Italian Renaissance Art: Culture, Invention, and Global Exchange

In this course we will survey the art of the Italian Renaissance from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries while situating Italy within a broader global context. We will examine major developments in painting, print, sculpture, and architecture alongside the economic, political, and cultural networks that connected Italy to the wider world. Popular narratives of the Renaissance have traditionally celebrated figures Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, and major artistic centers including Florence, Rome, and Venice; in this course we will also illuminate the significant contributions of historically marginalized artists, patrons, and regions. We will consider how trade, diplomacy, and cultural exchange shaped artistic production and the movement of materials, ideas, and images across Europe, the Mediterranean, and beyond. 3 hrs. lecture. (Not open to students who have already completed HARC 0201.)