Mannerist And Baroque Sculpture

High Drama in Marble, Bronze, and More

What you'll learn
Students will learn the key developments, vocabulary terms, and works of art which are associated with the Mannerist and Baroque Sculpture.
This course covers major artists like Bernini as well as lesser-known masters of the style.
Sculpture in a variety of mediums is featured, from marble to bronze.
Students will encounter dynamic examples of sculpture that broke with earlier periods' conventions.
Requirements
Students who have completed the preceding courses on Mannerist Art and Architecture will be able to appreciate some elements' continuity, but this course also can stand alone and provide a solid grounding in Mannerist and Baroque sculpture
Description
Baroque sculpture conjures for many the vision of grand monumentality, of theatrical arrangements, and of highly-polished, virtuosic treatments of the medium; however, Mannerist sculpture is responsible for many of its forms and underlying sensibilities, from the taste for high drama and eroticism to the cultivated ambiguity that pushes the lifelike qualities of marble and bronze to their limits. In this lecture, we trace the arc from Florentine Mannerist sculpture in the late sixteenth century to the masterpieces of the Italian Baroque in Rome. During this time period, the possibilities and functions of sculpture are redefined, and we see sculptural works cross the threshold from lavish works meant to be enjoyed in private among elite circles to its positioning in the emerging urban landscape of early modern Europe. Students will encounter major works and artists like Bernini but also more minor artists whose impacts nonetheless propelled Western sculpture out of its early Medieval forms and into the early Modern era. By the end of the course, you will be familiar with not only the top works from this time period, you will also have gained an appreciation of the transformation that sculpture underwent from a static object to one in motion, merely frozen in time.

Overview

Section 1: Mannerist Sculpture

Lecture 1 Mannerism and the Medici

Lecture 2 The Goldsmith as Sculptor

Lecture 3 An Art of Extremes

Section 2: Baroque Sculpture

Lecture 4 The Baroque Begins

Lecture 5 Bernini in Rome with Course Vocabulary Review

High school, university, and graduate students will find both a review of key pieces and developments as well as original research and connections which are exclusive to this course.