Assess graduate students' ability to analyze intersections of gender, patronage, and symbolic imagery in Italian Renaissance portraiture (1450–1550). Expect close visual readings of portraits, interpretation of iconography and gesture, evaluation of patron-artist relationships using archival and contextual evidence, and comparative analysis across artists and urban centers; tasks should require identifying gendered visual codes, tracing patron intentions and social status, and linking symbolic motifs to contemporary cultural and political frameworks using methodologies from iconography, social art history, and primary sources.