Witches. From Dürer to Goya.
HAA 51
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
Witchcraft as a magical practice is documented across many cultures since ancient times, while the "witch" of popular imaginings is a more recent local phenomenon. Young or old, alluring or monstrous-but usually female-the image of the witch developed in the West at the start of the modern age, mobilizing the fantasies of major artists from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment to the present. This course explores the witch from three entangled perspectives: painters fascinated by nefarious illusions, witch-hunters and their (largely fictive) accusations, and modern historians making sense of this wildly elusive material. Artists studied include Albrecht Dürer, Pieter Bruegel, Salvatore Rosa, José de Ribera, Henry Fuseli and Francisco de Goya. The course consists of lectures, debate sections, and studio classes on the printing techniques (etching and acquatint) used by artists discussed.
Class Notes
If you are enrolling during the open add/drop period, please note that you are only guaranteed a seat if joining one of the already scheduled discussion sections. If all seats are full, please add yourself to the placeholder section and we will reach out closer to the class start date to determine additional sections.
Available for Harvard Cross Registration
NOTE: This course requires additional sections; you will be prompted to choose secondary components during the Add to Cart process
