Art in Europe and Beyond: 1600-1800

(5 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

Survey of Baroque, Rococo, and Enlightenment art in Europe and beyond. We begin with a study of seventeenth-century Italian art and architecture, discussing artists such as Gianlorenzo Bernini, Francesco Borromini, Annibale Carracci and Caravaggio. From Italy the focus shifts to Spain, Flanders, and Holland in order to explore portraiture, allegory and historical painting looking at artists such as Velazquez, Rubens, Van Dyck, and Rembrandt. We will also touch upon issues of artistic identity and the status of women artists during the period. A number of lectures are then dedicated to the parallel tradition of Islamic art, and the baroque beyond Europe's borders, extending our understanding of the Baroque diaspora to a global context. Following thematic lectures on collecting and printmaking, the focus shifts to art in France. The module ends with lectures on the classical tradition in British art and architecture and the Enlightenment. Although the primary focus of the module is on Western Europe, lectures also address how European art formed alongside non-Western traditions, including the important role played by religious missionaries, global trade and imperial conquest.