HONR299A

Prerequisite: N.A. Some of the most groundbreaking developments in the visual culture of Europe are associated with the so-called Age of Exploration, a period stretching from the early 1400s to the early 1700s. During this period, and thanks to technological advances in shipbuilding and navigation, Europeans began traveling around the globe as never before, primarily in search of new trading routes. In the course of these travels, they encountered numerous lands and peoples they had never imagined existed. In this course, we look at the reflections of these encounters in the visual arts and the material culture of the period - from the growth of private collections of rarities, to the spiritual dilemmas arising from the recognition that the world as the Europeans had known it was gone forever. In this course, we look at some of the reflections of these encounters in the visual arts and the material culture of the period - from the growth of private collections of wonders, to works of art that express spiritual dilemmas arising from the recognition that the world as the Europeans had known it was gone forever.