ARTH-3441 Early Renaissance Art in Italy

This course is a selective introduction to the art of Italy in the early renaissance, the period of the late thirteenth to the late fifteenth centuries. The course will pay particular attention to the cultural identity of Florence as well as Siena, Rome, and Venice. We will be studying the visual arts in relation to politics, religion, literature, and philosophy of the period as a distinctive cultural accomplishment. We will trace the careers of major artistic figures, such as Giotto, Masaccio, Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Botticelli not as isolated examples of genius but within the religious, social, economics, political, and historical contexts in which they functioned. The association of art and power dominates this period, and we will consider the interrelationship of structures of patronage within the church, the formulation of civic identity, gender, the imagery of political rule among leading families, particularly the Medici, and the changing status of the artist. (Offered every other year.) Prerequisite: Completion of one course in Art History, or sophomore standing, or consent of instructor.