Art Appreciation: Introduction to Early Renaissance Painting

This course is an introduction to ways of viewing paintings made in Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The course uses a selected of a number of paintings to provide a basis for the beginnings of an appreciation and understanding of some of the seminal ideas in aesthetics and philosophy of the period. The selection will encourage a focus on the paintings with specific themes and attentions; from the early use of artificial perspective and proportions to involvement in a world that represents the complexity of thought with feelings and emotions.

The course will include a study of the selected works by Giotto and Masaccio, Jan van Eyck. and Rogier van der Weyden, Piero Della Francesca and Sandro Botticelli, Albrecht Dürer and Giovanni Bellini. The emphasis will be upon knowledge from enjoyment.

There are no requirements from students prior the beginning of the course. Students would benefit from access to online sources during the course. Papers and images will be made available to students through the WEA Canvas site. You will need to have access to the internet to access the papers for this course. The course uses a secure digital learning portal for all the classes and for communications with the tutor and access to learning materials.