HSEM3013H

This seminar examines the life and art of Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), one of the most arresting and controversial painters in the history of art. Our examination will range from issues of self-fashioning and self-portraiture to questions of biography, patronage, and iconography, and will include a viewing of Simon Schama's 2006 film, Caravaggio. Special emphasis will be given to problems of methodology and to various ways of "reading" and viewing his complex and provocative works. During Spring Break the seminar will incorporate a Study Abroad component in Rome, where we will be able to see some of his most important paintings, in context, as well as works by many other Baroque masters.

000571