What does it mean to “gaze?” What can psychological theories and research about emotion expression, rooted in Darwin’s observations, tell us about what we see in works of art such as frescoes, paintings, portraiture and sculpture? How is our appreciation of art embodied? How do expressive features in art works of the Renaissance tell a story about the emergence of individuality? How are the genders depicted differently in such art works, and how do socio-cultural norms, values and beliefs about gender influence how we see the faces, bodies and emotions of others portrayed in art? How does our “gazing” itself proscribe and police the faces, bodies and emotions of the genders? In both a classroom and in the “laboratory” of the museums, chapels, galleries, gardens and squares of Florence Italy, this course will examine:
- how we “see,” “look,” “gaze,” “behold” works of art
- theories and research on facial and bodily expression and embodiment, and how these are reflected in Renaissance works of art
- notions of individualism and identity and ways in which expression in art allows us to identify with it
- gender and sexuality, objectification, "the male gaze"