HISTORY OF MINIATURE
Course objectives
The course aims to provide students with a knowledge of the main developments of the history of book illumination in the West during the Middle Ages. It intends to offer an overview of illumination from paleochristian to gothic art, with special focus on style and iconography, on the context and on the techniques of production. Students will be introduced to methods to correctly understand the interconnection between patronage and the function of illuminated books. Among the forseen outcomes are the acquisition of the periodization used in this field and of the different types of illuminated books and their distinctive features. During the course students will acquire the ability to recognize illuminated manuscripts pertaining to the contexts considered in the module, to identify the main types of illuminated books and to analyze illumination using the specific terminology. This expected outcome will be the consequence of the interaction between the knowledge taught during the course and the further reading suggestions which will be provided in class. During the classes and the study visits time will be dedicated to seminarial activities, during which the students will be encouraged to actively take part and excercise in commenting and interpreting the analyzed images. During the course suggestions for further reading will be systematically provided to enable students to gain an autonomous in-depth knowledge of the issues discussed during classes.
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FRANCESCA MANZARI
Lecturers' profile
Program - Frequency - Exams
Course program
History of Illumination in Europe: 5th-13th century
The course will examine the production of illuminated books in Italy and Europe in the Middle Ages, 5th-13th centuries. The different areas of production will be analyzed following the diachronic developments, focusing in particular on issues concerning style, but also on the relationship between text and image, the dissemination of different types of books, and the role of patrons and artists in the elaboration of illustrative programmes.
The course will outline the periodization in use in this field of studies, and it will examine the most important material produced from Late Antiquity, the Early Middle Ages to the Carolingian and Ottonian, Romanesque and Gothic periods. The techniques used in illuminated books and the specific scientific terminology used in this field will be discussed.
The lessons in the classroom will follow the chronological developments. Part of the course will be dedicated to visits to historical libraries in Rome; these will allow students to examine original illuminated manuscripts corresponding to the geographical and chronological contexts considered in the course.
Prerequisites
A thorough knowledge of Italian is required. A basic knowledge of History of medieval Art and of History of the Middle Ages is required. Some understanding of codicology and paleography is helpful. A working knowledge of foreign languages is advisable.
Books
Reading List:
O. Pächt, La Miniatura Medievale. Una introduzione, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1987 (seconda edizione 2013);
F. Manzari, Illustrazione e decorazione dei manoscritti liturgici, in Jubilate Deo. Miniature e melodie gregoriane. Testimonianze delle Biblioteca L. Feininger, ed. G. Baroffio, D. Curti e M. Gozzi, Trento, Provincia Autonoma di Trento, 2000, pp. 127-151;
J.J.G. Alexander, I miniatori medievali e i loro metodi di lavoro, Modena, Franco Cosimo Panini Editore, 2003, pp. 13-140 (capitoli I-IV);
C. Nordenfalk, Storia della miniatura. Dalla tarda antichità alla fine dell’età romanica, ed. F. Crivello, Torino, Einaudi, 2012;
Bibbia. Immagini e scrittura nella Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, ed. A.M. Piazzoni, with F. Manzari, Milano, Jaca Book, 2017, pp. 114-189; 194-205, 218-241 (capitoli Area Occidentale. le Origini-Età gotica).
Teaching mode
The course is organized comprising lessons in the classroom, accompanied by study visits to historical libraries (if the conditions will allow them to take place).
The lessons in the classroom will be held with the aid of projections illustrating the illuminated manuscripts studied in the course. During the lessons in the classroom facsimiles of illuminated manuscripts present in the Libraries at Sapienza, together with volumes, essays, and articles connected to the examined topics will be used. During the study trips, which will be held in the main historical libraries in Rome, the original manuscripts will be examined.
Frequency
Attendance is strongly recommended. Students who are not able to attend the course must contact the professor by email in order to take the exam.
Exam mode
Oral exams on the topics and the bibliography in the course, using the images available in the textbooks.
The exam will evaluate the student's ability to correctly place and date the illuminations, to comment them critically, connecting them to their contexts, as learnt during the course and thanks to the suggested bibliography. The exam will evaluate the student's command of the scientific vocabulary used in this field, his/her ability to analyze the images, to re-elaborate the suggested reading lists, and to recognize relationships and connections of interdependence among the topics discussed during the course. A thorough knowledge of all the photograpic material in the textbooks is essential to pass the exam. Grades will correspond to the degree of familiarity with all these aspects.
