| Description: | Florence, "the cradle of the Renaissance", is the setting for this introduction to the history of Renaissance art. The course is intended to give the beginning student a general overview of the main facts, causes and conditions that led artists from Giotto in the fourteenth century to Masaccio, Donatello, Brunelleschi and Botticelli in the fifteenth century, up to Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael in the sixteenth century, to create one of the most fascinating periods in art history. In Italy these years witnessed an extraordinary coming together of artistic talent, a passionate interest in antiquity, civic pride and an optimistic belief in "man as the measure of all things". This course examines the most important monuments from the Renaissance period in Italy and the major artists and architects who contributed to the birth of western art. Works are always compared with each other to show various relationships, remembering how important it is to view Renaissance art in the context of its creation. |