Art History 290RP - Issues in Art History: 'Renaissance Print Culture'

Like the internet in our modern digital age, the Renaissance print was a revolutionary tool of communication -- one that held the power to incite violence, alter beliefs, shape popular taste, frame intellectual and artistic debate, and open new worlds. This seminar will trace the rise of print from its origins in western Europe around 1450 to the emergence of the international print market by about 1600. Frequent sessions in the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum and Special Collections will allow us to explore first-hand the physical and material properties of prints. In addition to their techniques, types, and functions, we will consider their commerce, growing circulation, and cultural impact.

Course limited to sophomores, juniors and seniors; Prereq: 4 credits in the department.