ARTH 330 – Michelangelo: The First Modern Artist
Discipline(s): Art History
Credits: 3
Instructor: Michael W. Kwakkelstein, Ph.D.
Formerly called AAH 330 – Special Topics in Art History: Michelangelo
Description
An in-depth study of the drawings, paintings, and sculptures of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). Beginning with examining the various aspects of Michelangelo’s artistic formation and his relation to Lorenzo de’ Medici and his cultural environment, this course explores the development in Michelangelo’s progress as a draughtsman, painter, sculptor and architect throughout his entire 75 year-long career. Attention will be devoted to establishing Michelangelo’s working procedures, how he designed his masterpieces; his approach to the nude and antique sculpture, his stylistic development, the nature of the interaction between the various arts in which he excelled and – finally – the impact of contemporary biographies on the public image of Michelangelo.
Outcomes
Upon completion of this course students should be able to:
– Comprehend both Michelangelo’s indebtedness to previous Renaissance artists and his originality.
– Use accurate and up-to-date technical language, contextualize Michelangelo’s work and his reception in light of the main literature on this artist and (more generally) Italian Renaissance art.
Course descriptions may be subject to occasional minor modifications at the discretion of the instructor.