Packing and Prepping

With only about 10 days to go before departure the prepping and in some cases packing has begun. Part of the prepping is the assigned reading. The book that we're using to inspire and contextualize what we will be seeing is Painting and Experience in Fifteenth-Century Italy by Michael Baxandall. I'm about half way through and am enjoying it. The book should do for us what the back cover reviews say: "…sharpen their observation, widen their outlook and stimulate their curiosity."

Happy Holidays and Reading.

The Adventure is about to begin

The pre-departure meetings are done and the fall semester is over. The 25 students who will be traveling to Italy in January 2011 have gone home for the holidays and to prepare for the Chapman University Interterm Art 357 Rethinking Renaissance Visual Culture course with Dr. Leopardi. We will be spending a week in Florence, Venice, and Rome looking at great art and unraveling the political and cultural issues behind the art. To that end I've put together a timeline that gives an overview.

Please join us. Once we arrive in Italy the posts will be daily, as long as we have an internet connection.