96400 - Phenomenology of Medieval and Early Modern Art. Fundamentals (1) (M-Z)

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course the student: is aware of how much medieval and early-modern art is crucial to fully understand our present; is exposed to major trends of Medieval and Renaissance art practices; understands the relation between artistic styles and contemporary ideologies and technical skills within the cultural, political and social context.

Course contents

The examination of 'Phenomenology of Medieval and Modern Art' consists of the following two courses: 'Phenomenology of Medieval and Modern Art. Institutions" (prof. Andrea Bacchi) and "Phenomenology of Medieval and Modern Art. Laboratory" (Prof. Donatella Biagi Maino). "Phenomenology of Medieval and Modern Art" is an integrated examination of 12 CFU (6 CFU+6 CFU) for which the examination and assessment of preparation follow the procedures envisaged for an integrated examination, i.e. they must be taken in the same examination session and students must therefore enrol simultaneously for both examinations.


The Phenomenology of Medieval and Modern Art course aims to examine, through classroom lectures and a series of visits to various monuments, some of the most significant examples of sculpture in Bologna from the 13th to the 18th century. The course will provide the basic tools for understanding the language of sculpture through stylistic interpretation, in a continuous comparison with painting, iconography, and the reconstruction of different historical and cultural contexts.


Below are some of the sites, monuments and sculptors that will be examined


Nicola Pisano and the Ark of San Domenico


The marble altarpiece by Jacobello and Pierpaolo delle Masegne in San Francesco


Jacopo della Quercia in San Petronio


Niccolò dell'Arca: the Lamentation of Santa Maria della Vita


Michelangelo in Bologna


Giambologna in Bologna


Alessandro Algardi: the Beheading of Saint Paul


Giuseppe Maria Mazza: the Manzoli Chapel in San Giacomo


The Anatomical Waxes of Anna Morandi Manzolini

Readings/Bibliography

As no textbook treatment of the history of sculpture in Bologna is available, the lecturer will make available online a series of specific contributions on the individual topics addressed in the course.


Below is a selection of texts that will be supplemented by other information provided during the course of the lectures


On Jacobello and Pierpaolo delle Masegne


Renato Roli, I Dalle Masegne, Milan 1966


On Jacopo della Quercia


Luciano Bellosi, La "Porta Magna" di Jacopo della Quercia nella  Basilica di San Petronio in Bologna, I, Bologna 1983, pp. 163-212


On Niccolò dell'Arca
Paolo Parmiggiani, Niccolò dell'Arca, in Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, 78, Rome, 2013 (see website Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani)


On Michelangelo in Bologna


1492-1495 Bologna l'arca di San Domenico; 1506-1508 A Bologna per Giulio II, in Michelangelo una vita, edited by Patrizio Aiello, Milan 2014, pp. 14-28, 99-112


On Giambologna in Bologna
Richard J. Tuttle, Piazza Maggiore. Studi su Bologna nel Cinquecento, Venice 2001, pp. 141-191


Irving Lavin, "Bologna è un grande incrocio di eresie": il Nettuno di Giambologna al crocevia, in Il luogo ed il ruolo della città di Bologna tra Europa continentale e mediterranea. Proceedings of the c.i.h.a. colloquium (Bologna 1990), edited by G. Perini, Bologna 1992, pp. 7-30; reissued in I. Lavin, Passato e presente nella storia dell'arte, Turin 1994, pp. 93-12


On Alessandro Algardi and the Beheading of St. Paul


Jennifer Montagu, Alessandro Algardi, New Haven, London, 1985, pp. 51-58, 369-372


On Giuseppe Maria Mazza


Francesca Sinagra, Mazza, Giuseppe Maria, in Dizionario biografico degli italiani,72, Rome 2009 (see Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani website)

Non-attending students are instead required to study an introductory text on the history of sculpture


John Pope-Hennessy, La scultura italiana. Il Cinquecento e il Barocco, 2 tomes, Feltrinelli, Milan 1966 (first tome, pp. 1-108, second tome, pp. 302-435)

Teaching methods

Lectures with the aid of projected images.


Visits to various Bolognese monuments

Assessment methods

The assessment of learning will consist of an oral test in which the candidate's ability to analyse works and contexts will be verified.


The achievement of an organic vision of the themes addressed, the possession of a mastery of expression and specific language, the originality of reflection as well as familiarity with the tools of analysis of medieval and modern art will be assessed with marks of excellence. A largely mechanical or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, an unarticulated ability to synthesise and analyse or language that is correct but not always appropriate, as well as a scholastic grasp of the history of the themes addressed in the programme will lead to fair marks. Formative deficiencies or inappropriate language, as well as a lack of knowledge of the tools for analysing works of art will lead to marks that are on the threshold of sufficiency. Formative deficiencies, inappropriate language, lack of orientation within the bibliography as well as an inability to analyse the themes of the course will only result in negative marks.


The method of examination described is the same for attending and non-attending students.

Teaching tools

Lectures with the aid of image projection

Office hours

See the website of Andrea Bacchi