Old Masters and Mistresses of the Renaissance and the Baroque

Register for this Fall 2023 course on the new NYU SPS Academy of Lifelong Learning website.
This course presents a unique comparative study of extraordinary artists, both men and women, of the Renaissance and the Baroque era. To rectify a long history of prejudice and gender disparity in the art world, we will pair groundbreaking works by Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael with works by hidden, silenced or forgotten women artists, including sculptor Properzia de’ Rossi (1490-1530), self-taught nun-artist Suor Plautilla Nelli (1524-1588), King Philip II of Spain’s court painter Sofonisba Anguissola (1532-1625), and mannerist painter Lavina Fontana (1552–1614), who is believed to be the first woman in Western art history to paint nudes from life. We will compare artists from the Baroque era such as Caravaggio and Artemisia Gentileschi (1593–1653), Frans Hals and Judith Leyster (1609–1660), and many more. Topics will include: the gendered barriers women artists faced and their exclusion from written histories; the long-held myth of the (male) artistic genius; the current push for restoration, reattribution, and rediscovery of works by women artists; and the ongoing gender disparities in the art market. Visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art will accompany our study. Fall 2023 tuition is $849.
Registering at least three weeks prior to the course start date is highly recommended.

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