Art and Christianity: A History of Christian Visual Culture

Catalog description

This course is an introduction to the history of Christian visual culture from the early Middle Ages to the present. Beginning with controversies concerning the nature of images and their role in Christian worship, the course moves through successive eras of Christian history, focusing on Western Europe in the medieval and early modern eras, then following Christianity around the globe in the colonial period, ending with examination of modern European and American art that draws in different ways from the history of Christian ideas and practices. Readings and discussion in class focus on objects such as reliquaries, paintings, architectural settings, illustrated books, and prints.