Art and the Enlightenment

4 credits

Eighteenth-century artists and critics were convinced that art could be a force to improve society. This course places Rococo and neoclassical artists such as Watteau, Fragonard, Tiepolo, Hogarth, Reynolds, Vigée Le Brun, Blake, and David, within the context of art academies, colonialism, the Grand Tour, Enlightenment conceptualizations of history and nature, and the American and French Revolutions. Recommended preparation: VIS 20 or 22 recommended. Prerequisites: none.