Please Note: This program has an updated date range. (original start date was October 8, 2025).
In a 4-session survey, art historian Joseph Paul Cassar traces how the creative legacies of centuries of ancient civilizations affected the art of the Early Renaissance. He examines the collective influences of the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras; the ancient Near East; Egypt and its pharaohs; the Aegean world; and Greek, Etruscan, and Roman art. Cassar discusses several artworks from each period, leading up to the mosaics of Ravenna and the Scrovegni Chapel by Giotto in Padua.
October 15 Cave Paintings and the Ancient Near East
Explore paintings from Altamira and Lascaux caves; Neolithic monuments from the Mediterranean island of Malta; discoveries in Catal Huyuk in central Turkey; the ziggurat in Uruk, Iraq; the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon; and Persepolis.
October 22 Egypt and the Aegean World
Cassar highlights ancient Egypt’s art and architecture, with references to the Pyramids of Giza and Hatshepsut; Cycladic art from the Aegean islands; and the Temple of Knossos in Crete.
October 29 The Greeks, Etruscans, and Romans
Explore the Acropolis, Greek idealistic sculpture and pottery, Etruscan burial art, and Roman art and architecture, with a particular focus on Pompeii and the Pantheon, following developments up to the reign of Constantine and the issuance of the Edict of Milan.
November 5 Ravenna and Giotto
Cassar progresses from the mosaics in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna and the art of Duccio and Cimabue to the artistic climax reflected in Giotto’s magnificent Scrovegni Chapel in Padua.
4 sessions
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