Courses

This course explores the interwoven histories of science, technology, and art from the late medieval period to today. We will discover how artists leveraged advances in science in developing their works and how technologists solved some of the most confounding problems confronting these artists. A few of the questions we will consider include: How did the invention of oil paints lead to the heightened realism of Renaissance masters such as Jan van Eyck and Raphael? Did the Dutch master van Eyck use projection optics to achieve his sublime realism? How did post-impressionists Georges Seurat and Paul Signac apply color theory to their pointillist works? And how did science and technology help expose fake art purported to be by Amedeo Modigliani and Jackson Pollock? Topics we will cover along the way include the geometry of perspective, the optics of image making, visual perception of color, the chemistry of pigments, perception of form and illusions, and the role of computing in art. Understanding the ways in which science and technology underlie the history of art will allow students to see both classic and modern works with richer, more informed eyes.