HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL ART
Learning outcomes of the course unit
The course aims to provide critical tools for the analysis of the most significant works made in Europe between the 4th and 14th centuries. At the end of module A, students are expected to have acquired the basic knowledge to orient themselves in the imagery system of the entire medieval period. Module B will allow the student, through specific focus on particularly significant emergencies, to begin a more autonomous and conscious reading of the works in order to elaborate basic historical-critical contextualizations in a broader panorama while acquiring greater communicative skills and autonomy of judgement.
Knowledge and understanding.
Students will have to acquire the ability to approach the reading of critical texts (manuals, essays, reviews, catalogue entries) by grasping their conceptual nodes.
Applied knowledge and understanding.
Students should gradually acquire the ability to apply the acquired knowledge in relation to emergencies never observed before.
Autonomy of judgment.
The skills acquired will enable students, by critically interweaving art-historical literature and direct analysis of the work, to formulate independent evaluations and judgments.
Communication skills.
With particular insistence, students will be urged to achieve specific written and oral communicative competence, a fundamental skill for the discipline.
Learning ability.
The critical-analytical tools put in place should allow students a more mature and fruitful learning and adaptive capacity necessary for the continuation of master's studies and for a more impactful entry into the world of work.
Course contents summary
The course will focus on the analysis of the most significant works of the history of European medieval art starting from the formal analysis. The analysis of the works will then extend to the question of commissioning, reception and thus historical contextualization in order to understand their cultural significance in the sense of common heritage to be preserved and enhanced at the same time.
Course contents
For students needing 6 cfu:
1. The 15 units of the blended course on the Elly platform. No other handbook is allowed.
The exam will concern the recognition of the images (name, chronology, place) and a brief critical contextualization.
2. Oral presentation of a medieval work (sculpture, painting, architecture, miniature or goldsmith; IV-XVth century) related to the province of origin or residence of the student.
For students needing 12 cfu:
1. The 15 units of the blended course on the Elly platform. No other handbook is allowed.
The exam will concern the recognition of the images (name, chronology, place) and a brief critical contextualization.
2. Oral presentation of a medieval work (sculpture, painting, architecture, miniature or goldsmith; IV-XVth century) related to the province of origin or residence of the student.
3. The student is asked to choose an essay for each of the four groups (a total of 4 essays to be submitted to the exam) whose PDFs are available on the Elly platform.
Recommended readings
I
- E. Kitzinger, Il periodo tardo-antico e paleocristiano, in E. Kitzinger, Arte altomedievale al British Museum e nella British Library, a cura di F. Crivello, Torino, Einaudi, 2005, pp. 2-50.
- Capitolo IV. Le architetture religiose: la scultura e Capitolo V. La scrittura e le sue immagini: i codici; le epigrafi, in Longobardi. Un popolo che cambia la storia, catalogo della mostra (Pavia-Napoli-San Pietroburgo, 2017-2018), a cura di G.P. Brogiolo, F. Marazzi, C. Giostra, Milano, Skira, 2017, pp. 275-325; 366-375.
- B. Brenk, Originalità e innovazione nell’arte medievale, in Arti e Storia nel medioevo, Volume primo: tempi, spazi, istituzioni, a cura di E. Castelnuovo e G. Sergi, Torino Einaudi, 2002, pp. 3-69.
- M. Gianandrea, Gli arredi ecclesiali (antependia, cattedre, cibori, pulpiti, ceri) e M. Acconci, I segni del potere in Occidente, in Il Medioevo. 6. Medioevo centrale. Arti visive, Musica, a cura di U. Eco, Milano, Federico Motta, 2009, pp. 274-333.
II
- R. Coathes-Stephens, Permanenze dell’architettura antica, in Storia dell’architettura italiana. Da Costantino a Carlo Magno, 2 voll., a cura di S. De Blaauw, Milano, Electa, II, pp. 234-269.
