ARTH-3440 Northern Renaissance Art in the Fifteenth Century

The 15th Century saw an explosion in artistic production in Northern Europe. Technical advances, increasingly sophisticated markets, and an unquenchable thirst for images, meant that commissioning and owning works of art were no longer the preserve of kings and popes. The course explores this phenomenon by considering how art was made, valued, and viewed in France, Germany, and the Netherlands, from c. 1400 to c. 1500. Key themes, including the role of the altarpiece, popular devotion, technical innovations, and the international demand for Northern art, are explored through the work of Van Eyck, Van der Weyden, Memling, Schongauer, and their contemporaries. (Also listed as GRST 3440.)(Offered every other year.) Prerequisite: Completion of one course in Art History, or sophomore standing, or consent of instructor.