This class will focus on the dynamic relationship between art and political life. Among topics to be discussed are the employment of works of art to glorify a ruler, including the theme of the dominant leader on horseback. Examples to be studied come from ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire, Early Modern city-states and absolute monarchies, the era of Napoleon, and the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Among other topics to be presented are the appearance of art as political protest, as political satire, and to promote revolution.