- L.C. Schiavi, Genesi e sviluppo dei nuovi spazi sacri dell’Europa cristiana, in Il Medioevo. 6. Medioevo centrale. Arti visive, Musica, a cura di U. Eco, Milano, Federico Motta, 2009, pp. 32-93.
- F. Gandolfo, Il ruolo della scrittura nei mosaici del medioevo romano, in Roma e il suo territorio nel medioevo. Le fonti scritte fra tradizione e innovazione, Atti del Convegno internazionale di studio dell’Associazione italiana dei Paleografi e Diplomatisti (Roma, 25-29 ottobre 2012), a cura di C. Carbonetti, S. Luca, M. Signorini, Spoleto, CISAM, 2015, pp. 439-470; tavv. I-X.
III
- A. Cadei, Le cattedrali all’origine del Gotico, in L’arte medievale nel contesto 300-1300. Funzioni, iconografia, tecniche, a cura di P. Piva, Milano, Jaca Book, 2006, pp. 105-137.
- C. Gnudi, Considerazioni sul gotico francese, l’arte imperiale e la formazione di Nicola Pisano, in Federico II e l’arte del Duecento italiano, Atti del Convegno (Roma, 1 maggio 1978), ripubblicato in C. Gnudi, L’arte gotica in Francia e in Italia, Torino, Einaudi, 1982, pp. 102-119, tavv. 104-118.
- L. Bellosi, La «porta magna» di Jacopo della Quercia, in La Basilica di San Petronio, I, Cinisello Balsamo (MI), Silvana Editoriale, 1983, ripubblicato in L. Bellosi, Come un prato fiorito. Studi sull’arte tardogotica, Milano, Jaca Book, 2000, pp. 141-162; tavv. 179-210.
IV
- A. Calzona, La cattedrale di Parma dopo il terremoto del 1117 senza il terremoto, in «Hortus Artium Medievalium», 25/2 (2019), pp. 487-495.
- A. Cadei, Architettura mendicante: il problema di una definizione tipologica, in «Storia delle Città», 26/27 (1983), pp. 21-32.
- F. Crivello, L’immagine ripetuta: filiazione e creazione nell’arte del Medioevo, in Arti e storia nel Medioevo. Volume terzo. Del vedere: pubblici, forme e funzioni, a cura di E. Castelnuovo, G. Sergi, Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 567-592.
- X. Barral i Altet, Forme di narrazione medievale, con e senza «storie», al servizio del potere, in «Hortus Artium Medievalium», 21 (2015), pp. 6-20.
Teaching methods
During the lessons, and possibly also outside the classroom in direct contact with the works, will be addressed the fundamental critical issues related to creation, image models, style, commissioning and reception. In order to achieve this, during the lectures we will make use a large repertoire of images; in this way students can be confronted with methodological and epistemological issues. Seminars may also be organized on individual problems with the reading and discussion of articles or essays to provide the tools for a coherent study methodology.
Assessment methods and criteria
During the course may be organized moments of verification in order to assess the ability to understand and apply the knowledge gained. At the end of the course, students will be able to orient themselves and know how to read the work in its specific technical and semantic aspects, identifying its characteristics and historical context. During the final, oral exam, students will have to proceed with the recognition of the images (subject, place, date, brief contextualization) for the manual part and will also have to demonstrate they are able to autonomously use the method of analysis applied to the main and emblematic cases analyzed, reporting them adequately, using appropriate language. The monographic part requires the ability to synthesize the essays presented, highlighting the nodal points and the argumentative path of the scholar.
The examination will be considered insufficient in case of lack of minimum knowledge of the topics of the course or if the language is not enough precise. The program is structured in a handbook part and a monograph one: preparing a part only of the program determines a negative valuation. A sufficient valuation (range: 18/30 – 22/30) is determined by a minimum level of correct answers; a median score (range: 23/30 – 26/30) is determined by the ability to express in a logical way the knowledge acquired for both modules; the highest scores (range: 27/30 – 30/30) correspond to an excellent level of the indicators.
