Basic knowledge in humanities. No other prerequisite is requested.

The course aims to outline the main features of the history of Medieval arts in Western and Eastern Europe from the 12th to the 15th century. This was a period characterized by dynamic change in human history on every level as societies responded to the rising of a ‘new’ culture after the ‘fear’ of the first Millennium.

Students must acquire a basic knowledge of the evolution of mediaeval art and develop the ability to fully understand the problems of periodisation; they must be able to define the cultural spheres of artistic production in the Middle Ages, know the most representative works and be able to recognise, contextualise, analyse and discuss them with a good command of vocabulary and autonomous judgement.

With particular reference to the Dublin Descriptors, students are expected to acquire the following skills:

Knowledge and understanding:

• knowledge of artistic production in the Middle Ages;
• historical and stylistic understanding of the most important works of art/monuments.

Applying knowledge and understanding:

• ability to identify the cultural context of less-known works of art/monuments;
• skills in technical, iconographic and stylistic analysis of the artwork(s)/monument(s).

Making judgements:

• ability to autonomously research of works of art/monuments and/or historical-artistic contexts on Internet and/or in the areas related to the Middle Ages.

Communication skills:

• ability to reframe and summarise discussion on works of art/monuments in English.

Learning skills:

• ability to update and develop English language and subject skills through autonomous work and collaborative learning.
• Among the transversal skills developed and expected at the end of the course are: the ability to analyse and synthesise information acquired during the lessons and/or gathered independently and from various sources (books, internet, themed cultural programmes, etc.); the ability to solve problems; the ability to critically discuss the concepts learnt and to effectively convey them to an audience that is varied in terms of origin, age and cultural level.

The course will develop with face-to-face lectures during which PowerPoint presentations will be projected. PowerPoint presentations will be at disposal of the students.

Student assessments: Written tests on major topics. Those students not satisfied of the final grade gained in the written tests will have the possibility to better it with oral exams.

The assessment criteria are elated to: accuracy in the discussion; a secure knowledge of topics; exposition and contents; ability to autonomously identify relations between artistic facts, people, and places in the art of the Middle Ages (see scheme below).

These assessment methods ascertain the achievement of the expected learning outcomes and in particular of the specific competences described in the Course objectives.

Exams appointments will be fixed in accordance to the suggested period by administrative staff of NWU.

The exam committee is composed of: Manuela De Giorgi (Chief), Daniela Caracciolo, Raffaele Casciaro, Lucinia Speciale (Members).

Professor Manuela De Giorgi meets (online/in person) students by appointment mailing to manuela.degiorgi@unisalento.it.

The teaching programme of the course will develop the following topics:

• Regional Romanesque art;
• Sculpture and monumental decoration in Romanesque period: some case-studies;
• The Benedictines in European art in the 11th-12th century;
• Pilgrimage and art in the Middle Ages;
• The origins of Gothic art;
• Early Gothic sculpture and architecture in France and England;
• Stained-glass windows and early-Gothic illumination production;
• Gothic art in Italy (architecture, sculpture, painting production): some examples;

Italian Duecento and Trecento painting.

I. Attending students:

- M. Stokstad, Medieval Art, 2nd ed., Boulder: Westview Press, 2004, pp. 201-334.

PLEASE NOTE that textbook is COMPULSORY.

Secondary bibliography (as extra readings, NOT COMPULSURY):

- J. Purtle, «Pictured in Relief: Comparative Iconology and Civilizational Timezones at Monreale and Quanzhou during the ‘Global Middle Ages,’ ca. 1186–ca. 1238», in P.A. Patton, C.A. Fernandez (eds.), Iconography Beyond the Crossroads: Image, Meaning, and Method in Medieval Art, volume in celebration of the centennial of the Index of Christian/Medieval Art, Pennsylvania: Penn State University Press, 2022, pp. 147-193.

- J. Purtle, «The Far Side: Expatriate Medieval Art and Its Languages in Sino-Mongol China», in Medieval Encounters 17 (2011), pp. 167-197.

PLEASE NOTE that PDF of the above-listed readings will be available during the course, partly on the course webpage in the MATERIALE DIDATTICO section, partly on demand mailing to manuela.degiorgi@unisalento.it.

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II. Non-attending students:

Non-attending students, to successfully completed the course, MUST read both references of the Secondary bibliography.