This course takes a critical look at “the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome” (Edgar Allan Poe). Students study Greco-Roman antiquity, Renaissance art in Europe between the 14th and 16th centuries, and 19th-century Neoclassicism in Europe and America. The course is structured chronologically and is designed to encourage a critical understanding of the meaning and function of selected art objects and architecture within their original historical contexts. Emphasis is placed on a visual and verbal examination and analysis, as well as discussion of the legacy of Greco-Roman antiquity in the Western artistic tradition, particularly around issues of humanism, the multiple aspects of beauty, and reframing the Western canon of art history.