Course Title: 01:082:310 The High Renaissance in Italy
Mode of Instruction: Lecture
Course Prerequisites and Corequisites: None
Core Curriculum: None
Course Description:
The High Renaissance is the era that went from Leonardo da Vinci to Michelangelo and from Raphael to Titian. These are often considered the greatest artists of all time, and this seminar will analyze why this is the case. We will carefully discuss many masterpieces, including Leonardo’s Last Supper and Mona Lisa, Michelangelo’s David and Sistine Chapel, Raphael’s School of Athens and Transfiguration, and Titian’s Venus of Urbino and Pietà. We will study how fierce rivalry motivated these artists to challenge and ultimately outdo each other with their opposed approaches to art. We will see how they struggled with their patrons, be it popes, princes, kings, and how they arranged themselves with the differing interests of humanists and the Church. The representation of women in the Renaissance will be a special focus, and in particular, Titian’s undermining of the misogynist constitution of his time. The class will end with the waning of the Renaissance and the onslaught of the Counter-Reformation, which led to one of the darkest chapters in the history of art: Paolo Veronese’s Inquisition trial. Students taking this seminar will practice visual analysis and get an introduction into art theory and Mannerism. They will familiarize themselves with the highlights of sixteenth-century Italian art and thus gain an in-depth understanding of one the groundbreaking periods in the history of humanity in which the basis to our (post-)modern society was laid.
- A field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, is part of the class.
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Disclaimer: These course descriptions/synopses pages have been provided as samples and the information should not be considered accurate or current. For actual course information, refer to the course site hosted by a Rutgers Learning Management System (Sakai, Canvas, etc.) as of first day of class.