OSHER 145 - Renaissance Art: What's the Fuss?

This course begins with a brief introduction to the styles of the Middle Ages, including the work of Giotto ("the father of Western pictorial art"). From there, we go to an overview of the artists of the early Renaissance in 15th century Florence: Ghiberti, Brunelleschi, Masaccio, Donatello, Botticelli, and Alberti. We will explore the art of Flanders and the 15th century northern Renaissance as illustrated by the idea of disguised symbolism and the works of Van Eyck, and Campin. We'll go on to the High Renaissance in Italy: mannerism as shown by Leonardo, Raphael, Bramante, Michelangelo. We conclude with the Renaissance in the North: Grunewald, Durer, Cranach and Hans Holbein, and Bruegel.