Italian Renaissance Art and Architecture: 1450-1600

Catalog description

This course will focus on artistic and architectural monuments created in Italy between 1450 and 1600, a period that saw the development of the High Renaissance and the eventual emergence of the Mannerist style. We will focus on paintings, sculptures, architectural structures, and graphic work produced in major centers, including Florence, Venice, Rome, and Milan. Topics to be covered include the role of the patron, politics and art, the continuing influence of antiquity, sexuality and gender in imagery, and the evolving social position of the artist. Special attention will be paid to papal patronage and, naturally, the influence of the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation on art in Italy. Prerequisite(s): one 100 or 200 level Art History course or permission of instructor.