Courtauld summer school day 1

Today has been my first day of this year’s week at the Courtauld Institute’s summer schools. This year I am doing “High Renaissance : art and architecture in Rome 1500-1527” which is being led by Michael Douglas-Scott. It is shaping up to be another good year.

It’s been nice to bump into a few people who I’ve met in previous years and to get back into the swing of lectures. I must say work already feels a long way away!

Today has been two lectures. Firstly on Renaissance Rome and the papacy looking at the state of the papacy at this time and why art and architecture was important to it. It touched on the duel roles of Rome as centre of Imperial Rome and as centre of the Christian church in the West which made is a major centre of pilgrimage.

The second lecture was on Revonatio Urbis that is urban renewal in the city at this time. Again it firstly looked at why this was done which including to improve the image of the papacy, to provide better transport for pilgrims, to improve the hygiene of the city and to establish the dynastic powers of the pope’s families.

The day ended with a choice of gallery talks. I went to one in gallery one of the Courtauld on the iconography of the Virgin in early art particularly her coronation. This was given by a phd student and was excellent.

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