00950 - History of Byzantine Art

Learning outcomes

This course addresses students to Byzantine Art (4th-15th century). At the end of this course students should possess the appropriate tools to read a work art from a stylistic and iconographic perspective, with particular attention to the historical context.

Course contents

The course will be structured into a foundational core section and a series of in-depth thematic lectures.

The foundational section will examine the diachronic evolution of Byzantine art, spanning from the Late Antique context of the founding of Constantinople (330) to the fall of the city to the Ottoman Turks (1453). The course will explore how artistic expressions across various media—moving beyond the now obsolete distinction between sculpture, painting, and the so-called minor arts—reflect the historical evolution of thought and taste throughout the long history of the Eastern Roman Empire. This analysis will cover not only Constantinople but also regions outside the capital, including areas where art of a strictly Eastern Roman matrix landed and developed. Beginning with a reflection on the status of the artwork and the image in Byzantium, monuments and artistic expressions will be treated as historical sources, vehicles of meaning, and cultural indicators, each operating within its own specific codes of communication and expression.

The thematic section will then focus on the question of ecclesiastical decoration, with particular reference to imagery within the apse. Through the analysis of church architecture and decoration as they developed between Late Antiquity and Byzantium, selected case studies will serve to illustrate the evolution of both art and theological concepts. These ideas found their visual expression in the area considered the most sacred within monumental Byzantine architecture.

Readings/Bibliography

Reading list - for all students: All students shall study one of the following books:

• N. Asutay Effenberger, A. Effenberger, Bisanzio. L'impero dell'arte, Torino, Einaudi 2019
• E. C. Schwartz (ed.),The Oxford Handbook of Byzantine Art and Architecture, Oxford, Oxford University Press 2021, Parte 1 e 3
• E. Freeman, A. MacLanan (ed. by), Guide to Byzantine Art, Open Textbook Library, 2021 (disponibile in OA [https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/1069] ).

Seminar lectures - Readings:

• M. Andaloro and S. Romano, L’immagine nell’abside, in M. Andaloro and S. Romano (a cura di), Arte e iconografia a Roma: dal tardoantico alla fine del Medioevo, Milano 2002, pp. 93–132;
• F. Bisconti, L’abside piena, l’abside vuota: arredi e decorazioni al tempo dei Costantinidi, in G. Bordi (a cura di), L’officina dello sguardo: scritti in onore di Maria Andaloro, vol. 1, Roma 2014, pp. 229–36;
• B. Brenk, The Apse, the Image and the Icon. An Historical Perspective of the Apse as a Space for Images, Wiesbaden 2010;
• I. Jevtić, N.D. Kontogiannis, N. Stanković (eds.),Religious Buildings Made in Byzantium. Old Monuments, New Interpretations, Palgrave MacMillan, 2024.
• P. Liverani, L’abside lateranense nei primi secoli, in C. Dell’Osso and P. Pergola (a cura di), "Titulum nostrum perlege": miscellanea in onore di Danilo Mazzoleni, Studi di Antichità Cristiana 68, Città del Vaticano 2021, pp. 625–641;
  
• E. Thunø, Inscription and Divine Presence: Golden Letters in the Early Medieval Apse Mosaic, Word & Image, 27.3 (2011) pp. 279–291;
• E. Thunø, The Apse Mosaic in Early Medieval Rome: Time, Network, and Repetition, Cambridge 2015;
• J.-M. Spieser, Images du Christ: des catacombes aux lendemains de l’iconoclasme, Genève 2015.

Further readings (those about the seminar lectures) will be provided during the course.

Additional readings (compulsory for students who have not attended classes):

• E. Kitzinger, Byzantine art in the making: main lines of stylistic development in Mediterranean art, 3rd-7th century, Cambridge, Mass : Harvard University Press, 1995.
  
• L. Brubaker, Inventing Byzantine Iconoclasm, Liverpool, Bristol classical press, 2012.
• B. V. Pentcheva, Icons and Power: the Mother of God in Byzantium, University Park, The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006.

Teaching methods

Generally, lectures will take place in class with the aid of visual materials. Occasionally lectures may take place in situ, with a direct discussion of certain works of art and in collaboration with other colleagues.

Assessment methods

The examination aims to verify the achievement of the following learning objectives:

• In-depth knowledge of the topics and critical tools illustrated during the lectures or acquired from the syllabus texts;

• The ability to employ these tools to analyze and discuss the images presented to the candidate by the examiner;

• An understanding of one's own position in relation to the historiography under review, recognizing one's own cultural background as an inevitable conditioning factor.

The examination consists of an oral test and uses a 30-point grading scale. The examiner will present images taken from the syllabus texts or from class lectures. Candidates are expected to identify them, place them within their chronological, geographical, and historical context, and discuss their relationships with other works. For this reason, it is mandatory to bring the physical copies of the texts to the exam.

In accordance with the University guidelines, please note that:

• Excellent (28–30): Demonstration of an organic vision of the themes addressed in class or in the exam texts, combined with their critical application, as well as command of expression and specific terminology.

• Good/Fair (23–27): A mostly mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the subject matter, limited synthesis and analysis skills, and/or correct but not always appropriate language.

• Pass (18–22): Gaps in knowledge and/or inappropriate language, even if within a context of minimal knowledge of the exam material.

• Fail (<18): Significant gaps in knowledge, inappropriate language, and a lack of orientation within the bibliographical materials provided during the course will result in a negative evaluation.

The use of AI is permitted only if explicitly declared and limited to a supporting role; it cannot replace the student's original contribution.

• Permitted uses: Summarizing, paraphrasing, brainstorming, linguistic clarification, and syntactic suggestions.

• Prohibited uses: Generating original analyses, interpretations, or extended portions of the assessment materials.

The correct and declared use of AI does not, in itself, constitute a merit factor for a higher grade, but is evaluated in relation to the quality of the student's personal contribution.

Teaching tools

Exam materials and further readings can be found online on UNIBO https://virtuale.unibo.it.

Reading lists and publications are available on Virtuale [https://virtuale.unibo.it/] . They can serve as preparatory materials for the course and can be useful to fill any gaps for those who have never had an approach to the Byzantine Art.

Students who are affected by learning disability (DSA) and in need of special tools to compensate it, are kindly requested to contact the Teacher, in order to be referred to the colleagues in charge and get proper advice and instructions.

Office hours

See the website of Maria Cristina Carile