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April 22, 2008: Professor Timothy Joseph Allen presents Eyes on the Summit, an exhibition of recent paintings and drawings at the restaurant and art gallery, Zigaetana, Via Cola di Rienzo, 263, near Piazza Risorgimento.  For a look at some of the work included in the show, please visit: www.americanartistinrome.com.  The show is up until June 1st.

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Prof. Breda Ennis features paintings in contemporary women artists show

The Scuderie Aldobrandini, Piazza Marconi 6, Frascati, inaugurates an exhibition of women’s art on women’s day, March 8, at 6.00 pm. Prof. Breda Ennis’s paintings Spring Moon and Tree Ascending will be part of the exhibition.

The Friends of the Arts is a free lecture series given by the professors of The American University of Rome for the general public. The next ‘Friends of the Arts’ evening will be on Thursday 6th December 2007 at 7.30pm in the Auditorium Auriana in Via Pietro Roselli.

Our topic will be “Bumper Books!” but not the kind sold by Amazon! Big books in the medieval and renaissance periods were not the sort that you could curl up in bed with, but they were magnificent undertakings illustrated with exquisite art.

Dr Lila Yawn will be talking about the Giant Bible of Calci produced in 1168. Her talk will consider the collective artistic-commercial enterprise that went into producing this impressive masterpiece. The illustrations give a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the donors – widows and widowers, wives, bakers, smiths, masons and fishermen – whose monetary contributions produced this giant, splendidly illustrated parchment manuscript.

After the usual break for refreshments Dr Paul Gwynne will focus on one of the treasures of the Vatican Library. In the 1480’s Cardinal Francesco Gonzaga commissioned a deluxe manuscript of the works of Homer from the workshop of the Paduan scribe Bartolomeo Sanvito. Although the volume was left incomplete, enough of the work was finished to provide a fascinating glimpse into the process of the creation of a Renaissance manuscript.

There is parking space in the surrounding streets. Each lecture lasts 30 minutes and there is a break for refreshments in between lectures.

Lila Yawn received her Ph.D. in Art History from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with a dissertation on The Giant Bible of Perugia.

Paul Gwynne received his Ph.D. from the Warburg Institute, University of London, with a thesis on the humanist Johannes Nagonius.

A FULL HOUSE FOR THE FRIENDS

The first evening for the 2007/8 Friends of the Arts series kicked off on 25th October. The Friends is AUR’s lecture series for the general public of Rome given by our own professors. The theme of the evening was the re-opening, after many years of restoration, of the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in the heart of Rome.

There was a full house to hear Prof Terry Kirk talk about all the wonderful transformations the Palazzo delle Esposizioni has seen in its short (by Rome standards) history. After the interval Prof Paul Zinder took up the theme of the films of Stanley Kubrick which is one of the opening events. He demonstrated why Kubrick is regarded as one of the all-time great film directors. This provoked a lively and wide-ranging discussion which would have probably carried on all night if the guards hadn’t arrived to lock up!

SOTHEBYS COMES TO AUR

Art History majors (both AUR and Study Abroad) attended a presentation given to them by Alison Goodwin from Sotheby’s Institute. Alison described the courses on offer and the exciting careers that they can lead to. Being attached to the world-famous auction house enables Sotheby’s to give students a real insight into the world of buying and selling art.

After last year’s talk, Irene Greaves, a Junior majoring in Art History, attended a summer school at Sotheby’s in London. She gave the students a first hand account of what it is like to study at this famous institution.

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The ‘Friends of the Arts’ is a free public lectures series given by professors at The American University of Rome for the Rome community. Everyone is welcome. Each event consists of two 30 minute lectures on topics connected with the arts and culture aimed at a non-specialist audience. There is an interval for refreshments. The lectures are held at AUR’s Auditorium Auriana, Via Pietro Roselli 16. There is parking available in the surrounding streets.

CELEBRATING THE REOPENING OF PALAZZO DELLE ESPOZIONI
October 25th 7.30pm

Using the motif of the Roman triumphal arch, the architect Pio Piacentini, designed the Palazzo delle Esposizioni in 1876-84 as an expression of the pride that the newly united Italy felt in its glorious past. Later generations were not always so kind but it is impossible to ignore the imposing dignity of the massive building that dominates Via Nazionale. Professor Terry Kirk will explore what is in his opinion “the most famous and revered (that is, not despised) work of architecture of the late 19th century in Rome that sought to elevate taste and promote contemporary arts.”

Terry received his Ph.D. from the Columbia University with a doctoral thesis on the architecture of 19th century Rome. He is the author of ‘The Architecture of Modern Italy’ published in two volumes by Princeton Architectural Press

Stanley Kubrick’s work was prophetic, maverick, revolutionary. Although Kubrick is often credited with ushering in the American New Wave, his cinematic achievements would be unmatched by his 1970s contemporaries. When viewed from a historical perspective, the work of Stanley Kubrick is timeless. Prof. Zinder’s short lecture will focus on the legacy of Stanley Kubrick, film artist.

Paul received an MFA in film from the School of Visual and Performing Arts of Syracuse University. He has made six films and videos and has one currently in post-produ

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Past Art Events