Shawon Kinew (History of Art and Architecture)
First-Year Seminar 65W | 4 Credits (Spring 2025) | CANVAS SITE
Friday, 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) is a dominant figure in the history of art and in the history of the discipline. A sculptor, architect, painter and poet, Michelangelo was the quintessential Renaissance man and embodies the paradigm of artistic genius. He was a complex figure, individual and “terrible”, who transformed the art of the Italian peninsula over the seven decades of his career.
Harvard is unique in providing the opportunity to study Michelangelo through direct encounters with original drawings by the hand of the artist, books and biographies that date to the 16th century, and through research in its superb library. One of the goals of this course is to teach students to write original and nuanced essays in art history. Through weekly tasks to be completed during the second half of the course, students will build their final paper. Students will leave this course having produced an original thought on one of the most studied artists in history.
Note: The seminar will have an overnight field trip (1-2 nights) to New York City to visit a landmark exhibition of drawings by Raphael (opening at the Metropolitan Museum in Spring 2025). The excursion will take place in April 2025 at a date TBD. As part of the excursion, we will visit other collections in the city and meet with curators.