Mannerist and Baroque Sculpture

Baroque sculpture conjures for many the vision of grand monumentality, of theatrical arrangements, and of highly-polished, virtuosic treatments of the medium; however, Mannerist sculpture is responsible for many of its forms and underlying sensibilities, from the taste for high drama and eroticism to the cultivated ambiguity that pushes the lifelike qualities of marble and bronze to their limits. In this lecture, we trace the arc from Florentine Mannerist sculpture in the late sixteenth century to the masterpieces of the Italian Baroque in Rome. During this time period, the possibilities and functions of sculpture are redefined, and we see sculptural works cross the threshold from lavish works meant to be enjoyed in private among elite circles to its positioning in the emerging urban landscape of early modern Europe. Students will encounter major works and artists like Bernini but also more minor artists whose impacts nonetheless propelled Western sculpture out of its early Medieval forms and into the early Modern era. By the end of the course, you will be familiar with not only the top works from this time period, you will also have gained an appreciation of the transformation that sculpture underwent from a static object to one in motion, merely frozen in time.