The Art of Laughter: Pictorial Comedy in Early Modern Europe

Catalog description

We are told, in one of the earliest accounts of the life and work of the Netherlandish artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder (c.1525-1569), that his prints and paintings elicited laughter. From pictures of carnival celebrations and children’s games to peasant weddings and riotous hellscapes, the comic artist makes his viewers, both in the late 16th century and today, question whether any of it should be taken seriously. This course will explore the humor element in the work of Bruegel and many others in early modern Europe, examining the possible beginnings of a recognition of the artistic value of comedy and the contributions of these artists to the culture of laughter. Following art historians, as well as cultural historians who have theorized about the emergence of new comic techniques and the impulse to produce pictures in a “comic mode,” we will explore innovative creative practices and the social contexts of humor throughout Europe—from Bruegel in the Netherlands to Annibale Carracci in Italy to Albrecht Dürer in Germany to Jacques Callot in France and beyond. Topics of discussion will include early modern medical perspectives on laughter, shifting notions about humor in relation to civility and decorum, the functions of tragicomedy, the secularization of the image, and the dual roles of entertainment and didacticism in art. This course will involve visits to area museums to study paintings and prints in person. Courses offered in related disciplines this year are listed below. Full descriptions of the courses may be found under the appropriate disciplines. Walter Benjamin’s Archives (p. 24), Robert R. Desjarlais Anthropology First-Year Studies: Intersections of Dance and Culture: Moving Between the Lines (p. 7), Peggy Gould Dance History Ollywoods: Global Popular Cinema and Industrial Film Form (p. 60), Leana Hirschfeld-Kroen Film History Feminist Film and Media…