HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL ART

The "History of Medieval Art" course is included among the characterizing activities of the Master's Degree Course "Economics and Management of the Arts and Cultural Activities" (curriculum in italien: "Economia e gestione delle arti e della cultura"; teaching module: EM3E16 "Archeology and History of Medieval Art").
The course of this year is dedicated to the high-level artistic production in the Middle Ages, in order to achieve a double goal: to become aware of the preciousness (material and symbolic) of some of the most refined medieval works, and to plan some projects for the promotion and the dissemination of this rich artistic heritage.

- Knowledge and understanding: assimilation of the notions, reflections and concepts transmitted during the lessons;
- Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: to be able to bring back the works of art and the artistic phenomena treated in class in the socio-cultural and spatial-temporal areas of belonging;
- Ability to judge: to be able to grasp the most significant aspects of each work of art, whether they belong to the formal, iconographic, iconological, symbolic, socio-cultural, aesthetic fields;
- Communication skills: knowing how to describe works of art and artistic phenomena treated in class using the specific terminology of the discipline; be able to express clearly, and grammatically correct, notions, reflections and concepts acquired during the lessons;
- Learning skills: at the end of the course the student must be able to provide a reading at the same time analytical and critical of the works of art and artistic phenomena treated, integrating the knowledge acquired during the lessons to read the texts indicated.

No prerequisite is required.

The course focuses on the high-level artistic production in the Middle Ages and, more particularly, on the preciousness of the medieval works, linked to their spiritual essence, to their propagandistic message, to their technical-executive ability and to the quality of their materials. The theme will be treated following two investigation approaches, one theoretical-conceptual, addressed to the historical-artistic presentation of the phenomena through a series of emblematic testimonies, the other experimental and methodological, aimed at identifying some possible projects of promotion and dissemination.
During the first part of the course, the relationship between the work of art and the universe of the sacred will be analyzed, both in the religious (sanctuaries, liturgical furnishings, reliquaries) and secular (thrones and royal signs) areas. Works in which the artist's expertise seems to rival the aesthetic-symbolic characters of the material components (mosaics, goldsmiths, ivory, marble, etc.) will then be examined.The issue of dialogue with classical antiquity will also be addressed, explained by the practice of reuse and the imitation of classic models, conferring a surplus of value and richness.
In the remaining lessons, which will have a practical-operational approach, some possible actions of dissemination of knowledge will be discussed, in order to give value the excellence of the medieval artistic heritage (case studies, exhibitions, cultural mediation projects). The speeches will be directed towards two perspectives of investigation: 1) "The two times of the work of art", the first coinciding with the entire creative process (from the projet to the destination, from finding materials to the executive phases), the second corresponding to the long historical background (changes in context and use, losses or additions, conservation interventions); 2) "The lost works of art", which can be graphically reconstructed or otherwise displayed, if documented by fragments, ancient drawings or documentary sources.

MANDATORY READINGS FOR EXAM:

1) Artistic production, techniques, materials

- CLAUSSEN Peter Cornelius, CURATOLA Giovanni, CUTLER Antony, s. v. 'Artista', in “Enciclopedia dell'arte medievale”, Rome, Treccani, II, 1991, pp. 546-554*.
- COLLARETA Marco, 'Oreficeria e tecniche orafe', in “Arti e Storia nel Medioevo”, vol. 2 (“Del costruire: tecniche, artisti, artigiani, committenti”), E. Castelnuovo and G. Sergi ed., Turin,
Einaudi, 2003, pp. 549-559**.
- MONCIATTI Alessio, SEGRE MONTEL Costanza, 'Mosaico', in “Arti e Storia nel Medioevo”, vol. 2, op. cit., pp. 522-549**.
- PACE Valentino, POLLIO Giorgia, 'Bronzo e arti della fusione', in “Arti e Storia nel Medioevo”, vol. 2, op. cit., pp. 467-479**.
- POMIAN Krzysztof, s. v. 'Collezionismo', in “Enciclopedia dell'arte medievale”, op. cit., V, 1994, pp. 156-160*.
- TOMASI Michele, 'Avori', in “Arti e Storia nel Medioevo”, vol. 2, op. cit., pp. 453-467**.

