Issues to explore in class discussion and written assignments during weeks 15 - 19:

What is the impact of the Protestant Reformation and the Catholic Counter Reformation on European art and architecture?  How do they influence artistic patronage?  How do they shape attitudes of the general public toward art?  What impact do they have on both the content and form of the works artists produce?

What impact does the Scientific Revolution have on the art of Europe in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries? 

Gardner's discusses 17^th century art in the context of fascination with "matter in motion through time, space, and light."  How do we see evidence of that fascination in the art and architecture of the Baroque period?

How is art affected by the growing popularity of theater and opera?  How do artists incorporate theatricality into painting and sculpture?

How can we account for the artistic explosion in the Dutch Netherlands during the 17^th century?

Why does the center of artistic influence begin to shift from Rome toward Western Europe and eventually Paris?

What is the effect on artistic production of the rise of absolute monarchs, such as Louis XIV?

How do the works of Baroque artists reflect influences from the Italian Renaissance or the Northern Renaissance? 

Who are the rebels, the artistic groundbreakers, and what was their motivation?