CLARTAH022 - Multicultural European Art History, 1400–1700
The art of Europe was never the product of a single culture working in isolation. Rather it was enriched by diverse native groups, immigrants, colonial subjects, neighbors and trading partners. This seminar will explore the multicultural aspects of late medieval and early modern Europe (1400–1700) by focusing on groups who defined themselves or are today defined by nationality (especially the Italians and Dutch), race (especially Africans) or religion (especially Jews and Muslims). We will explore diverse artwork: from Islamic carpets, Peruvian manuscripts and Yiddish manuscripts to masterpieces by Bellini, van Dyck, Velázquez, Juan de Pareja and Guaman Poma. Drawing on a wide range of interdisciplinary research, this course will explore the complex ways in which cultures interacted and especially how visual culture sheds light on these interactions. The course will also examine how the long arm of history still affects our thinking today. This class will be taught through slide lecture and discussion.
Course Details
Diane Wolfthal, Ph.D., is the David and Caroline Minter Endowed Chair Emerita in the Humanities and a Professor Emerita of art history at Rice University. She specializes in late medieval and early modern European art and culture. Dr. Wolfthal formerly taught at Columbia and Cambridge Universities. Her most recent book is “Household Servants and Slaves: A Visual History, 1300–1700” (Yale University Press, 2022). She is also guest curating an exhibition, “Medieval Money, Merchants and Morality” for the Morgan Library and Museum in New York.
Online--Synchronous
This course will be delivered in a synchronous format online. Registered participants will receive login instructions to the course page which will provide access to the virtual classroom link and other resources. All online classes are held at Central Standard Time.
- Introduction; Cultural Exchange Among Nations
- Italy and the Netherlands: National Differentiation and National Identity
- Jewish Art: The View from Within; Negotiating the Dominant Culture
- Islamic Art and Its Influence on European Art
- Alterity, Hybridity and Translation: A Theoretical Approach to Understanding European Art
- Africans and Native Americans as Artists and Subjects
Department of Art History, Rice University