OSHER 388 - Italian Art and Culture in the Middle Age

Explore early Christian and medieval art and its political, social, and cultural implications. We will discuss the origins of Christian art (giving particular attention to the catacombs), the illuminated manuscripts, Carolingian and Romanesque art, and culminate with the Gothic church of Assisi, Italy. We will study proto-Romanesque art and the development of Romanesque art in Europe from classicism to the Gothic style in architecture and sculpture. The course includes a detailed study of Italian Gothic painting as illustrated by the schools of Siena and Florence, as well as the works of Giotto. The particular Florentine experience during the Gothic period and the social, political, economic, and cultural implications that form the background of Renaissance civilization will be considered.