Professor Kenneth Bartlett
This illustrated lecture will focus on the work of Andrea Palladio (d. 1580), one of the most influential architects of the Italian Renaissance. It will follow the influence of his style from Venetian Villas to Toronto condos.
Andrea Palladio was one the most influential architects who ever designed a building. Working almost exclusively in the Veneto, he was commissioned to construct noble villas in the Venetian Terraferma (Italian territories of the Venetian Republic) as well as important public buildings and churches in cities like Vicenza and Venice, from the 1530s until his death in 1580. Heavily influenced by the vocabulary of ancient Roman buildings and architects like Vitruvius, Palladio defined the aristocratic, religious and institutional face of Renaissance Venice.
Palladio’s work was also practical, as many of his buildings were functional and his villas working farms. These factors, together with his genius for forming pleasing facades and elegant prospects, resulted in a hugely influential style that lasted until the 20th Century. From 18th Century Palladian country houses in Ireland and England to Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello to condominium developments, private homes and public buildings in Toronto, the power and attraction of Palladio’s vision remains part of our mental landscape and our definition of what is harmonious, elegant and functional in architecture.
Kenneth Bartlett received his Ph.D. (1978) from the University of Toronto where he is Professor of History and Renaissance Studies (Victoria College). He was editor of Renaissance and Reformation/Renaissance et Réforme from 1985 until 1990 and President of the Canadian Society for Renaissance Studies from 1982 until 1984. Prof. Bartlett was the Founding Director of the University of Toronto Art Centre, and sits on the Board of the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art. Prof. Bartlett was the Director of Faculty Programs in Arts and Science for 13 years, and in 2002 he was named the first Director of the Office of Teaching Advancement for the University of Toronto, a position he enjoyed until 2009.
He is the author of: A Short History of the Italian Renaissance (University of Toronto Press, 2013. Designated an Outstanding Academic Title for 2014 by Choice, the journal of the American Library Association); The Civilization of the Italian Renaissance (Revised edition 2011; first edition 1992); The English in Italy: A Study in Culture and Politics, (1991); Humanism and the Northern Renaissance, with M. McGlynn, (2000, with a new, much expanded edition in 2014 with UTP as The Northern Renaissance and the Reformation), and co-editor or translator of Italian Renaissance texts, such as Della Casa’s Galateo, Pope Pius II’s Story of the Two Lovers, and Ruzzante’s Moscheta. In addition Prof. Bartlett has published over 35 articles and contributions to books on various aspects of the Renaissance; and in 2005 he produced a 36 video series with 3 vol. companion text on The Italian Renaissance. A second series, The Italians Before Italy: Conflict and Cooperation in the Mediterranean, appeared in 2007, and a 48 episode series on The Development of European Civilization was released in 2010. The Great Tours: Discovering Medieval Europe appeared in December 2013; and he is currently preparing a video series:The Great Tours and Smithsonian Journeys: Essential Italy, Rome, Florence and Venice. Professor Bartlett has also published articles and consulted broadly in Europe, China, the Middle East and North America on university faculty development and pedagogy.
In 1993 he won the Victoria University Excellence in Teaching Award; in 2000 and 2007 the Students Administrative Council and Association of Part-Time Students Undergraduate Teaching Award; and in 2003 the Faculty of Arts and Science Outstanding Teaching Award. In 2005 Professor Bartlett was awarded the prestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship. That same year he was presented with an Arbor Award for service to the University. In 2006 Professor Bartlett was awarded an inaugural President’s Teaching Award, which carries with it membership in the University of Toronto Academy of Teaching, and in 2007 an inaugural government of Ontario LIFT (Leadership in Faculty Teaching) award by the province. In 2007 he was a finalist in the TVO Best Lecturer TV series.
For More Information, Contact Lisa Roy at: 416-924-6211 x 155
