Dates/Termine:

Oct. 17th, 10 am to 4 pm – The Italian Renaissance

Nov. 14th, 10 am to 4 pm – The French Renaissance

Dec. 19th, 10 am to 4 pm – The German Renaissance

Jan. 23rd, 10 am to 4 pm – The English Renaissance

The Renaissance marks one of the most transformative periods in European cultural history. Emerging first in Italy during the fourteenth century and gradually spreading across the continent, it profoundly reshaped literature, music, philosophy, the visual arts, and the understanding of humanity itself. Inspired by the rediscovery of Classical Antiquity and driven by new ideals of humanism, education, artistic innovation, and scientific inquiry, the Renaissance laid many of the intellectual and aesthetic foundations of modern Europe.

This seminar explores the Renaissance from an interdisciplinary perspective, bringing together literary texts, musical works, paintings, sculptures, and architectural achievements. Particular attention will be paid to the dynamic exchange between different artistic media and to the ways in which Renaissance artists and writers engaged with classical mythology, biblical narratives, political thought, and changing conceptions of the individual.

The course is organised into four full-day block sessions, each focusing on one major cultural centre of the European Renaissance: Italy, France, Germany, and England. We will study authors such as Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Ronsard, Montaigne, Luther, Hans Sachs, Shakespeare, and Edmund Spenser alongside composers including Josquin des Prez, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso, and William Byrd, while also examining masterpieces by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Younger, and other leading figures of Renaissance art.

Throughout the semester, we will address key themes including humanism, the revival of Antiquity, the relationship between art and religion, courtly culture, the emergence of the modern individual, the Reformation, and the changing role of literature, music, and the visual arts within European society. By approaching the Renaissance as a genuinely interdisciplinary cultural movement, the seminar aims to provide students with a broad understanding of one of the most influential epochs in European intellectual and artistic history.

The Renaissance marks one of the most transformative periods in European cultural history. Emerging first in Italy during the fourteenth century and gradually spreading across the continent, it profoundly reshaped literature, music, philosophy, the visual arts, and the understanding of humanity itself. Inspired by the rediscovery of Classical Antiquity and driven by new ideals of humanism, education, artistic innovation, and scientific inquiry, the Renaissance laid many of the intellectual and aesthetic foundations of modern Europe.

This seminar explores the Renaissance from an interdisciplinary perspective, bringing together literary texts, musical works, paintings, sculptures, and architectural achievements. Particular attention will be paid to the dynamic exchange between different artistic media and to the ways in which Renaissance artists and writers engaged with classical mythology, biblical narratives, political thought, and changing conceptions of the individual.

The course is organised into four full-day block sessions, each focusing on one major cultural centre of the European Renaissance: Italy, France, Germany, and England. We will study authors such as Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio, Ronsard, Montaigne, Luther, Hans Sachs, Shakespeare, and Edmund Spenser alongside composers including Josquin des Prez, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso, and William Byrd, while also examining masterpieces by artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein the Younger, and other leading figures of Renaissance art.

Throughout the semester, we will address key themes including humanism, the revival of Antiquity, the relationship between art and religion, courtly culture, the emergence of the modern individual, the Reformation, and the changing role of literature, music, and the visual arts within European society. By approaching the Renaissance as a genuinely interdisciplinary cultural movement, the seminar aims to provide students with a broad understanding of one of the most influential epochs in European intellectual and artistic history.

Die Renaissance zählt zu den prägendsten Epochen der europäischen Kulturgeschichte. Ausgehend von Italien im 14. Jahrhundert breitete sie sich in den folgenden Jahrhunderten über weite Teile Europas aus und veränderte Literatur, Musik, Philosophie und Bildende Kunst grundlegend. Angeregt durch die Wiederentdeckung der griechisch-römischen Antike und getragen von den Idealen des Humanismus, einer neuen Bildungsauffassung sowie einem gewandelten Menschenbild, legte die Renaissance wesentliche geistige und ästhetische Grundlagen der europäischen Moderne.

Das Seminar nähert sich der Renaissance aus einer interdisziplinären Perspektive und verbindet Literatur, Musik und Bildende Kunst zu einem gemeinsamen kulturgeschichtlichen Panorama. Im Mittelpunkt stehen das produktive Zusammenspiel der verschiedenen Künste sowie die vielfältigen Bezüge zu antiker Mythologie, biblischen Stoffen, politischen Ideen und den sich wandelnden Vorstellungen vom Menschen und seiner Stellung in der Welt.

Der Kurs ist in vier ganztägige Blockveranstaltungen gegliedert, die jeweils einer der großen Kulturlandschaften der europäischen Renaissance gewidmet sind: Italien, Frankreich, Deutschland und England. Behandelt werden unter anderem Autoren wie Dante, Petrarca, Boccaccio, Ronsard, Montaigne, Martin Luther, Hans Sachs, William Shakespeare und Edmund Spenser. Ihnen stehen Komponisten wie Josquin des Prez, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso und William Byrd sowie Künstler wie Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raffael, Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein der Jüngere und weitere bedeutende Vertreter der Renaissancekunst gegenüber.

Im Verlauf des Semesters beschäftigen wir uns mit zentralen Themen wie Humanismus, Antikenrezeption, dem Verhältnis von Kunst und Religion, höfischer Kultur, der Entstehung eines neuen Menschenbildes, der Reformation sowie der sich wandelnden Rolle von Literatur, Musik und Bildender Kunst innerhalb der europäischen Gesellschaft. Indem die Renaissance als ein gesamteuropäisches und interdisziplinäres Kulturphänomen betrachtet wird, vermittelt das Seminar einen umfassenden Einblick in eine der einflussreichsten Epochen der europäischen Geistes- und Kunstgeschichte.