Art World Converges in Syracuse for Renaissance Art Symposium Oct. 18

The symposium marks the 50th anniversary of the Florence Graduate Program in Renaissance Art.

The 2014 Syracuse Symposium™ continues its semester-long look at “Perspective” with a major symposium on Italian Renaissance Art.

On Saturday, Oct. 18, the College of Arts and Sciences will present “New Perspectives on Renaissance Art” from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. in 132 Lyman Hall. The symposium marks the 50th anniversary of the Florence Graduate Program in Renaissance Art, as well as the retirement of its longtime director, Gary M. Radke ’73.

Events are free and open to the public. To register, contact Ardean Orr in the Department of Art & Music Histories (AMH) at 315-443-4184 or aorr@syr.edu.

Gary Radke

A welcoming reception will be held for registered participants on Friday, Oct. 17, from 4-6 p.m. in the Lyman Hall Lobby.

The purpose of the symposium is to consider multiple perspectives on the production and interpretation of Italian Renaissance Art,” says Radke, Dean’s Professor of the Humanities and professor of art history. “Our presenters will discuss recent discoveries and interpretations of written and visual evidence, revealing how men and women sponsored, created and interacted with works of art during the Italian Renaissance [c. 1300-1600]. We will also discuss themes of spirituality, ethics, patronage, gender, rhetoric and collaborative practices.”

“New Perspectives on Renaissance Art” is co-sponsored by the 2014 Ray Smith Symposium, the Syracuse University Humanities Center and AMH.

The program features more than a dozen internationally renowned museum professionals and teaching scholars, all of whom are alumni of the college’s Florence Program.

The schedule is as follows:

9:30 a.m.
Opening remarks by Radke

9:45-11:15 a.m.
“Changing Perceptions of Renaissance Art”

• Theresa Flanigan G’95, associate professor of art history at the College of Saint Rose
• Jill Carrington G’83, professor of art history at Stephen F. Austin State University
• Susan Dixon G’84, associate professor and chair of art history at La Salle University

11:15-11:45 a.m.
Coffee Break

11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m.
“Making Renaissance Art, Part I”

• Bryan Keene G’10, assistant curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum and adjunct professor of art history at Pepperdine University
• Renée Burnam G’81, author for Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (USA)

12:45-1:45 p.m.
Lunch

1:45-2:45 p.m.
“Making Renaissance Art, Part II”

• Heather Nolin G’01, research associate and project manager of the Arthur Ross Collection at the Yale University Art Gallery
• Bradley J. Cavallo G’05, teaching assistant at Temple University

2:45-3:15 p.m.
Coffee break

3:15-4:45 p.m.
“Working and Living at Court”

Sally Cornelison

• Sally J. Cornelison G’89, professor of Italian Renaissance art at the University of Kansas and director-designate of Syracuse’s Florence Program
• Anne Proctor G’05, assistant professor of art and architectural history at Roger Williams University
• Molly Bourne G’88, coordinator of graduate and undergraduate art history at Syracuse University in Florence

4:45-5:15 p.m.
Plenary discussion

“New Perspectives on Renaissance Art” is the latest in a series of events marking the Florence Program’s anniversary. In June, Radke led a weeklong alumni trip to Italy that included visits to various Florentine landmarks, as well as meetings with and presentations by Syracuse students and alumni.

The only accredited M.A. art history program in North America to offer most of its coursework in Italy, the program requires students to take one semester on Syracuse’s main campus, followed by two semesters in Florence. At the latter, they conduct research at Villa I Tatti, home of the renowned Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies; the Kunsthistorisches Institut; and the Archivio di Stato.

Every fall, the Florence Program sponsors a public symposium, where each student delivers a 20-minute scholarly presentation. Radke, who founded the symposium series in 1986 (not long after taking over the Florence Program), says it helps promote Syracuse to the general public, while giving back to Florence, which “generously opens up its churches, museums and libraries to our students.”

Since joining the Syracuse faculty in 1980, Radke has helped elevate the Florence Program to international prominence. In the process, he has established himself as one of the world’s foremost authorities on Italian Medieval and Renaissance art and architecture. In 2001, he became a guest curator at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, where he has since organized a handful of nationally touring shows of works by Leonardo, Michelangelo, Ghiberti, Verrocchio and other Italian masters.

Radke is currently working on an exhibition titled “Make a Joyful Noise: Renaissance Art and Music at Florence Cathedral,” opening this fall at the High and next spring at the Detroit Institute of Arts.

“Public events such as ‘Make a Joyful Noise’ and ‘New Perspectives on Renaissance Art’ exemplify the kinds of rigorous, hands-on work we do at Syracuse,” says Radke, a fellow of the American Academy in Rome. “They’re physical expressions of our commitment to the interdisciplinary study of art and music histories.”

At Syracuse, Radke has also served as chair of the AMH department and as director of the honors program.