HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHRISTIAN ART

The class is included among the similar or supplementary training activities of the Master's Degree "History of Arts and Conservation of Artistic Heritage" (programme: "Medieval and Byzantine"). The course aims to deepen the knowledge of the various forms of expression of early Christian art (architecture, sculpture, mosaics, sumptuary art).

- 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 aims to deepen the knowledge of Early Christian art through the analysis of the material heritage of Late Ancient Rome, an heritage of essential significance for the study of the artistic production of the Early Christian age. The study of the still existing material evidence will be constantly flanked by the analysis of the sources that transmit the memory of important lost works.
The lectures will retrace, in a diachronic sense, the artistic seasons that occurred in Rome between the 4th and 6th centuries. The last three lessons will be devoted to a broadening of the view to three other cities that preserve a very significant Early Christian artistic heritage: Aquileia, Milan and Ravenna.
The main focus will be on monumental evidence in the fields of architecture (ecclesiastical buildings with a central plan and basilica, baptisteries, mausoleums), sculpture (sarcophagi and liturgical furnishings) and decoration (floor and wall mosaics, paintings, opus sectile). The technical-execution methods, material components, iconographic themes, formal aspects, patronage and function will be examined in order to provide students with the necessary tools to understand the language that innervated Christian art in its first phase of formation.

° Introduction to Early Christian art
An essay of your choice from
- Bisconti F., La pittura delle catacombe, 2006, pp. 206-214
- Bisconti F., I sarcofagi cristiani antichi, 2020, pp. 259-307
- Bisconti F., Pittura cristiana della Tarda Antichità, 2020, pp. 309-343

° The Lateran complex
- Brandenburg H., L’età di Costantino, 2004, pp. 16-54
An essay from
- Leardi G., Il volto di Cristo della perduta abside di San Giovanni in Laterano, 2006, pp. 358-361
- Bisconti F., L’abside piena, l’abside vuota, 2014, pp. 229-236
- Guidobaldi F., Architettura paleocristiana, 2014, pp. 361-443
- De Blaauw S., A classic question. The origins of the church basilica and liturgy, 2016, pp. 553-562

° S. Pietro in Vaticano
- Brandenburg H., San Pietro in Vaticano, 2004, pp. 92-103
- Moretti F.R., Liverani P., I mosaici perduti di San Pietro in Vaticano di età costantiniana, 2006, pp. 87-91

° The ambulatory basilicas and the mausoleum of S. Costanza
- Brandenburg H., Le basiliche a deambulatorio costantiniane di Roma, 2004, pp. 89-92
An essay from
- Piazza S., I mosaici esistenti e perduti di Santa Costanza, 2006, pp. 54-86
- Piazza S., La memoria dell’oculus romano nelle cupole di Santa Costanza, della Rotonda di San Giorgio e del Battistero degli Ortodossi, 2014, pp. 243-248

° S. Pudenziana
An essay from
- Angelelli C., Titulus Pudentis: nuove acquisizioni, 2012, pp. 63-76
- Andaloro M., Il mosaico absidale di Santa Pudenziana, 2006, pp. 114-124

° S. Sabina
An essay from
- Brandenburg H., Titulus Sabinae (S. Sabina), 2004, pp. 167-177
- Leardi G., I mosaici e la decorazione ad opus sectile di Santa Sabina, 2006, pp. 292-304

° S. Maria Maggiore
- Brandenburg H., Ecclesiae Sanctae Dei Genitricis (S. Maria Maggiore), 2004, pp. 178-189

° S. Paolo f.l.m., San Pietro in Vaticano and the chapels of the Lateran Baptistery
Two essays from
- Viscontini M., I cicli vetero e neo testamentari della navata di San Pietro in Vaticano, 2006, pp. 411-415
- Viscontini M., I mosaici e i dipinti murali esistenti e perduti di San Paolo fuori le mura, 2006, pp. 366-378
- Bordi G., Il mosaico dell’arco trionfale, 2006, pp. 395-402
- Bisconti F., Ferri G., I monumenti cristiani sulla via Ostiense dal III al VII secolo d.C., 2018, pp. 101-190
- Moretti F.R., Alfano Gaetano, I mosaici e la decorazione ad opus sectile dell’atrio del Battistero Lateranense, 2006, pp. 348-357
- Brandt O., The Lateran Baptistery in the fourth and fifth centuries: new certainties and unresolved questions, 2020, pp. 221-238
- Pennesi S., I mosaici delle cappelle del Battistero Lateranense, 2006, pp. 425-436

° S. Maria Antiqua
- Santa Maria Antiqua tra Roma e Bisanzio, exhibition catalogue (Roma 2016), essays pp. 11-69

° SS. Cosma e Damiano
- Brandenburg H., SS. Cosma e Damiano, 2004, pp. 222-231

° S. Lorenzo f.l.m.
- Brandenburg H., La basilica a deambulatorio di S. Lorenzo fuori le mura, 2004, pp. 87-89
- Mondini D., San Lorenzo fuori le mura. Storia del complesso monumentale nel Medioevo, 2016, pp. 9-19

° Icone
- Andaloro M., “Dal ritratto all’icona”, 2000, pp. 31-67

An essay from
° Aquileia
- Cuscito G., Aquileia, la svolta costantiniana e il polo episcopale, 2012, pp. 94-100
- Novello M., Salvadori M., Tiussi C., Villa L., Aquileia, l’ornato della basilica teodoriana, 2012, pp. 101-105
- Bisconti F., Arte aquileiese nel tempo della tarda antichità tra scoperte, ricerche ed acquisizioni, 2019, pp. 161-182
° Milano
- Lusuardi Siena S., Neri E., Greppi P., Le chiese di Ambrogio e Milano, 2015, pp. 31-86
- Neri E., Tessellata vitrea tardoantichi e altomedievali, 2016, entries pp. 201-204, 216-226, 253-257, 280-286, 296-305
°Ravenna
- Rizzardi C., Il mosaico a Ravenna, 2011, pp. 13-169, 177-269
- Cirelli E., Ravenna, the Last Capital of the Western Roman Empire, pp. 65-78

The oral exam will focus on the contents of the lessons and compulsory texts (see above, "Reference texts").

Classroom-taught 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.

Italian

Course attendance is strongly recommended.

oral