Art and Architecture of Renaissance Florence
ARHA 222
Fall 2025
| Section:
01
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| Crosslisting:
RL&L 218 |
How did Florence rebound from calamitous plague to become the self-styled locus of the Renaissance? This survey of the art and architecture of Florence evaluates its cultural achievements against the improbabilities of their success. The city had negligible Roman history but championed the revival of classical antiquity; it was repressive but pushed the boundaries of representing gender and sexuality; its government slid from a republic to an absolute monarchy but fostered creative latitude; it spawned one of Italy's most popular religious zealots and popularized secular ideals; it had no empire but became a hub of global trade and knowledge transmission. To understand how this happened, we will study famous artists like Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, and Michelangelo alongside their lesser-known and even nameless contemporaries. Painting, sculpture, architecture, drawing, and printmaking will come alive in lectures and by discussing related texts in translation, recreating artistic techniques, and examining original Renaissance artworks in person. |
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
HA ART |
| Course Format: Lecture / Discussion | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (Art History Minor)(Art History) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Stephen J. Campbell and Michael W. Cole, Italian Renaissance Art: Volumes One and Two, 2nd ed. London: Thames and Hudson, 2017.
Loren Partridge, Art of Renaissance Florence, 1400-1600. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Text-image journal, research paper (6-8 pages), midterm exam, final exam. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
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| Instructor(s): Carlson,Raymond Edward Times: .M.W... 10:50AM-12:10PM; Location: TBA |
| Total Enrollment Limit: 30 | | SR major: 4 | JR major: 4 | | |
| Seats Available: 22 | GRAD: X | SR non-major: 3 | JR non-major: 3 | SO: 8 | FR: 8 |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
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