ART 522R History of Western Art: From the Renaissance to the Modern Age in Rome
This graduate level course is a survey of Western art from the fifteenth century to the present as exemplified by the art and architecture of Rome. Students will investigate Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical, Romantic, Modern, and Contemporary masterworks in terms of their formal development and cultural context through readings, lectures, class discussions, and field trips. The course will address the ways in which individuals and communities have sought to explore and express the most profound of human experiences and concerns across the ages, including concepts of identity, mortality, war, peace, justice, divinity, love, beauty, and transcendence. In this process, we will also investigate the cultural context surrounding the development of various genres of art (including portraits, landscapes, religious and historical art, and abstraction), various styles of building and monumental sculpture from the Renaissance to the presence, and the role of these art and architectural forms in conveying ideas on an individual and a communal level. We will weigh, in other words, how art and architecture both reflect and inspire society's values in Rome and beyond. Class instruction, writing assignments, and student presentations will involve visits to area museums, monuments, and religious and historic sites.
Cross Listed Courses
ART 212R & ART 522R