FlaviaMatitti
Flavia Matitti (Amsterdam, 1964) is an art historian and freelance journalist, registered with the Professional Register of Journalists since 2003. She lives and works in Rome, where she teaches History of Contemporary Art at the Academy of Fine Arts. She is the author of around one hundred publications, including entries, fact sheets and essays in exhibition catalogues, conference proceedings, academic journals, encyclopaedias and monographs. Her main research interests focus on 20th-century Italian art, iconography, and Roman patronage in the 17th and 18th centuries.
She has been a member of the scientific committee of the Associazione Fausto Pirandello (AFP) since its establishment (2012) and has dedicated numerous studies to the painter, including the collection of essays ‘Riflessioni sull’arte’, co-edited with Claudia Gian Ferrari (Abscondita, Milan, 2008), and the book ‘Fausto Pirandello. Gli anni di Parigi 1928–1930′ (Artemide, Rome 2009). As a curator, she has overseen several exhibitions, including most recently the exhibition ‘Una storia nell’arte. I Marchini tra impegno e passione” (2022), curated together with Fabio Benzi, Arnaldo Colasanti, Gianni Dessì and Italo Tomassoni for the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca (later held at the CIAC in Foligno).
Academic qualifications, training and teaching experience:
In 1988, she obtained a (four-year) degree in Literature from La Sapienza University of Rome with a final mark of 110 cum laude, submitting a thesis in Iconography and Iconology entitled ‘The Temptations of Saint Anthony the Abbot: Developments and Issues in an Iconographic Theme’ (supervisor: Prof. Claudia Cieri Via). In 1993, she completed a postgraduate specialisation course in Archaeology and Art History at the University of Siena, achieving a mark of 70/100 with honours, with a thesis on ‘Exhibitions at the Circus Maximus (1937–38). Arte e propaganda a Roma sotto il fascismo” (supervisor: Prof. Enrico Crispolti). For the entire duration of the (three-year) specialist course, she was awarded a scholarship from the Ministry of Scientific and Technological Research. Between 1989 and 1995, on behalf of the Superintendence for Artistic and Historical Heritage of Rome (under the direction of Dr Rosanna Barbiellini Amidei) and the Special Superintendence of the Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, he carried out teaching and cataloguing activities. From 1992 to 2002, she collaborated with Prof. Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco, conducting research on 20th-century art and the Roman Baroque, with a particular focus on the patronage of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni (1667–1740).
A tenured lecturer since 1995, she has taught at the Academies of Fine Arts in Milan (Brera), Palermo, Naples, Bologna, Florence and, since 2015, Rome.
In 2018, she obtained the National Scientific Qualification for Art History (competition sector 10/B1, tier 2; valid from 2018 to 2024).
THREE-YEAR COURSE
‘TRAJECTORIES IN CONTEMPORARY ART FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY TO THE NEW MILLENNIUM (1900–2026)’
The course is held in the 1st and 2nd semesters (topics may vary)
1st SEMESTER [for Photography and Video students] – Room 308, 3:00–6:00 pm
2nd SEMESTER [for Multimedia Arts students] – Room 205, 3:00–6:00 pm
Programme
The course, entitled Trajectories in Contemporary Art from the Twentieth Century to the New Millennium (1900–2026), aims to recount the history of contemporary art, from the early twentieth century to the present day, through a series of key themes that trace an equal number of paths – trajectories – within the contemporary creative landscape.
Underpinning the course is a desire to respond to the challenge that, particularly in the New Millennium, several contemporary art museums, starting with the Tate Modern (London), have posed to art history by displaying their collections according to thematic itineraries that deliberately disregard chronology, ‘to surprise with lightness and provoke emotion’ (Jean-Hubert Martin).
Therefore, drawing on certain ideas from this museological trend, the lectures will be single-theme (monographic) and the narrative will not be chronological, but will instead follow affinities, similarities, differences and contrasts, with the freedom to juxtapose artists who are often very different from one another in terms of generation, geographical origin, poetics, language, materials and techniques used.
