ART 335 Global Medieval Art: Artistic Capitals and Exchange
Globalization in the medieval period casts a long shadow across art history, spanning from the rise of the Byzantine emperor Justinian (527 CE) to the Sack of Constantinople (1204 CE) and the Siege of Acre (1291 CE). During this period the transportation of material goods, circulation of artistic practices, and mobility of ideas across geographies led to networks of connectivity between Constantinople and Rome, Jerusalem to Aachen, and Granada to Cairo. This course examines how art objects (painting, sculpture, textiles, manuscripts, ivories, enamels, and relics) and architecture allow us to recover and retrace cross-cultural movements both within a European context and beyond. Students will consider issues of patronage, messaging and propaganda, race and cultural migration, trade routes and mechanisms of exchange, and the dynamic rise of artistic capitals.
Cross Listed Courses
ART 335 & ART 553