions which mirror the way we recount the history of art - despite being often necessary in order to trace a clear picture of a period, are misleading if not properly contextualized.
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Vidal Carrera, Ximena Constanza
ABSTRACT: Roman portraiture is among the most visually thrilling, not simply for the apparent directness of
viewer engagement, but also due to the evolving form and stylistic treatment, the staggering
technique skills, and the quantity of surviving examples. The strong link between image and
individual has meant that traditionally portraits have primarily been treated as articulating the
status message of the one who was portrayed. Through an examination of different marble
techniques and innovations and through a variety of case studies in the rhetoric of forms and
styles, this thesis will focus on the impact of viewing and how the image is related to the process
of viewing. The aim is for an awareness of portraits as dynamic intermediaries of social
interaction. To this end, the thesis will look at the handling of the material as a link with visual
texture and engagement. In essence, the thesis concerns the materiality of portraiture more than
the recognizability of portraits.
