The Artist as Idea

Seminar explores typologies of the artist in Europe and North America from the Renaissance to the present. Topics will include ideas of the artist as a privileged yet estranged member of society, notions of artistic temperament and "genius," the gendering of the artist, bohemianism and madness, the significance of race and cultural identity, and the artist's engagement with mass media. Analysis of self-portraiture, artists' statements and writings, and artists in film. Case studies include Leonardo, Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, Artemisia Gentileschi, Dürer, Manet, Van Gogh, Kahlo, Warhol, and Kara Walker.