Early Masters of Italian Renaissance Painting

Catalog description

This course is conceived as a series of selected studies on early Renaissance painting, offering in depth analysis of the historical, political and cultural evolution of Italy and Europe between the 14th and the 15th centuries. This overview will be not confined to works of painting but will include social and patronage issues - i.e. the role of the guilds, the differences in private, civic and church patronage - that affected the style, form and content of the Italian rich artistic output, which reached a peak often nostalgically referred to by later generations as the “dawn of the Golden Age”. Themes such as patronage, humanism, interpretations of antiquity, and Italian civic ideals form a framework for understanding the works of art beyond style, iconography, technique and preservation. Special attention will be given to the phenomenon of collecting as an active force shaping the development of artistic forms and genres. By the end of this course, students gain a thorough knowledge of the Italian and European early Renaissance age, developing practical perception and a confident grasp of the material, understanding the relationship between both historical and artistic events and valuing the importance of patronage. As the early Renaissance works are often still in their original physical settings, during field-studies to museums and churches in Florence, Venice and Milan students will have a unique opportunity to experience the works as their original viewers did and as their creators intended.