1/148 - HISTORY OF MEDIAEVAL ART

courses
ID:
1/148
Duration (hours):
54
CFU:
9
SSD:
History of Mediaeval Art
Located in:
UNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI DI NAPOLI "L'ORIENTALE"
Url:
ANCIENT CULTURES AND ARCHAEOLOGY: ASIA, AFRICA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN/Percorso comune Year: 3
ANCIENT CULTURES AND ARCHAEOLOGY: ASIA, AFRICA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN/Percorso comune Year: 2
Comparative Languages and Cultures/Percorso comune Year: 1
Year:
2025

Overview

Date/time interval

Primo Semestre (29/09/2025 - 16/01/2026)

Syllabus

Course Objectives

Knowledge and Understanding (Dublin Descriptor 1):

Understand the diachronic and synchronic development of medieval art across different geo-cultural contexts (Latin West, Byzantium, the Near East).

Acquire awareness of key issues related to periodization, the function of images, and the history of patronage.

Recognize and use the essential bibliographic tools in the field.

Applying Knowledge and Understanding (Dublin Descriptor 2):

Contextualize well-known and lesser-known medieval artworks from chronological, functional, technical, and symbolic perspectives.

Apply methods of stylistic, iconographic, and iconological analysis.

Develop comparisons with contemporary works or those from different contexts, identifying continuities and transformations.


Additional learning goals:

Making Judgements (Dublin Descriptor 3):

Critically interpret visual sources and historiographical theses.

Formulate evaluations grounded in methodological approaches, including comparative perspectives.

Communication Skills (Dublin Descriptor 4):

Express theoretical and methodological content using appropriate disciplinary language.

Effectively communicate the results of critical analysis in both scholarly and public contexts.

Learning Skills (Dublin Descriptor 5)

Develop autonomy in research and critical inquiry, including for the preparation of a thesis or for the continuation of studies (e.g., Master’s degree, postgraduate programmes, or competitive examinations).



Course Prerequisites

General knowledge of medieval history and visual culture; basic competence in art-related terminology.


Teaching Methods

Lectures with presentation of images and sources.

Iconographic and stylistic analysis exercises.

On-site teaching sessions.


Assessment Methods

The examination is conducted orally and includes:

Identification and analysis of images

Critical discussion of the course contents and assigned readings

The final grade is expressed on a scale of thirty; a minimum score of 18/30 is required to pass. Assessment is based on the following criteria:

  1. Knowledge and understanding of the course content
  2. Ability to communicate knowledge using the discipline’s specialized vocabulary
  3. Application of acquired knowledge and skills (particularly in the recognition and critical contextualization of artworks)
  4. Ability to formulate independent judgments based on evidence



Texts

Required readings:

  1. G. Cricco, F.P. Di Teodoro, Il Cricco Di Teodoro. Itinerario nell’arte, Bologna: Zanichelli, 2016⁴ (versione gialla), vol. 2: Dall’arte paleocristiana a Giotto, tutto; vol. 3: Dal Gotico Internazionale al Manierismo, 2017⁴, pp. 1–29.
  2. M.R. Marchionibus, All'ombra di Bisanzio. Icone di Bari dal XII al XIV secolo, Bari: quorumedizioni, 2023.


Recommended reading

M. Gianandrea, Politica delle immagini al tempo di papa Costantino (708–715): Roma versus Bisanzio?, in L’Officina dello sguardo. Scritti in onore di Maria Andaloro, a cura di G. Bordi, I. Carlettini, M.L. Fobelli, M.R. Menna, P. Pogliani, vol. I: I Luoghi dell’arte, Roma: Gangemi Editore, 2014, pp. 335–342.

M.R. Marchionibus, Nel solco della dinastia di Cristo: Roberto il Saggio e la costruzione del potere attraverso le immagini, in "Micrologus. Nature, Science and Medieval Societies", XXXI (2023), Atti del convegno Philosophy, Science and Arts at the Court of Robert of Anjou (Napoli, Università degli Studi di Napoli “L’Orientale”, 13–14 settembre), pp. 433–448 (figg. 1–18).

B.V. Pentcheva, The Performative Icon, in "The Art Bulletin", vol. 88, no. 4 (2006), pp. 631–655.


No distinction is made between attending and non-attending students. However, non-attending students are encouraged to contact the instructor to arrange any supplementary materials that may support their individual study.


Contents

  1. Rome: From Imperial Capital to Capital of the Christian World
  2. The Transition from Art as Mimesis to Art as Symbolic Communication
  3. Constantinian Architecture
  4. Monumental Painting: Surviving and Lost Mosaics from the 4th to the 5th Century
  5. The Popes of the 5th Century and the Emergence of Major Iconographic Programs: Between Didacticism and Propaganda
  6. The New Capitals of the Empire: Milan, Ravenna, Constantinople
  7. Naples between the 4th and 6th Centuries
  8. The Age of Justinian
  9. The Lombards
  10. The Carolingian Renaissance
  11. Icons and Iconoclasm
  12. The Macedonian Renaissance
  13. From the Holy Roman Empire to Ottonian Art
  14. Monasteries between East and West: The Greek Monastic Presence in Campania
  15. Romanesque Art in Europe
  16. Romanesque Art in Italy
  17. Byzantine Painting during the Comnenian Period
  18. Gothic Art in Europe
  19. Gothic Art in Italy
  20. Gothic Art in Naples
  21. Sculpture and the Gradual Conquest of an Independent Center of Gravity
  22. Painting and the Representation of Reality
  23. Painting in Byzantium
  24. On the Margins of Gothic

Course Language

Italian


More information

The images and materials presented during the lectures will be made available upon request. Students are kindly requested to contact the professor to arrange access.


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Main module

HISTORY OF MEDIAEVAL ART