COURSE DESCRIPTION

Planning a trip to Europe? Already have gone? This four-week Zoom course helps you better savor your in-person experiences of the art and architecture in Paris, Florence, and Rome! We’ll examine a period when each city reached a height of artistic renown.  Join art historian Dr. Hannah Wong and featured guest Dr. Kelley Magill as we explore how art and artists shaped Paris, Florence, and Rome—often, quite literally—and vice versa. From the parks and plumbing of nineteenth-century Paris to the patronage of Florentine guilds during the Renaissance, we’ll consider the influence these cities had on the art and artistic movements they birthed.

The course also features special online features and two “Ask a Tour Guide” sessions with Dr. Kelley Magill (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston), a Renaissance specialist and former guide in Italy with practical insider tips on how to best enjoy Rome and Florence. Classes are on Fridays from 12:00 pm-2:00 pm (1.5 hr lecture + 30-minute “Ask a Tour Guide” or discussion with the instructor) starting on Feb. 23, 2024. Recordings of classes will be posted weekly on the course’s private webpage.

SCHEDULE & CLASS CONTENT

ROME: ANCIENT IMPERIAL ROME
(31 BC - 476 CE)

Class date: Friday, 2/23/24
(12:00 pm-1:30 pm lecture; 1:30 pm-2:00 pm discussion)

There’s a reason all roads led to Rome. Learn how technology such as concrete and innovative “borrowing” from and assimilation of other cultures led to imperial dominance.

(Possible works studied: Architecture and monuments. Possibly: Arch of Constantine, Colosseum, Pantheon, aqueducts throughout Empire.)

FLORENCE: ITALIAN RENAISSANCE
(1400 CE-1600 CE)

Class date: Friday, 3/1/24
(12:00 pm-1:30 am lecture; 1:30 pm-2:00 pm “Ask A Tour Guide” with Dr. Kelley Magill)

Discover the origin story of the Italian Renaissance beginning where it all began, Florence. We’ll examine the city and culture that shaped artists such as Michelangelo, Donatello, and many more!

(Possible works studied: Painting, sculpture, architecture. Possibly: Brunelleschi’s Dome of Florence Cathedral; the niche sculptures of Or San Michele; Baptistery doors.)

ROME: BAROQUE (1600 CE-1700 CE)

Class date: Friday, 3/8/24 (12:00 pm-1:30 pm lecture; 1:30 pm-2:00 pm “Ask A Tour Guide” with Dr. Kelley Magill)

Returning to the “Eternal City”, we’ll explore the Roman Catholic Church’s tactics for reframing (literally!) the past and constructing our view of the Baroque.

(Possible works studied: Sculpture, painting, architecture. Changes to St. Peter’s. Likely bonus: Renaissance’s Sistine Chapel ceiling.)

PARIS: MODERN ART (REALISM, IMPRESSIONISM, POINTILLISM, AND THE AVANTE-GARDE, 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURY)

Class date: Friday, 3/15/24 (12:00 pm-1:30 pm lecture; 1:30 pm-2:00 pm discussion)

What do plumbing, parks, and Pointillism have in common? We’ll explore how Parisian city planning, new technologies, and more influenced the avant-garde movements birthed in the “City of Lights”.

(Possible works studied: Primarily painting. Related to much of the work in Musée d'Orsay.)

Please note: This course offers participants a foundation for appreciating the art and architecture in Paris, Florence, and Rome. While guidebooks and in-person tours highlight a city’s “greatest hits”, Touring Europe uses famous and not-so-famous artwork to explore key historical and cultural contexts that shaped these cities and their art. Artwork ranges from a painting tucked away in a small church in Rome to Florentine statues that paved the way for Michelangelo’s David.

Full course = 4 classes x 2 hours each = 8 hrs. total + full access to course website & resources = $225

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