Poems are said to be speaking pictures, and pictures mute poetry. What is common between visual and verbal arts? And what tells them apart? Which art is more expressive, eloquent, and moving? Which art is closer to truth, or more accessible to beauty? This interdisciplinary course surveys theories of painting and of poetry in the Renaissance and analyzes their affinity, competition, and mutual influence. We will read Italian and English treatises on painting and literary theory, and we will also read works of fine art as texts.