Music and the Visual Arts

3 units

From fifteenth-century Flanders to present-day St. Louis, music has had a rich and varied relationship with the visual arts. This course will proceed topically instead of attempting to survey the range of issues under discussion chronologically. Among other issues, we will discuss representations of music making, composers who painted and who sought to represent paintings in their music, portraits of composers, musical iconography in still lifes, written music as visual art, synaesthesia, and recent video art with musical subjects. While assigned readings focus on European and American contexts, students will have the opportunity to do independent work on these topics in other parts of the world. No previous musical experience is assumed or required. Pre-requisites: Intro to Western Art, Architecture and Design; or Introduction to Modern Art, Architecture, and Design; or, any 300-level Art History course.