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What is a Masterpiece?

This course borrows its title from a famous 1979 non-fiction book by the British art historian Kenneth Clark. Critics of art have long wrestled with the question of what elevates a work of art to masterpiece status. We will do the same through a series of historical and theoretical considerations. Traditionally reserved for an artist’s greatest works, the term masterpiece now appears routinely in auction catalogues, raising questions also about how much the art market shapes our views. A portion of this course will be dedicated to such masterpieces as Velázquez's "Las Meninas" (1656), Picasso's "Guernica" (1937), Judy Chicago's "The Dinner Party" (1974-79) and other favorites.

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