Art and Science in Renaissance Italy

3 units

This course is concerned with the sophisticated dialogue between art and science, between image making and scientific enquiry during the Italian Renaissance, a period when technology, science and art were closely interconnected. In fact our modern distinction between science and art did not exist, and for the most part they were allied in both theory and practice. We will examine the artistic and scientific activity of a range of Renaissance figures including Brunelleschi, Alberti, Leonardo da Vinci and Piero della Francesca, Antonio Santucci, Egnazio Danti, Stefano Buonsignori, Miniato Pitti, Andrea Vesalius and Galileo. We will also explore the role of the Medici and the papacy as patrons of both art and science, and the history of the construction and display of scientific instruments during the Renaissance. This course is only offered in Florence, Italy, as part of the semester study abroad program.