HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL ART

This is one of the interdisciplinary courses (C) that are part of the master’s degree programme in Economics and Administration of Arts and Culture. It offers an introduction to the Italian paintings between the 13th and the 14th centuries. By means of movements and artists, it intends to investigate the works of art in their contexts and in a transversal way. It focuses on works that are considered to be paradigmatic of an epoch.

The course allows students to acquire the fundamental knowledge in history of Medieval art and develop the necessary ՚skills to familiarize with artistic production of the period. Students are expected to be able to analyze some of the main works of Art and gain a basic understanding of the methods and aims of art historical study.

No specific skills are required

Types, techniques, function, iconography, style and patronage in the Italian Painting from the Middle Age (XIII-XIV centuries).
The painted Crucifix and the early panels.
Siena and its visual World.
Giotto and the Florentine school.

Fred S. Kleiner (ed. by), Gardner’s Art through the Ages. A Global History, vol. I, Sixteenth Edition, 2018, or G. Cricco, F. P. Di Teodoro, Itinerario nell’Arte Ed. Gialla, vol. 2, Zanichelli, Bologna, 2016, pp. 741-863.
D. Cooper, The making of Assisi: the Pope, the Franciscan and the Painting of the Basilica, New Haven, Yale University, 2013, pp. 55-182.
S. Romano, Giotto’s O, Viella History, Art and Humanities Collection, 1, 2015, pp. 129-251 and illustrations.
C. Cennini, The Book of the Art, chapters 26-156.
A. de Miranda, R. Marrone, I materiali per l’opera d’arte, Youcanprint, 2025, pp. 215-253.

An article of your choice among:
E. Skaug, “Contributions to Giotto’s Workshop”, Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz, 1971, 15. Bd., H. 2 (1971), pp. 141-160.
D. Cooper, “Projecting Presence: The monumental cross in the Italian church interior”, in R. Maniura and R. Shepherd (eds by), Presence: the inherence of the prototype within images and other objects, Ashgate: Aldershot, 2006, pp. 47-69.
N. Muller, “In a New Light: The Origins of Reflective Halo Tooling in Siena”, Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, 2012, 75. Bd., H. 2 (2012), pp. 153-178.
M. R. Fisher, “Assisi, Padua, and the Boy in the Tree”, The Art Bulletin, (Mar. 1956), Vol. 38, No. 1, pp. 47-52.

The preparation is checked by means of an oral exam on the content of the course integrated by the referral texts.

oral

The instructor is responsible for ensuring the authenticity and originality of all examinations and coursework. In cases of suspected academic misconduct, an additional on-site assessment may be required during the exams, which may differ from the standard format.

The minimum passing grade is 18/30 and the maximum grade 30/30 cum laude'.
18-22 = sufficient knowledge of the course topics; sufficient communication skills
23-26 = good knowledge of the course topics; fair communication skills
27-29 = very good knowledge of the course topics; fully appropriate communication skills
30/30 cum laude = excellent knowledge of the course topics, excellent coherence of the argumentation.

Teaching is provided through lectures supported by slide show presentations.