This course examines visual arts in Europe (Italy, Netherlands, Germany) between 14th and 16th centuries. It aims to investigate painting, sculpture and graphic art of the Renaissance through the prism of mimesis – the key concept in the artistic theory of that time. We will start with the “invention” of mimesis in Greek Antiquity as a complex intellectual and empirical process of artistic study and representation of reality. Our next focus will be on the rediscovery of mimesis by Renaissance culture. Finally, we will discuss how the idea of mimesis was applied to explain artists’ main achievements and contributed to the centuries-long “dispute” between painting, sculpture, poetry, and music.