Term
Subject Area
Course Number
ARTH 505 640
Course Code
ARTH505640
Course Key
68176
Schedule
Day(s)
Wednesday
Time
5:00pm-7:40pm
Instructor
Primary Program
Course Description
From the first paragraph of Giorgio Vasaris biography of Michelangelo Buonarroti we cannot help but be impressed by the eminence of his subject and, in the same breath, amazed by the authors veneration of his fellow Florentine. Certainly, Michelangelos long career warranted respect just as it continues to challenge traditional periodization and defy simple analysis. Taking the painting, sculpture, and architecture of Michelangelo as both evidence of enormous talent and a restless spirit, this course will question the artists role in our understanding of the High Renaissance, his impact on Cinquecento interest in style or maniera, and his sensitive response to the turbulent Rome of the Counter-Reformation. Writing assignments, including research papers and critical reviews of required readings, will focus upon a number of issues resonant in Vasaris biography of Michelangelo. Possible topics include: the artists tempestuous relationships with the most powerful patrons of the Renaissance; Michelangelos sympathy to the philosophical and ideological tenets of movements such as Florentine Humanism and Roman Catholicism; and the explosive impact of his art on sixteenth-century painting, sculpture, and architecture.
Subject Area Vocab