The sixteenth-century in Italy gave new meaning to the word “art.” Architecture, painting, sculpture, engraving and etching, and
drawing were prized as never before, amidst a time of much social, political, and religious upheaval. During this time called
“early modernity,” how did the visual arts factor into the power plays and the idealism of the various classes?  Why did these
artists become the “Old Masters” who were emulated or taken as significant obstacles by so many subsequent generations?