Beauty in Renaissance Art Theory

1 Course Unit

Can we still talk about beauty when referring to works of art? How did art critics in the past broach this most fraught and controversial question? To formulate a working response to these problems, we will examine the writings of art theorists in the Italian Renaissance, among them Cennini, Alberti, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Vasari, de Hollanda, and Bellori, among others. We will practice the skills of close reading, methodical textual analysis, and historicized speculation. 1 Course Unit