26-A101 Exotic Splendour: Collections from Italy to Persia – Kimberly Johnson
$85.00
Please note: Individual sessions of this course will be recorded and available to registered students outside of the actual course time.
In the early modern period, wealthy collectors had access to more treasures from more parts of the globe than any collector before them. Mere rumours of faraway objects ignited their hearts with deep, burning desires. Collectors employed a cadre of operatives to track objects down across oceans. To possess such highly sought-after prizes, the chicanery of secret agents emerges—as do the pirates, shipwrecks and greedy government officials. Together we will explore the collections of early modern Italian noble families to discover what they collected, how they acquired their treasures and the lengths they were willing to go to secure them. Comparing these splendid Italian collections to others of Europe, Siam and Persia, we will better understand their societal significance. Our adventures will uncover intersections of personalities from a variety of socioeconomic classes—from slaves to popes—and how they shaped these opulent stockpiles of the rich and famous.
Instructor: Kimberly Johnson
Kimberly Johnson is an American art historian currently teaching at the University of Alberta and NorQuest College. Kimberly regularly travels to Europe on research trips and to give invited quest lectures and to present at conferences. She relishes every second she can spend inside a museum no matter where in the world she is.