However, the aim is not to abandon the historical perspective; on the contrary, the objective is to provide students with the essential interpretative tools they need to orient themselves and ‘navigate’ this context of chronological uncertainty with critical awareness.
Therefore, in each lecture, we will explore the work of individual figures and movements active on the national and international art scene from 1900 to the present day (and occasionally also referring to earlier centuries), placing each artist within their historical context in order to clearly highlight the poetics and motivations underlying their work. Considerable time will be devoted to discussion and reflection, including in an effort to historicise the present.
The teaching method includes theoretical lectures (with the use of PowerPoint presentations and videos) and, if/when possible, visits to exhibitions, museums, private galleries and other places of historical and artistic interest.
Learning Objectives
The course aims to provide an overview of art from 1900 to the present day – an overview that, while certainly not exhaustive, is as varied and stimulating as possible.
During the lectures, students will practise developing the historical and critical tools that will enable them to situate artists and their work within their time and society. Particular attention will also be paid to explaining the methodological foundations of the discipline of art history.
Exam format
Students’ knowledge will be assessed by means of an oral exam.
For the oral exam, students must prepare their own independent thematic pathway, modelled on those covered in class, which involves the in-depth study of around thirty works by at least ten different artists, to be selected from the period 1900–2026 (see the PDF ‘FAQ – Instructions for the oral exam’).
The choice of topic and the corresponding reading list must be agreed with the lecturer without exception, and the draft PPT/PDF presentation must be submitted to the lecturer for approval during one or more review sessions. Students shall present their chosen topic in the form of a PowerPoint (or PDF) presentation.
Please note! The final grade will also take into account students’ active participation in the module, which includes a number of practical exercises.
Useful resources for consultation and further study:
M. CORGNATI, F. POLI, Dizionario dell’arte del Novecento. Movimenti, artisti, opere, tecniche e luoghi, Bruno Mondadori, Milan 2001.
E. CRISPOLTI, Come studiare l’arte contemporanea, Donzelli editore, Rome 1997.
H. FOSTER, R. KRAUSS, Y.-A. BOIS, B.H.D. BUCHLOH, Art since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism, Thames & Hudson, London 2004 (second updated English edition, 2011).
H. FOSTER, R. KRAUSS, Y.-A. BOIS, B.H.D. BUCHLOH AND D. JOSELIT, Arte dal 1900. Modernismo, antimodernismo, postmodernismo, seconda edizione italiana a cura di E. GRAZIOLI, Zanichelli, Bologna 2013.
For an overview of art from 1800 to the present day, we recommend the following textbooks:
G.C. ARGAN, A. BONITO OLIVA, L’Arte moderna 1770 – 1970. L’Arte oltre il Duemila, Sansoni-RCS, Milan 2002 (not suitable for students who have not yet attained a very good command of the Italian language).
G. BORA, G. FIACCADORI, A. NEGRI, A. NOVA, I luoghi dell’arte. Storia, opere, percorsi, Electa-Bruno Mondadori, Milan 2003, Vol. 5, Dall’età neoclassica all’Impressionismo; Vol. 6, Nascita e sviluppi dell’arte del XX secolo.
G. DORFLES, F. LAUROCCI, A. VETTESE, Storia dell’arte. L’Ottocento, Vol. 3, Atlas, Bergamo, 2004; G. DORFLES, A. VETTESE, Storia dell’arte. Il Novecento e oltre, Vol. 4, Atlas, Bergamo, 2005.
S. SETTIS, T. MONTANARI, Arte. Una storia naturale e civile, Mondadori-Einaudi, Milan–Turin, 2019, Vol. 5, Dal Postimpressionismo al Contemporaneo.
For those who have never studied art history, we recommend the following reading for an initial overview:
E. H. GOMBRICH, La storia dell’arte raccontata da E.H. Gombrich, Einaudi, Turin 1966 (or other editions, including The Story of Art by E.H. Gombrich, Phaidon 2008).
