ART 360 Renaissance Prints in the Age of Dürer
This seminar examines the rise of the printed image during the Renaissance and the profound transformation it brought to art, knowledge, and communication. The invention of woodcut and engraving expanded access to images, accelerated the circulation of ideas, and established print as a powerful new artistic medium. Centered on the work of Albrecht Dürer, the course explores technique, material process, and the emergence of artistic authorship in an age of mechanical reproduction. Alongside Dürer, students will study artists including Martin Schongauer, Lucas van Leyden, Hans Baldung, and Rembrandt van Rijn in order to situate Northern printmaking within a broader European network. The course also considers how print culture reshaped book production, scientific illustration, and the spread of humanist thought. Students will trace the circulation of prints across Northern and Southern Europe and the wider globe. Special attention will be given to religious conflict during the Reformation and to early debates over copying, authenticity, and intellectual property in a world defined by reproducible images.
Instructor
Hupe