ARTH 284: Wonders of Nature and Artifice: The Renaissance Quest for Knowledge

The course explores the quest for knowledge by Renaissance naturalists and collectors, whose wonders of nature and artifice were displayed in curiosity cabinets, gardens, and writings. The interaction of art and science and the role of economics, politics and culture are explored. Students engage in hands-on work, analyzing a Renaissance chamber of wonders at the Walters Art Museum and putting together their own “cabinet” in the Schmucker Art Gallery.