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AHY-2222 – The Art of the Medieval World
Peter Bokody
Contact information: bokody.peter@gmail.com
Availability: Before class by appointment.
Course description
The class gives a general introduction to the key periods, media and contexts of the art of medieval world. The term medieval (medio aevo) stands here for the artistic production between the decline and the renaissance of Classical Art. In the first half of the semester we focus on the main narrative and the different media of medieval art. We discuss the differences between the "Late-Antique," "Romanesque" or "Gothic" periods of medieval art. With the help of medieval masterpieces we learn about how one can describe a building, a panel painting, an illuminated manuscript or a stained-glass window. In the second half of the semester we focus on how these stylistic tendencies and the various media appeared in specific contexts such as the Carolingian empire, the monastery, the cathedral or the court. The class concludes with the discussion of the realistic turn in Italian painting.
Required texts and materials
Required readings are listed below the classes, they will be available on the intranet.
Assignments & grading
Not having read the mandatory article for the class counts as an unexcused absence. The grade has three components: the mid-term exam (33%), the final exam (33%) and a research paper (33%). The subject of the research paper is a piece of medieval art of your choice from the National Gallery (Budapest). Besides discussing the historical context and the actual features of the work in writing, students are expected to have an oral presentation of the paper for the others in the museum around the end of the year.
Honor code
McDaniel College operates on a code of honor with respect to exams, papers, and any other materials submitted in fulfillment of course requirements. Any submission must adhere to both the spirit and the letter of the McDaniel College Honor System.
Course policies
Attendance will be taken for all classes. If you have more than four unexcused absences, your course grade will be lowered an entire letter grade. Excessive lateness is not tolerated.
Semester schedule/Topics covered
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1.
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Introduction
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2.
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Medieval Art and History
Mandatory reading: Herbert L Kessler, "On the State of Medieval Art History," The Art Bulletin 70 (1988): 166-187.
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3.
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Medieval Art and the Bible
Mandatory reading: Gospel of Luke and John.
Recommended reading: http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf204.xxv.iii.iii.xxv.html; Julio Trebolle Barrera, The Jewish Bible and the Christian Bible (Leiden – New York – Cologne: Brill, 1998), 259-365.
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I. Medieval Art and Its Objects
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4.
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The Story of Art: 5th to 11th Century
Mandatory reading: Ernst Gombrich, The Story of Art (London: Phaidon, 1952), chapters 6 and 8. See also: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/world-regions/#/06/Europe
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5.
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The Story of Art: 12th and 13th Century
Mandatory reading: Ernst Gombrich, The Story of Art (London: Phaidon, 1952), chapters 9. See also: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/world-regions/#/07/Europe
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6.
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The Story of Art: 14th Century
Mandatory reading: Ernst Gombrich, The Story of Art (London: Phaidon, 1952), chapter 10 and 11. See also: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/world-regions/#/07/Europe
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7.
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Museum Visit: Hungarian National Gallery, Budapest
See also: http://www.mng.hu/en/collections
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8.
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Architecture
See also: http://www.medart.pitt.edu/index.html
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9.
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Mosaics and Panel-Painting
Mandatory reading: Hans Belting, Likeness and Presence. A history of Image before the Era of Art, tr. Edmund Jephcott (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), chapter 8.
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10.
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Sculpture
Mandatory reading: Willibald Sauerländer, "Romanesque Sculpture in its Architectural Context," in Romanesque Art: Problems and Monuments 1 (London: Pindar, 2004), 1-36.
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11.
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Wall-Painting
Mandatory reading: Leonetto Tintori and Millard Meiss, The Painting of The Life of St. Francis in Assisi (New York: University Press, 1962), 1-40.
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12.
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Stained-Glass Windows
Mandatory reading: Wolfgang Kemp, The narratives of Gothic stained glass, tr. Caroline Dobson Saltzwedel (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 3-31. See also: http://www.medievalart.org.uk/index.html
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13.
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Book Illumination
Mandatory reading: Christopher de Hamel, Medieval Craftsmen: Scribes and Illuminators (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1993).
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Mid-Term Week
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14.
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Preparing a Research Paper
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II. Medieval Art and Its Contexts
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15.
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Carolingian Renaissance and the Question of Revival
Recommended reading: Jean Porcher, "Book Painting. The Court Ateliers," in J. Hubert, J. Porcher and W. F. Volbach, Carolingian art (London: Thames & Hudson, 1970), 71-171. See also: http://psalter.library.uu.nl/
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16.
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Art at the Monastery
Recommended reading: Meyer Schapiro, "The Romanesque Sculpture of Moissac," The Art Bulletin 13 (1931): 249-351 and 464-531; Ilene H. Forsyth, "Narrative at Moissac: Schapiro' s Legacy," Gesta 41 (2002): 71-93. See also: http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?c=vezelay&page=index
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17.
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Art and Pilgrimage
Mandatory reading: Kenneth John Conant, "The Great Churches of the Pilgrimage roads," Carolingian and Romanesque architecture 800 to 1200 (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1978), 157-175. See also: https://sites.google.com/site/caminodesantiagoproject/
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18.
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Art at the Cathedral
Recommended reading: Paul Frankl, "The General Problems of the Gothic Style," Gothic architecture, rev. ed. Paul Crossley (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2000), 263-269 and 290-293. See also: http://images.library.pitt.edu/cgi-bin/i/image/image-idx?c=chartres&page=index and http://www.learn.columbia.edu/Mcahweb/index-frame.html
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19.
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Art at the Court
See also: http://www.hradkarlstejn.cz/virtual/Tourviewer_index.html
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20.
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San Francesco, Assisi (1)
Mandatory reading: Arnold Davidson, "Miracles of Bodily Transformation, or, how St. Francis Received the Stigmata," in Picturing Science, Producing Art, ed. Caroline A. Jones, Peter Gallison and Amy Slaton (New York: Routledge, 1998), 101-124.
Recommended reading: Cooper, Donal and Janet Robson. "A great sumptuousness of paintings: frescoes and Franciscan poverty at Assisi in 1288 and 1312." The Burlington magazine 151 (2009): 656-662.
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21.
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Arena chapel, Padua
Mandatory reading: John White, The Birth and Rebirth of Pictorial Space (London: Faber and Faber, 1967), chapter 1.
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22.
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San Francesco, Assisi (2)
Recommended reading: Robson, Janet. "Judas and the Franciscans: Perfidy Pictured in Lorenzetti' s Passion Cycle at Assisi." The Art Bulletin 86 (2004): 31-57.
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23.
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Painting in Siena
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24.
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Museum visit and paper presentation
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