Late Medieval and Renaissance Art in Western Europe II

Students get acquainted with the development of Renaissance art from the early 15th century up to the apogee of the High Renaissance in the early 16th century. The historical context of art production and the evolution of stylistic, iconographical and functional innovations in European painting, sculpture, architecture and urbanism are presented, special attention is devoted to co-existence of late medieval paradigms and new Renaissance ideas, manifestations and esthetics as reflected in visual arts and architecture. The main focus is on the artistically leading countries such as Italy, Netherlands and Germany, the great masters of the period and their work. Special attention is paid to the complexity of relations between individual artists, regions and countries. At the same time, social, cultural, religious and intellectual factors are discussed.
The main fields of artistic creativity are presented in chronological order. In the representative works of art, the stylistic, formal and iconographic characteristics are analyzed.
Due attention is devoted to the development of essential iconographic motives such as the portrait, the nude, the landscape as well as the themes from classical mythology and Christian art. The representation is centered on frescoes and panel painting, while in sculpture the works in stone, bronze and wood are the most relevant.
In architecture different building types are discussed in their historical and regional contexts, and the distinctive qualities of opuses of leading architects are considered.
The course pays special attention to the work of individual masters and the most important schools of painting.