Pontifical Majesty in Renaissance Rome, 1400-1600

Rebekah Compton
Museo ItaloAmericano: Spring 2010
Thursdays, 10:00-12:00
Email: rebekahcompton@gmail.com
Phone: 415-290-7310



This course provides a selective survey of the major works of painting, sculpture, and architecture of the Roman Renaissance, covering the years 1400-1600. The course is organized by genres of Renaissance art and addresses the spaces of city squares, churches, chapels, confraternities, palaces, and villas along with their painted and sculptural decoration (altarpieces, narrative cycles, devotional painting, portraits, civic sculpture, papal tombs, and fountains). The course delves deeply into the Roman Papacy and the intriguing celestial space of Vatican City.

Course Schedule:

1- April 1
Holy Rebirth: The Renaissance of Rome and the Papacy

2- April 8
Devotional Magnificence: The Decoration of Private Chapels

3- April 15
Glorious Spirituality: The Painting of the Sistine Chapel

4- April 22
Honorable Death: The Sculpture of Papal Tombs

5- April 29
Celestial City: The Architecture of the Vatican

6- May 6
Authoritative Power: The Politics of Papal Halls of State

7- May 13
Amorous Charity: The Oratories of Roman Confraternities

8- May 20
Pastoral Pleasure: The Poetics of Villa Architecture