FLORENCE: History and Culture, Art and Architecture

This course provides an introduction to the history, art, and architecture of Florence from the "comune" and republic of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries to the court culture created by the Medici princes. By focusing on a selection of major monuments and key works studied in relation to their style, purpose, and context, students develop foundation skills in visual analysis and historical interpretation. They develop an awareness and understanding of the materials and methods that art historians use in order to situate works of art and architecture in their appropriate historical, cultural, and creative contexts. This course encourages students to consider the historical background of the major monuments and masterpieces of Florence’s medieval and Renaissance art and architecture, and it develops their practical skills for identifying, defining, and discussing key features of specific artworks. Students engage directly with original artworks on their class visits to sites and collections, in which they study buildings, paintings, and sculptures in close detail.