Art + Religion in Early Modern Europe

In this seminar we will reconstruct the various ways in which visual communication participated in the practice and changes of religious life during the early modern period (1400-1800). Topics will range from the role played by prints in the spread of the Reformation to the design of new kinds of architecture for the implementation of the Catholic Counter Reformation. Close attention will be given to the significance of iconoclasm (destruction of images), ideals of visual communication for religious persuasion, the invention of new methods of meditation with visual focus, and the relationship between sacred words and images. Enrollment limited to 20.