ONLINE ART HISTORY COURSE
"Rogier van der Weyden: Painterly Paparazzo"

Course Description:

If Jan van Eyck was the Northern European “king of painters,” Rogier van der Weyden (1400?-1464) could be considered the “prince.”  Together, they were the founders of the Northern Renaissance style of painting. Van der Weyden reflected the aristocratic and intellectual tastes of his wealthy patrons, refining and evolving Van Eyck’s innovations into a unique personal style that spread beyond the borders of Burgundy to Germany, Italy, and Spain.  Rogier’s dramatic, yet restrained approach earned him kudos during his life.  His portraits of the ruling elite explode the boundaries of the frame, and the emotive power of his religious scenes has never been matched.

Virtual Classroom: Full access to an online educational platform with videos of recordings, syllabus, and reading list.

Location: LIVE INTERACTIVE ON-LINE ART HISTORY LECTURES

Optional Readings:
Information will be provided 2 weeks before the start of the course.

Complete syllabus will be provided 2 weeks before the start of the course.

• ALL LECTURES WILL BE RECORDED AND AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING AT YOUR CONVENIENCE IN OUR VIDEO LIBRARY FOR TWO WEEKS AFTER THE COURSE HAS ENDED.

LECTURE 1 - Lessons Learned: Rogier's debt to earlier masters

- Wednesday, November 5

Rogier van der Weyden’s story begins with Robert Campin, with whom he collaborated early on. In fact, the works of these artists are so close in style that art historians once considered them from the same hand.  Rogier both adopted and adapted Van Eyck’s and Campin’s innovations into a uniquely expressive, elegant style.

LECTURE 2 - Painted Faces: Rogier's "society" portraits

- Wednesday, November 12

Like Van Eyck before him, Rogier worked for the Dukes of Burgundy.  He was the official painter of the city of Brussels, a position created especially for him.  Rogier lived in close proximity to the “movers and shakers” of the Burgundian Court.  They and other international celebrities are the subjects of his many innovative and stylish portraits.

LECTURE 3 - Teaching Moments: Rogier's painterly essays on Christian faith

- Wednesday, November 19

Rogier depicted his wealthy patrons directly participating in sacred events, embodying the northern taste for naturalism and genre, even in religious scenes.  A devout man, Rogier’s travel to Italy for the “jubilee” of 1450 is documented, and evident in borrowings from Italian artists.

Laurinda Dixon is a specialist in northern European Renaissance art. Currently retired, she served as the William F. Tolley Distinguished Professor of Teaching in the Humanities at Syracuse University for many years. Her scholarship considers the intersection of art and science - particularly alchemy, medicine, astrology, and music - from the fifteenth though the nineteenth centuries. She has lectured widely in both the USA and Europe, and is the author of many articles, reviews, and eleven books, including Perilous Chastity: Women and Illness in Pre-Enlightenment Art and Medicine (1995), Bosch (2003), and The Dark Side of Genius: The Melancholic Persona in Art, ca. 1500-1700 (2013). Laurinda holds a Ph.D. in art history from Boston University, as well as a degree in piano performance from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. She currently resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.