This blog is for Professor Marjorie Och’s seminar on the city of Venice, ARTH 470Z, fall 2008, University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, VA. The blog also serves as the home base for the creation of an online exhibit for this seminar.

In this course we will examine Venetian art and culture from the foundation of the city in the 5th and 6th centuries through today. The city, itself, will hold our attention for the first several meetings as we explore geography, politics, business, and urban issues that are peculiar to Venice and the lagoons. We will then turn to the artists whose works define the city for art historians, including the following from the fifteenth through eighteenth centuries: the Bellini family, Giorgione, Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto, and the Tiepolo family. We will also consider twentieth-century and contemporary artists, both Italian and non-Italian, who were so influenced by this city, including J.M.W. Turner, J. A. McN. Whistler, J. S. Sargent, F. L. Wright, Carlo Scarpa, Kiki Smith, Claes Oldenburg, Araya Rasdjarmrearnsook, and Plessi.

You may choose to go in almost any direction for your own research, and I urge you to initiate your research by thinking broadly in terms of methods, themes, and periods. The list of possible research topics on the syllabus is just a start. One requirement is that you explore the visual traditions that are particular to Venice, and by doing so gain an appreciation of this city, its history, and culture.