Italy: Perspectives on Piranesi

About this Travel Course

Course Description

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the engraver, was also a skilled architect, surveyor, curator, antiquarian and archaeologist, creating one of the first comprehensible visualized catalogs of roman antiquities. His apprenticeships to engineers, theatrical scenographers and muralists in his native Venice, unquestionably guided his imagination and acumen for the delineation and understanding of urbanism, architecture, landscapes, and the interpretation of artifacts of roman antiquity. The “art and mind” of Piranesi continues to capture the imagination of even the most accomplished artists who study in Rome and remains a pivotal luminary used to orient studious visitors to the Eternal City and its vast visual metaphors and allusions.

The course covered Piranesi’s essential contribution to our contemporary understanding of antiquity while presenting a practicum in the very image-making techniques used by Piranesi in the field. Workshops, tours and lectures took place on the very sites of the artist’s own discoveries, many of which are emblematic of the scholarly and artistic pursuits of the Grand Tour at the forefront in Europe during Piranesi’s life.

Course Objectives

• Understand the complexities of the Eternal City through the history of an equally complex figure whose name is synonymous with Rome of the 18th century - Piranesi’s continued relevance, scholarship, and legacy as an ambassador to art and design students in Rome within the numerous artistic practices he engaged
• Model and produced original work from Piranesi’s techniques of field drawing and building survey, vanishing point perspective, and other approaches of archaeological illustration and the drawing of cities and landscapes
• Visited and drew from the various streetscapes, landscapes and sites of antiquity through the eyes of Piranesi –visit and study from the archives, museums and archeological sites that are intrinsically linked to the life and work of Piranesi
• Participated in workshops and interpreted assigned readings with experts on the work of Piranesi, the history of 18th c. image-making, urbanism, architecture, archaeology, cartography and the cultural geographies of the cities we will visit
• Comprehended Piranesi’s legacy on the role of “tourism” and dismantled the most superficial perceptions of Piranesi’s body of work and the places he depicted
• Provided a cultural and historical understanding of the locations where we live, presented the traditions and trials of the people our students will encounter: Rome’s Jewish Ghetto; the occupants of Rome’s former “favelas” (Borgate) of the Roman Campagna, the “bassi” or low-dwellers of the Spaccanapoli and Sanita’ neighborhoods in Naples; and the inheritors of the peasant-agronomist traditions of the Cilento.

Housing

To participate in RISD Global Summer Studies, all students were required to stay in RISD- provided housing for the duration of the course.

Eligibility

RISD Students

If your current cumulative GPA is 2.5 or above, you are eligible for registration. If your current cumulative GPA is lower than 2.5, you must first contact the Registrar at registrar@risd.edu to seek exception to this academic policy.

Non-RISD Participants

If you are a college student currently enrolled in another art/design college or institution around the world, or a professional practicing in the field, you are eligible for registration. We will collect a recommendation/support form from your institution/workplace.

In order to register for RISD Global summer studies, you are expected to have a high level of English (speech, writing, and comprehension) as all coursework and critique is delivered in English.

Attendance Policy

Global Summer Studies are three weeks long and take place in June/July, and you are required to attend all program activities scheduled during the travel course. RISD Global Summer Studies comply with RISD class attendance policy. In case of unexcused or multiple absences, you may be removed from the course, given a grade of “W" (withdrawal) or a grade of “F” (fail).

Withdrawal Policy

Requesting to withdraw from a RISD off-campus global learning program, including RISD Global Summer Studies, prior to the start of the course is highly discouraged and requires a formal process outlined in the RISD course withdrawal policy. It is not possible for a student to drop a RISD Global Summer Studies travel course via the standard Add/Drop process after it has commenced. In the case of unforeseen and extenuating circumstances (and only after students have spoken with the faculty lead and RISD Global for approval to withdraw from the program), students should be aware that no refund will be issued.

More Info

In order to reserve a seat, a non-refundable deposit of $500 is required at the time of application submittal. Students will have until April 1, 2022, to submit full payment. Students that fail to make full payment by their deadline will forfeit their $500 deposit and their seat in the course. New application submissions starting April 1 are not eligible to make a deposit and must make full payment by April 15, 2022.

All RISD students enrolled in RISD and other full degree schools/universities are required to remain in good academic standing in order to participate in Global Summer Studies. A minimum GPA of 2.5 is required for all RISD students. Failure to remain in good academic standing can lead to removal from the course, either before or during the course.

In cases where summer travel courses and studios do not reach full capacity, the course may be canceled after the last day of registration. As such, all students are advised not to purchase flights for participation in Global Summer Studies courses until the course is confirmed.