Early Modern Art, Science, Collecting

Encyclopedic or microcosmic early modern collections also known as Wunderkammers or Cabinets of Curiosities brought together all manner of artifact and natural object, and offered an arena for aesthetic contemplation and natural historical or scientific investigation alike. A space of knowledge-production and a highly socialized domain as well, the early modern collection responded to and activated the senses; some called the sorts of objects assembled in Wunderkammers-rhinoceros horns, ivory lathework carving, resins and gems, instruments, feather work, paintings, and carved coconuts and shells set in elaborate filigree-"sensualities." This seminar examines early modern collections in Spain and Portugal, at Hapsburg and Medici courts, and in Dutch and Flemish cities. Intended as both an introduction to the ways in which the practices of art and science depended on and informed one another in the early modern period in Europe, this seminar will also offer students the opportunity to engage with and make interventions in an ongoing scholarly discussion about art, science, wonder, and the social order of objects in early modern Europe. Prerequisites: One 100- or 200-level course, and one 300-level course in Art History; or permission of instructor.
Course Attributes: FA AH; BU Hum; AS HUM; FA HUM; AR HUM; EN H

Early Modern Art, Science, Collecting

ART HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY 4677

Section 01