Topics in the Early History of Printmaking: Festival and Carnival

Catalog description

This course looks at the printed festival books made for recording ideal versions of royal entries, funerals, weddings and other printed expressions of regal celebration, alongside printed, painted and otherwise recorded evidence of popular celebrations such as carnival, and civic and religious festivals such as the Sienese palio. Although beginning with circulated prints and books, we will also look at the material culture of these events in their widest sense to investigate the advertisement and control of festival cultures. The class will focus on early modern Italy but students are welcome to broaden our geographic horizons. Enrollment limited to 20.