The Lives of Artists in Film

Catalog description

This course considers the image of the artist through an examination of contemporary biographies and modern films, ranging in subject from the Italian Renaissance to the present day. In this examination we will consider such questions as: what were the goals of contemporary biographers? Were these goals the same as modern biographers? How were these goals achieved in the past? How are they achieved in modern movies? Was, for example, Michelangelo the same kind of artist as Frida Kahlo? Our examination will have three parts: first, we will read a selection of an artist's biography; second, we will watch a film adaptation of the artist's life; and third, we will have sustained in-class discussions of the film and biography.