Parallel Worlds: Renaissance to Modern Art Europe & the Americas

Catalog description

Parallel Worlds examines art practices across the hemispheres from 1300 to 1950. The course will unpack the influence and stylistic variances within European (and later international) art during this period. Class sessions will be divided into two parts. One half of the class will be devoted to observing the art of Europe and its stylistic progressions starting with Giotto in Italy to survey art from the Renaissance, to Mannerism, to the Baroque, etc. The second half of the session will explore the colonial counterpart of these movements as seen in the artistic traditions of the Americas (San Miguel de Huejotzingo, the quilts of Gee’s Bend, Frida Kahlo, etc.). We will see how these styles mixed with the indigenous population and the African peoples, as seen in Mexico, Peru, and the United States. By the end of the course, we will examine how the Americas now export their artistic traditions eastward and across the globe. The course will utilize visual samples, theoretical writings, class discussion, and museum trips in order to enrich understanding of the art of these periods with visual sensation.