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B5131 - ARTE NEL MEDIOEVO (1) (LM)

Academic Year 2026/2027

                
                        Docente:
                        Laura Pasquini
                    
                        Credits:
                        6
                    
                        SSD:
                        ARTE-01/A
                    
                        Language:
                        Italian
                    
                        Teaching Mode:
                        In-person learning (entirely or partially)
                        
                            Campus:
                            Bologna
                        
                            Corso:
                            Second cycle degree programme (LM) in
                            History and Oriental Studies (cod. 6813)

                                    Course Timetable
                                
from Feb 01, 2027 to Mar 10, 2027

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be familiar with the methodologies of investigation and interdisciplinary content, such as the periodisation of medieval art, historical and art historical geography, the relationship between centre and periphery, materials and their use, the relationship with antiquity, the medieval artist's workshop, and the reading of works of art. They will have a critical awareness of medieval art history and will have direct knowledge of original works of arts, with the ability to analyse and classify artistic artefacts. They will be able to recognise the relevance of art historical heritage and can communicate in oral form using specific terminology. They will be able to describe and illustrate cultural encounters through specific cases and understand multicultural contexts by appreciating the products of material and artistic culture. They will be able to recognise the relationships between different disciplines and to identify the specific contribution of the historical sciences in different contexts. They will be able to work consciously to produce quality content that can be used through the various channels of dissemination and diffusion of science and culture and to evaluate the implications inherent in the various means of communication, dissemination and didactics.

Course contents

The course explores some of the fundamental aspects of medieval society through the analysis of visual evidence produced between Late Antiquity and the Late Middle Ages.

Starting from the crisis of Roman visual language and the emergence of new forms of artistic expression, the course examines the relationship between art and society, using images as privileged tools for investigating material culture, social behaviour, perceptions of nature, the construction of urban spaces, the role of the artist, and the representation of otherness.

Particular attention will be devoted to the body and gestures, the representation of landscape and animals, food practices, games and aristocratic pastimes, the culture of medieval cities, and the various forms of the marvellous that characterize the medieval imagination.

Through the analysis of works belonging to different artistic techniques and production contexts, the course aims to demonstrate how images constitute a privileged source for understanding medieval society and its systems of values.

Readings/Bibliography

ATTENDING STUDENTS

Lecture notes.
J. C. Schmitt, Gesti, in Enciclopedia dell'Arte Medievale (1995), available online at:

https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/gesti_(Enciclopedia-dell%27-Arte-Medievale)/

One of the following texts:

C. Frugoni, La voce delle immagini. Pillole iconografiche dal Medioevo, Torino, Einaudi, 2010.

A. Barbero, C. Frugoni, Medioevo. Storia di voci, racconto di immagini, Roma-Bari, Laterza, 1999.

J. von Schlosser, L'arte del Medioevo, Torino, Einaudi.

P. De Vecchi, G. Alfredo Vergani (eds.), La natura e il paesaggio nella pittura italiana, Cinisello Balsamo, A. Pizzi, 2002.

L'alimentazione nell'alto Medioevo: pratiche, simboli, ideologie, Spoleto, Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 2016, especially pp. 687–731 and 849–903.

D. Boccassini, Il volo della mente: falconeria e sofia nel mondo mediterraneo: Islam, Federico II, Dante, Ravenna, Longo, 2003.

C. Frugoni, Uomini e animali nel Medioevo. Storie fantastiche e feroci, Bologna, Il Mulino, 2018.

E. Castelnuovo, Artifex bonus. Il mondo dell'artista medievale, Bari, Laterza, 2004, pp. V–XXXV.

E. Castelnuovo, Arte delle città, arte delle corti, Torino, Einaudi, 2009.

M. Collareta, Le radici dell'arte medievale, Torino, Einaudi, 2024.

G. Duby, C. Frugoni, Mille e non più mille. Viaggio tra le paure di fine millennio, Milano, Rizzoli, 1999.

NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS

J. C. Schmitt, Gesti, in Enciclopedia dell'Arte Medievale (1995), available online

Two texts chosen from the following list: