Studies in Art History

PIO FRANCESCO PISTILLI
PIO FRANCESCO PISTILLI

The main objective of the course is to provide a basic knowledge of Medieval Art History.

As regards specific objectives, students are expected to learn:

a) the ability to comprehend Medieval artworks in historic, stylistic, iconographic and technical terms;

b) the ability to describe them with the appropriate vocabulary of the discipline;

c) autonomy of critical judgement.

In order to pursue these targets, during the course students will be asked to take part actively in the analysis of artworks and monuments by employing the basic critical categories necessary to their correct framework. A parallel objective will be also the development of an adequate awareness about artistic heritage and its valorization. The themes and topics of the course, such as the competencies and abilities to learn, are part of the core curriculum of the Study Programme in Art History Sciences.

The main objective of the course is to provide the basic knowledge of the medieval art.

Among the specific objectives:
a) Knowledge and understanding the medieval art from a historical, stylistic, iconographic and technical point of view.
b) Communication skills with the specific vocabulary.
c) Making judgements and applying knowledge understanding. The participation of students in the analysis of works and monuments will be encouraged during the course, making use of the basic critical categories essential for their correct classification.

A parallel objective will also be to develop an adequate awareness of the problems relating to the historical-artistic heritage and its valorisation.
The themes and topics of teaching, as well as the skills and abilities that are intended to be acquired, are part of the contents characterizing the Degree Course in Scienze storico-artistiche.

None.

The course in Medieval Art aims to offer disciplinary knowledge from the early Christian age to the beginning of the fifteenth century.
The course includes visits to sites, monuments and museums in Rome and in Italy.

P. Skubiszewski, L'Arte europea dal VI al IX secolo, Torino 1995, capp. II (pp. 19-56), III (pp. 57-88), VII (pp. 151-154); VIII (pp. 155-198) e IX (pp. 199-263);
C. Tosco, L'architettura medievale in Italia - 600-1200, Bologna 2016;
A. Cadei, Il Gotico, in A.M. Romanini (a cura di), L'arte medievale in Italia, Firenze 1989 (I edition) or reprinted;

for Lanfranco, Wiligelmo, Nicolò, Benedetto Antelami, the related entries of the Enciclopedia dell'Arte Medievale, Roma (available online: www.treccani.it);

For the Gothic Art from Giotto to Pisanello:
P. De Vecchi . E. Cerchiari, L'Arte nel Tempo, Milano 1992 (I edition) or reprinted.

The PDF texts are avaible online: MOODLE SAPIENZA website.

The course consists of lectures and visits to museums and monuments.

Attendance is not mandatory, although it is highly recommended.

Oral exam.

The assessment will take into account the learning skills acquired in class, on site inspections and during the study phase, as well as the communication skills and making judgements.

The exam includes questions on both general topics and specific artists, monuments, or works of art, such as:

a) Early Medieval Art (6th-8th centuries);
b) An Artist's Career;
c) Protagonists of Romanesque and Gothic Sculpture (12th-14th centuries);
d) Monastic Context in Italy: Abbeys and Mural Paintings;
e) The Normans in Southern Italy;
f) Castel del Monte and the Hohenstaufen Age;
g) The Basilica of San Francesco in Assisi and the Mendicant Orders;
h) Secular Architecture;
i) Sacred Panel Painting and Frescoes in the Late Gothic Period.

• Introduction to Medieval Art


• The early Christian age


• From the 6th to the 8th century


• Early medieval art in Langobardia (8th century)


• The Carolingian era 


• The year 1000


• Romanesque: architecture, sculpture and painting


• The protagonists of the Romanesque art in Italy (11th-12th century)


• The advent of Gothic, San Francesco in Assisi and the mendicant orders


• The 13th century: cities, monuments and artistic products (painting and sculpture)


• The Jubilee of 1300


• Influences from French Gothic


• The cases of Florence, Siena, Orvieto, Naples and Bologna


• From the Late Gothic to Gentile da Fabriano


• Conclusions