The following PDFs will be available on Teams, in the course materials:
• FAQ (Frequently asked questions) – Instructions for the oral exam
• Useful websites for information and images on contemporary art
• Additional optional reading list
• Reminder to provide captions
TWO-YEAR COURSE
‘DOMESTIC TERRITORIES’
2nd SEMESTER
Lecture time: Wednesday 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm – Room 305.
Office hours and any changes to the schedule will be announced on the Team page.
Study group
The course is aimed at students on the two-year programme, who are assumed to already have a good general knowledge of Western art history.
The course is designed as a study group and, for it to be effective, participants must be willing to share their knowledge with others.
Therefore, the following are essential requirements:
1) Active participation in lectures, including through tutorials;
2) team spirit;
3) An excellent command of the Italian language.
Programme
The course continues and explores in greater depth a number of issues that have emerged since the 2019–2020 academic year, following the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown.
One of the most striking and far-reaching effects of the measures taken to contain the spread of COVID-19 was the lockdown, which resulted in the emptying of urban spaces and public places and the saturation of private spaces and domestic environments.
In an article entitled ‘La ragione estetica della webcam’ (‘The Aesthetic Rationale of the Webcam’; La Repubblica, 1 April 2020, p. 32), the American journalist Julie Lasky, who specialises in design-related issues, reflected on how smart working, working from home, and video communication systems have:
1) revolutionised domestic spaces (indeed, it is often necessary to rearrange one’s room or home, pay attention to lighting and sound, and consider what is visible in the background during a video call);
2) exposed one’s private sphere to the gaze of outsiders;
3) imposed unprecedented forms of self-representation.
The home can be seen as a protective place, a microcosm that reflects us, a shelter, a refuge (‘home, sweet home’), a place of family joy and rest, but, depending on the situation, it can also be perceived as a prison, a space where one feels confined and isolated, or it can even become a dangerous place where one is under threat (think of the phenomenon of femicide).
In the new millennium, the very concept of home seemed like an outdated myth, no longer suited to those leading fluid lives and careers. However, with the pandemic, the watchword became #StayHome, and having a home to return to suddenly seemed essential.
On the other hand, Greta Thunberg’s cry of alarm, ‘Our house is on fire’, is based on the idea that the entire planet Earth is our home, from an ecological and environmental perspective.
At this point, it is worth pausing to reflect on the original meanings of certain terms. The compound term ‘eco-logy’, coined in 1866 by the German biologist and artist Ernst Haeckel – Oekologie – refers to a ‘discourse’ (from the Greek logos) concerning the ‘home’ (from the Greek oikos), with ‘home’ understood as a place, an environment in which organisms (plants, animals, people) live. However, it is also worth noting that the term ‘abitare’ (to inhabit), derived from the Latin verb habitare (the frequentative of habère, ‘to have’), which means to continue to have, to be accustomed to a place, to live there, the term ‘habitat’ (noun, third-person singular of the Latin verb habitare, ‘he inhabits’), meaning ‘environment’, and the term ‘abito’ (garment, clothing), derived from the Latin habitus (from habito, the frequentative of habeo, from the verb habère, ‘to have’), meaning ‘appearance’, all fall within the same semantic field, which can take on many different meanings: way of being, habitual behaviour, having a habit, or a form.
Taking these various connotations into account, therefore, the course will address a number of core themes related to the concept of ‘home’, understood as a domestic space, an urban space and a natural environment, hence the course title, which is almost an oxymoron: Domestic Territories.
Learning Objectives
The aim is to foster a less ‘academic’ and more personal approach to art history, taking into account the specific interests developed by the students.
Exam format
The exam consists of preparing a full lecture on a topic of the student’s choice related to the course topics. The student will deliver their lecture to the other participants with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation or PDF (the lecture should last approximately 30 minutes). Clearly, in order to ensure the attendance of the other participants, the lecture must necessarily take place during the course period.
The chosen topic must be agreed in advance with the lecturer, who will monitor the various stages of its development over the course of several review sessions, providing guidance and a reading list.