The epithet “Golden Age” is commonly used to describe the art and literature of seventeenth-century Spain. Ironically, the complex paintings of Diego Velázquez, harbingers of Manet’s modernity, were produced during the decline of Spain and its Empire in Europe and the Americas. These individual artistic achievements are inextricable from an understanding of a global history and the migration of images. This course will trace the mutual impact of conquest on the visual cultures of Spain and Latin America, examine Spanish art in relation to religious, economic and political change in early modern Europe, and conclude with Goya’s contribution to the myth of Spain’s isolation from the European Enlightenment.

This course fulfills the following Major requirements: Geographical areas (A) or (C), and Chronological period (II), based on the topic of the final research paper or project. 

*This course will not meet for discussion section.