Course Description

Have you ever wondered what would life be like if everything around you were deceptive, misleading and illusory? Welcome to the world of Baroque appearances.

In this class we will explore the multiple facets of appearances, understood in their literal sense as “physical appearance” (looks, clothing, make-up) and in their figurative sense as “illusion”, but also as lure and enchantment. From the spectacle of theatre and painting to the spectacle of the body (the king’s in particular), we’ll move to the problem of appearances, or to what the moralists deemed as a necessary evil to survive courtly society without killing one another. In this world, you’ll find manuals teaching you how to read the body, find every cue and distinguish friend from foe, but beware: in the end only a tricky devil can save you from the artifices of society. We’ll conclude the class with a return to reality and the origins of scientific vision.