HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL ART
Learning outcomes of the course unit
The course aims to provide tools for the analysis of the most significant works carried out in Europe between the fourth and the fourteenth century. These tools will allow the student to first acquire scientifically articulated and updated knowledge. At the end of the first part (corresponding to module A) the student must be able to recognize the general lines of the history of art from the 4th century up to the 8th century. At the end of the second part (module B) the student will acquire the knowledge to understand the transformations of Western medieval art from the Carolingian period to the Giotto's revolution. At the end of the course, students, through attendance and individual study, must be able to possess the tools for a correct analysis of the work and also of its contextualization in a wider historical-artistic panorama and will also acquire communication skills and autonomy of judgment.
Knowledge and understanding:
students must be able to deal with the reading of a critical text (manual, essay, review, catalog, specialized articles), capturing the most significant aspects.
Knowledge and understanding skills applied:
students will be able to apply the acquired knowledge and will have to develop the ability to analyze the works in their context, in the public and private museum sectors.
Autonomy of judgment:
the link between historical-artistic literature and the direct analysis of the work will lead to the ability to propose independent evaluations and judgments.
Communication skills:
students will be provided with the tools to achieve a good and specific communication skills, both written and oral.
Ability to learn:
students will develop the learning skills necessary to continue their studies independently.
Course contents summary
The course aims to focusing on the most significant critical issues in the field of architecture, sculpture, painting, mosaic and sumptuous arts, the dynamics of medieval art history in Italy and in Europe from Late Antiquity to the dawn of the Renaissance.
Course contents
In order to allow the student to acquire adequate knowledge, the contents of the course will be articulated, in a timely manner, according to the following scheme.
1. The transformations of classical art in the time of Constantine.
2. The affirmation of Christianity and the "new" Christian art.
3. Architecture in the West and in the East: from the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano to the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.
4. The renewal of the Theodosian period.
5. Milan, capital of the Empire: the Ambrosian architecture.
6. The foundation of Constantinople and the origins of Byzantine art.
7. Early Christian architecture in Rome in the 4th and 5th centuries.
8. Ravenna, capital of the Empire from Galla Placidia to Teodorico.
9. Justinian architecture and sculpture in the East and in the West.
10. The barbarian invasions and the end of the ancient world.
11. Is there a Lombard art?
12. The Carolingian empire, the novelties in architecture and the problem of sculptured and painted images.
13. The Ottonians and the art of the century of the "Year 1000" (Premier art roman).
14. Romanic art in Italy and in Europe. The great cathedrals and the great abbeys
15. The affirmation of the Municipalities and the transformations of the mid-twelfth century.
16. Art and architecture of mendicant orders.
17. The Gothic in France and in Italy.
18. Giotto.
Recommended readings
Bibliography Mod. A:
Any handbook of high school except for volume edited by Giulio Carlo Argan.
As an alternative, for the handbook part (Mod. A) it is possible to use the e-learning platform related to the blended course of History of Medieval Art at the site elly.unipr.it.
Bibliography Mod B:
E. Kitzinger, Alle origini dell’arte bizantina in Italia, Correnti stilistiche nel mondo mediterraneo dal III al VII secolo, Milano, Jaca Book, 2005 (or more recent).
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;
PDF on elly.unipr.it
Teaching methods
During the lessons the most general problematic issues related to the production and stylistic differences of the works examined will be discussed. This is why in the lectures we will use a repertoire of images related to each topic addressed to put students in front of the methodological problems that must be used in the analysis of works of art.
Seminars on individual problems will also be organized with the reading and discussion of articles or essays to provide the tools of a coherent study methodology. Furthermore the course is proposed in blended mode through the Elly distance learning platform.
Assessment methods and criteria
During the seminar hours, moments of verification will be organized in order to evaluate the ability to understand and apply the acquired knowledge. At the end of the course the student must be able to orient himself and know how to read the work in its specific, technical and linguistic, identifying its characteristics and historical context.
During the final oral exam (five/six questions), the student will also have to demonstrate that he / she will be able to autonomously use the method of analysis applied to the main and emblematic cases analyzed in class and to adequately know how to report, using an appropriate language.
The assessment will be considered insufficient by the lack of minimum knowledge of the course topics. The program is structured in a manual and a monographic part: the examination is not enough, preparing only a part of the indicated program.
A sufficient evaluation (range: 18/30 - 23/30) is determined by a minimum level of correct answers; the score (range: 24/30 - 27/30) is determined by the ability to express in an argued way the acquired knowledge; the highest scores (range: 28/30 - 30/30) correspond to an excellent level of the above mentioned evaluation indicators.
Other informations
For more information, please contact the teacher at arturo.calzona@unipr.it, or, even better, during the hours of receipt indicated on the site of the Department.
