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 is structured into an institutional component and a series of in-depth thematic lectures. The institutional part will examine the diachronic development of Byzantine art, from the Late Antique context of the foundation of Constantinople (330 AD) to the city's conquest by the Ottoman Turks (1453). Artistic production—in various forms, going beyond the now inadequate distinctions between sculpture, painting, and the so-called minor arts—will be analyzed as a reflection of the historical evolution of thought and taste throughout the long history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The course will consider not only works produced in Constantinople, but also those created in other regions where art of a distinctly Eastern Roman character took root and flourished.Beginning with a reflection on the status of the artwork and the image in Byzantium, monuments and artistic expressions will be approached as historical sources, as vehicles of meaning, and as cultural indicators—while recognizing their own distinct codes of communication and expression.

The monographic section of the course will focus on architecture and decorative programs in monumental civil and ecclesiastical buildings, with particular attention to the period from the 4th to the 10th century. Through selected case studies, the development of architectural forms and ornament from Late Antiquity to Byzantium will be explored, highlighting how artistic practices and ideological or theological conceptions were visually articulated in the monumental architecture of the Byzantine world.

Readings/Bibliography

Reading list - for every student: 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).

Seminar lectures - Readings: 

• M.C. Carile, Monumentality and the Byzantine City, in The Routledge Handbook of the Byzantine City, ed. by L. Zavagno, N. Bakirtzis, Routldge, London - New York, 2024, pp. 290-310;
• M.C. Carile, The Vision of the Palace of the Byzantine Emperors as a Heavenly Jerusalem, CISAM, Spoleto, 2012;
• I. Jevtić, N.D. Kontogiannis, N. Stanković, Religious Buildings Made in Byzantium, Palgrave MacMillan, 2024.
• B. Brenk, The Apse, the Image and the Icon. An Historical Perspective of the Apse as a Space for Images, Wiesbaden 2010;
  
• 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 final examination will verify the fulfillment of the following learning objectives:

• knowledge of the topics and of the critical methodology discussed in class or studied in the literature;
• ability to use critical tools when examining a given image;
• ability to understand one's own critical opinion in relation to the historiographical debate. This ability is based on the assumption that our critical opinion is inevitably conditioned by our cultural views.

The exam will be exclusively in the form of an oral examination, which is evaluated in %30. It will be based on the images discussed in the books provided in the reading list or in class. Students should identify the works of art, demonstrate an understanding of their chronological, geographical and historical context, discuss their relationship with other works of art. For this reason, students are expected to bring their own books on the day of the exam.

Following the Alma Mater's guidelines, notably:

• the demonstration of an organic vision of the themes addressed in class or in books indicated in the reading list as well as of the critical use, command of oral expression and specific vocabulary, will be assessed with marks of excellence (28-30).
• mechanical and/or mnemonic knowledge of the subject, scarce ability of synthesis and analysis and/or the use of a correct but not always appropriate vocabulary will lead to discrete assessments (23-27).
• training gaps and/or inappropriate vocabulary - even in conjunction with a minimal knowledge of the subject - will lead to marks that will not exceed the minimum grade (18-22).
• training gaps, inappropriate vocabulary, lack of command of the bibliography discussed within the course will lead to negative evaluations.

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. 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 with a form of different ability or specific learning disabilities (DSA) who are requesting academic adjustments or compensatory tools are invited to contact the teaching staff in order to coordinate on appropriate measures with the competent bodies.

Office hours

See the website of Maria Cristina Carile