This course will present the main types of sumptuary art created in Europe and the Mediterranean from the 5th to the 15th century. Proceeding by technique, we will complete the picture of Medieval artistic production with the category of objects forged in precious metals. We will also analyze the context of their production, their buyers, iconography, cultural aspects related to perception, treasury and collecting.
The aim of this course is to analyze the wide range of Medieval applied arts from a European perspective in order to provide students with the tools to interpret its historical development, the specific techniques and types of works as well as their relation to monumental works of art.
The main educational objectives of Medieval Applied Arts are:
To guide students toward recognizing the lines of development in the production of the main genres of sumptuary art from the Middle Ages. This will be done chronologically and will address various European settings with special attention paid to other cultural contexts.
To direct students to the in-depth analysis of artifacts so that they are able to analyze and discuss the technical and cultural aspects with the proper methodology in relation to the class of similar objects and the general framework of Medieval artistic production.
To convey to students the cultural necessity to integrate these artifacts into the framework of Medieval art thus, stimulating them to think about specific issues inherent in their production and to study Medieval artistic society more comprehensively.
The 9 cfu course consists of 54 hours divided between in-class lectures and site visits. In class, we will use images organized by theme.
The 6 cfu course consists of 36 hours of in-class lectures where we will use images organized by theme.
The images will be made available to students at the end of the course if they come to the instructor’s office hours with a usb key.
9 cfu course program
“Ars”. “opus” “artist”: dialectics and cultural focus
The main sumptuary techniques of the Middle Ages (tapestries, ivory, bronze and the art of fusion, miniatures, goldsmithing and jewellery-making techniques, embroidery, seals)
Gem-setting
Treasures and collecting
An exemplary artist: Theophilus and his treatise
The treasury of the Genoa Cathedral
Education and historical events
The Sacred Basin
The “Pallio di San Lorenzo” tapestry
The Plate of John the Baptist
6 cfu course program
Ricevimento: Tuesdays from 14.00-16.00 and by appointment. For an appointment, please write to the instructor at gianluca.ameri@unige.it.
GIANLUCA AMERI (President)
CLARIO DI FABIO
26 February 2018
The exam is oral and will include the images accompanying the textbooks and those used in class and made available to students.
The exam will evaluate students’ ability to read and analyze the images in relation to a chronological framework, technical and stylistic aspects and the artistic culture the works come from.
Class attendance is strongly encouraged. Aside from the images, all the exam texts, except for the manual will be made available by the instructor in pdf format. The course is also active on Aulaweb.
