Keeping Up with the Medicis: Worldly Goods in the Renaissance




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ClassGraphic We all know the Renaissance as a period where some of the greatest art and ideas were birthed — but was it the great thinkers and artists that drove this period, or the vast expansion of wealth, commerce, and consumerism that really fueled the age? In this study group we will discover a Renaissance far more vibrant, global, and surprisingly modern than the version many of us learned in school. Using the book Worldly Goods by Lisa Jardine (Nan A. Talese, 1996), we will examine how merchants, princes, artists, scientists, and collectors transformed the face of Europe through their competitive pursuit of magnificence, and how this led to the consumer society we live in today. Over 11 weeks we will also match the themes of the book to a range of examples — from Crivelli’s The Annunciation with St Emidius to Holbein’s The Ambassadors — and plenty of Venetian palaces, sumptuous art, and exquisite objects to entertain along the way. Join us each week as we see how the desire to out-build, out-collect, and out-do each other drove the rich in the Renaissance to keep up with the Medicis!
 

Class Details

14 Session(s)
Weekly - Wed

Location
Wieboldt Hall

Instructor
Multiple

Tuition:  $0.00

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Schedule Information

Date(s) Class Days Times Location Instructor(s)
9/9/2026 - 12/9/2026 Weekly - Wed 01:15 PM - 03:15 PM Chicago, Wieboldt Hall  Map Martha Bills  ; Pat Stankard