I—THE ITALIANS (PART I)
Reading edition
1. Italy: the Birthplace of Modern Painting—The influence of Byzantium; the intellectual awakening of Europe; the development of commerce.
2. The Early Painters—Cimabue, Giotto, Fra Angelico, Botticelli.
3. Art Patrons of the Renaissance—Lorenzo de' Medici; Leo X.
Leonardo da Vinci: The Father of Modern Painting—Story of his life; his versatility; the Last Supper; the Mona Lisa.
Reading from Walter Pater's Essay on the Renaissance.
Books to Consult—Luebke: History of Art. J. A. Symonds: The Renaissance in Italy. Vasari: Lives of the Painters.
A brief introductory paper might take up the influence of Roman classical literature and history on Italian art, and also the effect of Greek culture after the Crusades. The childlike subjects and methods of the early painters are also of great interest, and what they took from Byzantine art, and how they were influenced by the study of anatomy. The luxury of the times and its demands for pictures and statues, the influence of the extravagance of court life, the Popes as art patrons, all can be discussed. One entire paper might be given to St. Peter's at Rome, and another to Da Vinci's great picture "Mona Lisa," and what art critics have said of it. See also Ruskin's estimates of the Primitives.