30463 - Forms and Functions of Medieval Art (LM)

Learning outcomes

The class, based on lectures and guided tours, is intended to investigate issues relating to painting, sculpture and decorative arts in Italy and Europe during the Middle Ages (5th-15th centuries). The religious, political and cultural demands that shaped the visual arts will be taken in account in order to help read the several components of the artistic phenomenon.

Course contents

"From Greek to Latin": the propagation of giottesque language in the Po Valley

By showing a wide range of examples, the course will examine the different phases of the renewal of pictorial language in the Po Valley caused by Giotto's activity in Assisi, Rimini, Padua, Florence and later, in the 1330s, in Bologna and Milan. After looking at the main artistic centres of the region in the thirteenth century (Parma, Bologna, Ferrara), we will examine the results of the diffusion of Giotto's novelties in Rimini, Bologna and Lombardy.

Readings/Bibliography

For 12 CFU

A) You must review the history of Art from 1200 to 1450. The studing is advised in scholar manual references.

B) Specific bibliography about the monographic part. Two texts chosen from the following:

- Luciano Bellosi, La pecora di Giotto, Einaudi, Torino, 1985;

- Carlo Volpe, Il lungo percorso del dipingere dolcissimo e tanto unito, in Storia dell'arte italiana, V, Einaudi, Torino, 1983, pp. 229-304;

- DanieleBenati, Pittura del Trecento in Emilia Romagna, in La pittura in Italia. Il Duecento e il Trecento, a cura di Enrico Castelnuovo, Electa, Milano, 1986, pp. 197-203;

- Giotto e le arti a Bologna al tempo di Bertrando del Poggetto , a cura di Massimo Medica, catalogo della mostra (Bologna), Silvana Ed., 2005;

- Carla Travi, Sant'Abbondio a Como. Le pitture murali, Skira, Milano, 2011;

- Sandrina Bandera Bistoletti (a cura di), Un poema cistercense. Affreschi giotteschi a Chiaravalle Milanese, Electa, Milano, 2010.

N.B.: Other readings that answer specific interests of the candidate will be negotiated directly with the teacher.

For 6 CFU

A) You must review the history of Art from 1200 to 1450. The studying is advised in scholar manual references.

B) Specific bibliography about the monographic part:

- Luciano Bellosi, La pecora di Giotto, Einaudi, 1985.

Teaching methods

The teacher assigns great importance not only to ordinary lectures, but also to the workshop of connoisseurship.

Attending lectures is highly recommended. Who cannot attend classes could consult the readings in the bibliography.

The students should run through the history of medieval art from the 13th to the 15th century. The teacher recommends that who has never done a class of History of medieval art will study a manual of Art History from the Late Antique to the end of the Quattrocento.

Assessment methods

Students will be assessed in two ways:

- by means of a written text concerning the general context which will have the objective of testing the student's knowledge of the socio-artistic fabric with reference to the XIII, XIV and XV centuries (preparation will be provided by the course lectures supplemented by coursebook study). This exam will involve the projection of ten images of works of art. Each image will be screened for 5 minutes during which time the candidate must fill in a profile indicating the work's historical context and, if possible, the name of the artist. The candidate may repeat the test but a poor result will not prevent admission to the oral test, although it will count towards the final result.

- by means of an oral examination in which the candidate is required to engage in critical analysis based on the course reading.

Evaluation

The written test will be marked as follows:

- Correct image recognition (artist, subject, date, place of storage, short critical reading of its iconographic aspects, historical context and stylistic characteristics): on a scale of 1 to 3 points;

- Incorrect identification or failure to identify the image: zero points.

The pass mark is 18/30.

Evaluation of the oral examination will follow the usual principle of judging excellence to mean evidence of a solid artistic and historical grounding and of a mature critical awareness. The written test counts for a third of the final mark (10/30).

The written exam can be sat whenever there is an oral exam session.

The assessment procedure is the same for students who attend or do not attend lectures.

Teaching tools

Lectures with digital slides.

Tours guided by the teacher, which will be considered very important for the trainiing of the students.

Office hours

See the website of Daniele Benati