2) Other topics covered during the course ("Patronage of art", "The Survival of Antiquity", "The surviving and lost artistic heritage")

AN article OF YOUR CHOICE between:

- BRENK Beat, 'Committenza e retorica', in “Arti e storia nel Medioevo”, vol. 2, op. cit., pp. 3-42.
- GANDOLFO Francesco, 'Cosa è giunto fino a noi. Distruzioni e perdite', in “Arti e storia nel Medioevo”, vol. 4 (“Il Medioevo al passato e al presente”), E. Castelnuovo and G. Sergi ed.,
Torino, Einaudi, 2004, pp. 33-76.
- FRANZONI Claudio, 'Presente del passato: le forme classiche nel Medioevo', in “Arti e Storia nel Medioevo”, vol. 2, op. cit., pp. 329-359.

* The entries of the Treccani Encyclopedia of Medieval Art are available online.
** Articles also available in "Medieval Arts and Techniques", F. Crivello ed., Turin, Einaudi, 2006.

3) Further reading

TWO articles OF YOUR CHOICE between:

- BERTELLI Carlo, 'Le arti suntuarie: prestigio sociale e tesaurizzazione', in “Storia di Ravenna” (vol. 2,2: “Ecclesiologia, cultura e arte”), D. Bolognesi ed., Venice, Marsilio, 1992, pp.
177-188.
- GAGETTI Elisabetta, 'Stoffe di pregio di tradizione orientale come modelli per la produzione suntuaria carolingia: il caso dei cammei vitrei monocromi della "Croce di Desiderio" a Brescia',
in “Arti minori e arti maggiori. Relazioni e interazioni tra Tarda Antichità e Alto Medioevo”, F. Bisconti, M. Braconi and M. Sgarlata ed., Todi, Tau, 2019, pp. 85-118.
- KALAVREZOU Ioli, 'Light and the precious object, or value in the eyes of the Byzantines', in “The construction of value in the ancient world”,J. K. Papadopoulos and G. Urton ed., Los
Angeles, Cotsten Inst. of Arch. Press, 2012, pp. 354-369.
- LIPINSKY Angelo, 'Oreficeria, argenteria e gioielleria nel tardo impero e nell’Alto Medio Evo: la Diversarum Artium Schedula di Theophilus presbyter et monachus', in “Corso di Cultura
sull’Arte Ravennate e Bizantina”, 11, 1964, pp. 255-332.
- MUTHESIUS Anna, 'Silk, culture and being in Byzantium: how far did precious cloth enrich "memory" and shape "culture" across the Empire (4th-15th centuries)?', in “Deltion tēs
Christianikēs Archaiologikēs Hetaireias”, 4, 36, 2015, pp. 345-362.
- PIAZZA Simone, 'L’Albero di Iesse nel XII secolo fra Occidente e Oriente: note sul perduto mosaico della basilica della Natività a Betlemme', in “Hortus artium medievalium”, 20, 2, 2014,
pp. 763-771.
- TOMASI Michele, 'Produzione e commercio nelle arti suntuarie a Venezia, 1250-1400', in "Fatto in Italia: dal Medioevo al Made in Italy", A. Guerrini ed., Cinisello Balsamo (MI), Silvana
editoriale, 2016, pp. 41-53.

The oral exam (in-seat or online, if required for health needs) will focus on the contents of the lessons and compulsory texts (see above, "Reference texts").

Frontal lessons with PowerPoint projection containing documentary and illustrative material, specially prepared by the teacher.
Use of the Moodle multimedia platform, for the provision of documentary and illustrative materials in pdf format.

Based on the current University regulations, which take into account the limitations imposed by the Covid-19 emergency, the course will be provided:
A) in dual mode (if the number of enrolled / attending students does not exceed 25 units);
B) only in remote mode (online) (in the event that the number of enrolled / attending students exceeds 25 units).

Italian

Course attendance is strongly recommended.

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