Appreciating Western Art (Part 1)

Lecture 1: Italian Renaissance

The renaissance in Italy signifies a break with the art of the Middle Ages, seen particularly in the way that artists began to perceive the world through the use of perspective and scientific observation. This lecture looks at the development of art in Italy from early to High Renaissance. It examines the breakthroughs of artists such as Giotto and Masaccio, and goes on to look at the achievements of the artists of genius such as da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael.

Lecture 2: Northern Renaissance

Away from Italy, in Germany, the Netherlands and England, artistic developments were making headway largely independently of what was happening in Italy. This lecture looks at the work of the northern masters such as van Eyck and van der Weyden, as well as the important contributions to masters such as Dürer and Holbein.

Lecture 3: Southern Baroque

Following the schism in the Catholic Church when the Protestants in the north rejected Papal authority, painting in southern Europe took a new lease of life. The Catholic Church insisted that religious painting become more relevant and the artists of the Baroque responded accordingly, developing new ways of portraying both religious and secular imagery. This lecture examines the work of such artists as Caravaggio and Bernini in Italy, and Valasquez, Murillo and Ribera in Spain, for example.

Lecture 4: Northern Baroque

In the Protestant north artists had to deal with very different issues during the 17th century. This lecture focuses on how religious idea were accommodated in northern art, and traces the development of genre, still life, landscape and portrait painting, in Holland and Flanders. The work of Rubens, Hals, Rembrandt and Vermeer, among others will be considered.

Lecture 5: Impressionism

The work produced by the 19th century Impressionists not only represented a radical break with the past, but was to have a profound impact on the development of modern art. This lecture examines the context in which Impressionism emerged, and examines the work of some of its greatest proponents, including Manet, Degas, Monet, Renoir, Caillebotte and Morisot.