Introduction to the Arts of the Italian Renaissance

Undergraduate / Graduate

This course will cover the major themes and works of the Italian Renaissance, including painting, sculpture, decorative arts, and architecture. We will consider stylistic development of the arts from the period of roughly 1300 (late Medieval/pre-Renaissance predecessors) to 1560. Throughout the course we will interrogate the concept of "Renaissance" as a unifying term and examine its relationship to the Medieval in terms of both continuity and change. A major focus of the course will be the functions of different media in this time period, and we will consider patronage, multiple viewerships, and access. We will explore how, for whom, and why works were created, and interrogate the relevance of the category 'fine arts' as it is commonly understood to the Renaissance. Additional themes will be: artistic practice, especially collaboration and competition; regional styles; the relationship of art in this period to the intellectual, political, and spiritual climate(s) of the time."