B1676 - Islamic Art in the European Continent (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

The course focuses on the developments of Islamic art in the Iberian Peninsula, Southern Italy, and the Balkans and on the reception of Islamic objects and styles in Europe from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. At the end of the course: • The student knows the main traits of the history of Islamic art with specific reference to its presence in the European continent; • The student acquires the skills to contextualize each building or object and expose the contents with the appropriate terminology and related bibliography.

Course contents

After two initial lessons introducing the discipline of Islamic art history, the course addresses the theme of Islamic art in Europe from two different perspectives. The first concerns the material culture of Muslim political entities on European territory and the impact of Islamic art and architecture on subsequent Christian dynasties. The second focuses on the numerous Islamic artifacts accumulated in Europe since the medieval period. Preserved in both church and court treasures and collections, Islamic objects have often undergone a re-signification and, at times, physical modifications during their journey from the original place of production to their final destination. Translation, appropriation, hybridization, transfer, origin, and biography are some of the concepts that will be discussed through specific case studies of Islamic art in Europe.

 

List of themes/seminars:

1. History of Islamic art: definition and development of the discipline

2. Figural and non-figural art in the Islamic world

3. Spain, I part: the Umayyad caliphate of al-Andalus

4. Spain, II part: Alhambra and Mudejar art

5. Norman Sicily, I part: the Palatina chapel

6. Norman Sicily, II part: the mantle of Roger the 2^nd

7. Islamic textiles in Europe, I part: Vienna and Apt

8. Islamic textiles in Europe, II part: Autun and Fermo

9. Islamic metalworks in Italy, I part: Pisa and Lucca

10. Islamic metalworks, II part: inlaid metalworks in Italy and the Baptistère of Saint Louis

11. Ivories: the case of the oliphants

12. Islamic rock crystals and glasses in the treasuries of European churches

13. Islamic inscriptions and objects in European art

14. War trophies between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans in the Balkans, Hungary and Vienna

15. Islamic art in the museums

Readings/Bibliography

Bibliography:

Avinoam Shalem, Islamic portable objects in the medieval church treasuries of the Latin West, PhD, University of Edinburgh, 1995, pp. 8-247.

Rosamond E. Mack and Mohamed Zakariya, “The Pseudo-Arabic on Andrea del Verrocchio’s David”, Artibus et Historiae 30 (2009), pp. 157-172.

Claus-Peter Haase, “I metalli islamici in Italia fino al Cinquecento”, in Islam e Firenze. Arte e Collezionismo dai Medici al Novecento, a cura di Giovanni Curatola, Firenze, 2018, pp. 77-99.

The Pisa Griffin and the Mari-Cha Lion: metalwork, art, and technology in the Medieval Islamicate Mediterranean, a cura di Anna Contadini, Pisa, 2018, pp. 197-245.

Selected chapters from:

Leah R. Clark, Courtly mediators: transcultural objects between Renaissance Italy and the Islamic world, Cambridge University Press, 2023.

 

Bibliography for those who do not attend the course:

The Art of Islamic Spain, a cura di Jerrilynn Dodds, New York, Metropolitan Museum, 1992, pp. 3-47.

Lev A. Kapitaikin, “Sicily and the staging of Multiculturalism”, in A companion to Islamic art and architecture, a cura di Finbarr Barry Flood e Gülru Necipoğlu, Wieley 2017, vol. 1, pp. 378-404.

Avinoam Shalem, Islamic portable objects in the medieval church treasuries of the Latin West, PhD, University of Edinburgh, 1995, vol. 1, pp. 8-247.

Rosamond E. Mack and Mohamed Zakariya, “The Pseudo-Arabic on Andrea del Verrocchio’s David”, Artibus et Historiae 30 (2009), pp. 157-172.

Claus-Peter Haase, “I metalli islamici in Italia fino al Cinquecento”, in Islam e Firenze. Arte e Collezionismo dai Medici al Novecento, a cura di Giovanni Curatola, Firenze, 2018, pp. 77-99.

The chasuble of Thomas Becket: a biography, a cura di Avinoam Shalem, München, 2017, pp. 46-59; 80-109; 126-139.

The Pisa Griffin and the Mari-Cha Lion: metalwork, art, and technology in the Medieval Islamicate Mediterranean, a cura di Anna Contadini, Pisa, 2018, pp. 197-245.

Selected chapters from:

Leah R. Clark, Courtly mediators: transcultural objects between Renaissance Italy and the Islamic world, Cambridge University Press, 2023.

Teaching methods

Each seminar is subdivided into two sections. A first part consists of a collective discussion on the theme of the day and a second part consists of a frontal lecture offered by the instructor.

Assessment methods

Exam sessions are scheduled for the following months of the academic year:

- March

- May

- July

- September

- November

- January

 

Students who attend at least 75% of the lessons are considered to be attending.

The final mark consists of the average between the assessment of the written essay and the assessment of the final oral exam.

The essay consists of a written piece of around 3000 words on a theme decided together with the professor.

With regard to the written essay, students will be evaluated assessing their skills in:

• Structuring the written essay according to the theme;
• Formulating an accurate formal analysis of the object/building focus of the written essay;
• Reviewing the existing literature;
• Outlining the historical and artistic context of the assigned object/building;
• Producing a written essay provided with high-quality images and a consistent and accurate footnoting and bibliography.

The oral exam consists of an analysis of two objects/buildings discussed during the course and shown in slides during the exam and of a question regarding one of the themes discussed during the course.

In the oral exam the student will be assessed according to the:

• Capacity of analysis developed by the student also at the light of the written essay;
• Command of the specific language of the subject;
• Ability in summarizing the most important topics of the subject.

29-30 e lode: a written essay that successfully meets all the above-mentioned five criteria together with the acquisition by the student of an excellent command of the technical language of the subject and an all-around knowledge of the themes discussed during the oral exam.

25-28: a written essay that successfully meets at least four of the above-mentioned criteria together with the use of a rather correct technical language and an accurate exposition of the subject during the oral exam.

21-24: a written essay that successfully meets at least three of the above mentioned criteria together with some inadequacies in the use of the technical language and a superficial exposition of the subject during the oral exam.

18-20: a written essay that meets at least three of the above mentioned criteria together with a patchy and poor exposition of the subject during the oral exam or a written essay that meets less than three among the above mentioned criteria together with a very basic exposition of the subject during the oral exam.

Failure: a written essay that meets less than three among the above mentioned criteria together with a patchy and poor exposition of the subject during the oral exam.

Contents of the exam for those students who do not attend the course:

Contents of the exam for those students who do not attend the course:

1) Discussion of an essay (of at least 5000 words) devoted to a topic related to Islamic art.

2) Two questions on topics related to the history of Fatimid art.

Details:

1) The student selects a theme and sends an outline of the essay together with a preliminary bibliography to the professor by email. Once the theme is approved, the student writes the essay and sends it to the professor at least one week before the date of the exam.

2) to prepare the two questions related to the history of Fatimid art (one on architecture and one on objects) the student is invited to read the bibliography listed in the above section "readings/bibliography".

Teaching tools

All seminar presentations and readings will be made available through the e-learning platform (Virtuale). On Virtuale further readings related to each seminar topic will be made available.

Students with SLD or temporary or permanent disabilities. It is necessary to contact the relevant University office (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en) with ample time in advance: the office will propose some adjustments, which must in any case be submitted 15 days in advance to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of these in relation to the teaching objectives.

Office hours

See the website of Mattia Guidetti