Theories of Comparative Aesthetics (a), and (b)

Key Features

"Ach Erlebnis," a technical psychological term, refers to the sudden recognition of a fact, which one has not noticed before in familiar things. I had this type of enlightening experience when I deciphered a Latin inscription on a small piece of paper attached to a wall in Domenico Ghirlandaio's portrait of a young woman. The scroll reads, "Art, if only you could portray [her] habits and spirit, no picture on earth would be more beautiful than this." (Ars utinam mores animumque effigere posses pulchrior in terris nulla tabella foret).


This epigram, particularly its latter half, suggests that the painter should be confident of his skills in depicting the sitter. While I was searching for classical sources of love emblem books in the seventeenth century, I noticed that the inscription is mainly based upon a passage from a poem of Martial, a Roman poet in the first century AD.

There the lyrical poet was discussing, in a brief, witty epigram, a portrait of his friend, which was drawn many years before. While contemplating the youth reflected in the face of his portrayed friend, he expressed a wish that his friend would remain as young as the one depicted there. He continued, saying that if the skill of the painter could provide for his aged friend the youthfulness conveyed in the picture it should give honor to the picture as the most beautiful one ever drawn in this world.

Ghirlandaio's adaptation of Martial's poem is more than meets the eye. The young lady in the portrait was already deceased when he was asked to draw this painting. Her youth as depicted here remains unchanged, at least in the minds of those people who knew her. In this way the painter is successful in fulfilling the wish, which the Roman poet yearned for in the portrait of his friend. Moreover, two brooches with pearls and a ruby, one on her bosom and the other on the shelf behind her, show her penchant for noble elegance. A book of hours on the same shelf and a string of coral beads hanging from another shelf allude to piousness in her character. Thus Ghirlandaio also answered the wish of the poet to portray the "habits and spirit" of the person depicted.

Painters used to be considered to belong to a class of manual laborers in the middle ages in Europe, but that rather contemptuous view came to be combined with respect for their creative genius in fourteenth-century Italy. Ghirlandaio, as an acclaimed painter of that age, seemed to make an effort to ensure that painters would be more honored than was customary, since they were able to create the most beautiful works of art on earth. Thus the brief note in the painting may reveal many issues hidden at first glance.

I have had this type of "Ach Erlebnis" with many other pictures, other fine art, and literary works from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. I always consider sharing and reliving this experience with my students in my class as part of my task as a teacher. I am hoping you will find joy in the experience and also find your own way of discovering hidden things through which to experience "Ach Erlebnis" for yourself on many occasions.

Course Objective / Aims

"We drive into the future using only our rearview mirror" is a pithy aphorism which Marshal McLuhan gave to people faced with a totally new situation. It even applies in ordinary circumstances, since everything is constantly changing in this world and we are always destined to encounter something new. To understand the meaning of what is happening around us, we need to grasp what happened in the past and view the present in relation to that past. Without a diachronic perspective we will be easily overwhelmed by what is imminently pressing upon us, and lose our capacity to deal with things effectively.

We will study some major changes in the worldviews caused by the Printing Revolution and their impact upon 16th-17th European culture. We will also study the earnest interest of the Europeans in the marvelous or the wondrous, which emerged in the late 15th century and later developed throughout the 17th century.

Course Requirements

It is desirable that this course be taken throughout the two consecutive semesters.

Lesson Methods and Program

This is a lecture course, but your active participation is extremely important, since you will be asked to think over several key questions I propose and then express your own ideas or opinions on these matters in class. You are required to take during the semester three quizzes to ascertain how far you have understood the content of the lectures and the textbook. You are also required to submit two short essays (2000 words) on the themes I will give during the semester.

The following is the title of each lecture for this semester.

[First Semester (a)]

1. The Under-Appreciated Cultural Revolution
2. Two Stages of Renaissance
3. The Printing Revolution and the Religious Revolution in Biblical Exegesis
4. The Book of Nature within Printed Books and the Birth of a Knowledge Community
5. No Copernican Revolution without the Printing Revolution
6. The Bible and Nature Changed by Printing Technology

[Second Semester (b)]

1. The Birth of the Marvelous and Freudian Psychology
2. Artificial Wonders at the Court of Maximilian I
3. The Marvelous from the Late Antiquities
4. Art and Nature Opposed
5. Wonder and Curiosity Allied

Grading

Class Participation (35%), Quizzes (35%), and Essays (30%)

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