72170 - History and Criticism of Byzantine Art

Learning outcomes

At the end of this course students should be able to approach the study of Byzantine art, confront with a work of art and critically evaluate the historiographical literature.

Course contents

The course is structured in two parts, including a series of general lectures and seminar lectures. The first part - which, for time reasons, will be abbreviated with reference to the handbooks - will give a chronological overview of Byzantine art, from its late antique antecedents - starting from the foundation of Constantinople (330) - to the conquest of the capital by the Ottoman Turks (1453). It will focus on visual arts - overcoming today-inefficient distinctions between major and minor arts, but including sculpture, painting and objects. It will be shown that Byzantine artifacts reflected the historical development of thought and taste in the Eastern Roman Empire, not only in Constantinople but also in faraway areas, where Byzantine art found extraordinary acceptance and further growth. Starting with a reflection on the value of works of art and of images in Byzantium, monuments and artifacts will be observed as sources, replete with meaning, and as cultural evidence, with its specific ways of communication and expression.

The seminar lectures will be devoted to Byzantine iconoclasm. In particular, we will observe  artworks dated between the seventh and the ninth century, reflecting on the function of the icon and its aniconic substitute; the status of the sacred image; and iconic representation in Byzantium and outside the borders of the empire after the end of iconoclasm.

The course History and Criticism of Byzantine Art and the course History and Criticism of Medieval Art are part of an integrated course that aims at giving students a comprehensive view of the multifaceted evolution of medieval artistic culture between the Mediterranean and Italy.

Readings/Bibliography

Reading list. Every student 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
• E. Freeman, A. MacLanan (ed. by), Guide to Byzantine Art, Open Textbook Library, 2021 (available in OA)

and

• L. Brubaker, Inventing Byzantine Iconoclasm, Liverpool, Bristol classical press, 2012.

Seminar lectures: further readings:

• F. Dell’Acqua, Iconophilia. Politics, Religion, Preaching, and the Use of Images in Rome, c.680 - 880, New York - London, Routledge, 2020.

• G. Curzi, Reflexes of Iconoclasm and Iconophilia in the Roman wall paintings and mosaics during the 8th and 9th centuries, in «Ikon», 10 (2018), pp. 9–20.

• J. Elsner, Iconoclasm as Discourse: From Antiquity to Byzantium, in «Art Bulletin», 94 (2012), pp. 368–394.

• L. Brubaker, Ernst Kitzinger and the Invention of Byzantine Iconoclasm, in F. Harley-McGowan, H. Maguire (eds.), Ernst Kitzinger and the Making of Medieval Art History, London, The Warburg Institute, 2017, pp. 143–152.

• S. Boldrick, C. Richard (Eds.), Iconoclasm: Contested Objects, Contested Terms, Farnham, Asghate, 2007.

• L. Brubaker, Icons before iconoclasm?, in Morfologie sociali e culturali in Europa fra tarda antichità e alto Medioevo, XLV Settimana di Studio della Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull’Alto Medioevo, Spoleto, CISAM. Centro Italiano di Studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1998, pp. 1215–1254.

• D. Freedberg, Iconoclasm, Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 2021.

Further readings related to the seminar will be provided during the course.

 

Additional readings (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.
  
• 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 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 Virtuale.

Reading lists and publications are available on Virtuale. They can serve as preparatory materials for the course and can be useful to fill any gap for those who have never had an approach to the Byzantine Art.

Students who are affected by learning disability (DSA) and in need of special tools to compensate it, are kindly requested to contact the Teacher, in order to be referred to the colleagues in charge and get proper advice and instructions.

Office hours

See the website of Maria Cristina Carile