Nature and the Ideal: Art and Architecture in Italy 1250-1520

This is an introduction to Italian painting, sculpture, and architecture from ca. 1250 to 1520 emphasizing style and technique. The course is structured in three parts, each focusing on a single artist whose works are of outstanding historical and artistic significance and whose numerous interactions with artists working in other media and whose activity in diverse centers of artistic production indicate the broader range of artistic concerns and achievements of their time. On-site study of original works of art in Boston and Cambridge are an integral part of the instruction.Note: course jointly offered with Medieval Studies as MEDVLSTD 108