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This module considers artistic developments in seventeenth-century Europe. It explores how, in the wake of the Counter Reformation, painting was used as a form of religious propaganda. More broadly, it investigates the ways in which the socio-political and cultural background of the period shaped the production of art. From nepotistic papal patronage to the secular tastes of the Dutch bourgeoisie, it examines the context in which artists like Bernini, Caravaggio and Rembrandt worked, and locates their work in an historical as well as stylistic context. No previous knowledge of the History of Art is required.
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