Beginner-Advanced; Location: VanDerVeer Studio
6 Classes: October 30-December 4; Tuesdays 9:30-11:00am
TUITION: Members: $90; Non-members: $120
This fall, visit Florence vicariously and see why the city was the cradle of the Italian Renaissance (1400-1600). The course will give you a window into Renaissance Florence by studying the art, architecture, and urban planning in context; and it will guide you through the history, politics, religion, literature, social situation, economics, and cultural atmosphere of the era. You will learn what prompted the arts in the city to flourish in ways that few cities have before or since. The artists that Sara will discuss include Brunelleschi, Ghiberti, Donatello, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, and Michelangelo. She will also note the patronage of the Medici dynasty and reveal how one family could dominate politics and the cultural scene in Florence. Dr. James is an independent scholar and lecturer who holds a Ph.D in Art History from the University of Virginia and has over thirty years of teaching experience. She has published two highly acclaimed art history books and is on faculty of OLLI at UVA and Smithsonian Journeys.