Bibliography
Further reading:
Dix siècles d'enluminure italienne: VIe-XVIe siècles, catalogue de l’exposition par F. Avril, Y. Zaluska, M.-T. Gousset, M. Pastoureau (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, 8 mars-30 mai 1984), Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, 1984 (esclusivamente le parti relative ai secoli VI-XIII)
(disponibile on-line nel sito Gallica:
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65340919.r=Dix+si%C3%A8cles+d%27enluminure+italienne.langEN);
C. De Hamel, Scribes and illuminators, London, British Museum Press, 1992;
G. Cavallo, Libro e pubblico alla fine del mondo antico, in Libri, editori e pubblico nel mondo antico, a cura di G. Cavallo, Bari, Laterza, 1984, pp.83-132;
M. G. Ciardi Dupré s.v. Miniatura in Enciclopedia dell’Arte Medievale, VIII, Roma, Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana, 1997, pp. 413-452;
K. Weitzmann, La decorazione libraria del IV secolo: tradizione e innovazione, in Uomini, libri e immagini, a cura di L. Speciale, Napoli, Liguori, 2000, pp. 15-54;
C. Segre Montel, Miniatura, in Arti e Storia nel Medioevo, a cura di E. Castelnuovo e G. Sergi, II. Del costruire: tecniche, artisti, artigiani, committenti, Torino, Giulio Einaudi Editore, 2003, pp. 491-505;
G. Orofino, “Leggere” le miniature medievali, in Arti e Storia nel Medioevo, a cura di E. Castelnuovo e G. Sergi, III. Del vedere: pubblici, forme e funzioni, Torino, Giulio Einaudi Editore, 2004, pp. 341-367.
Lesson mode
Oral exams on the topics and the bibliography in the course, using the images available in the textbooks.
The exam will evaluate the student's ability to correctly place and date the illuminations, to comment them critically, connecting them to their contexts, as learnt during the course and thanks to the suggested bibliography. The exam will evaluate the student's command of the scientific vocabulary used in this field, his/her ability to analyze the images, to re-elaborate the suggested reading lists, and to recognize relationships and connections of interdependence among the topics discussed during the course. A thorough knowledge of all the photograpic material in the textbooks is essential to pass the exam. Grades will correspond to the degree of familiarity with all these aspects.
FRANCESCA MANZARI
Lecturers' profile
Program - Frequency - Exams
Course program
History of Illumination in Europe: 5th-13th century
The course will examine the production of illuminated books in Italy and Europe in the Middle Ages, 5th-13th centuries. The different areas of production will be analyzed following the diachronic developments, focusing in particular on issues concerning style, but also on the relationship between text and image, the dissemination of different types of books, and the role of patrons and artists in the elaboration of illustrative programmes.
The course will outline the periodization in use in this field of studies, and it will examine the most important material produced from Late Antiquity, the Early Middle Ages to the Carolingian and Ottonian, Romanesque and Gothic periods. The techniques used in illuminated books and the specific scientific terminology used in this field will be discussed.
The lessons in the classroom will follow the chronological developments. Part of the course will be dedicated to visits to historical libraries in Rome; these will allow students to examine original illuminated manuscripts corresponding to the geographical and chronological contexts considered in the course.
Prerequisites
A thorough knowledge of Italian is required. A basic knowledge of History of medieval Art and of History of the Middle Ages is required. Some understanding of codicology and paleography is helpful. A working knowledge of foreign languages is advisable.
Books
Reading List:
O. Pächt, La Miniatura Medievale. Una introduzione, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1987 (seconda edizione 2013);
F. Manzari, Illustrazione e decorazione dei manoscritti liturgici, in Jubilate Deo. Miniature e melodie gregoriane. Testimonianze delle Biblioteca L. Feininger, ed. G. Baroffio, D. Curti e M. Gozzi, Trento, Provincia Autonoma di Trento, 2000, pp. 127-151;
J.J.G. Alexander, I miniatori medievali e i loro metodi di lavoro, Modena, Franco Cosimo Panini Editore, 2003, pp. 13-140 (capitoli I-IV);
C. Nordenfalk, Storia della miniatura. Dalla tarda antichità alla fine dell’età romanica, ed. F. Crivello, Torino, Einaudi, 2012;
Bibbia. Immagini e scrittura nella Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, ed. A.M. Piazzoni, with F. Manzari, Milano, Jaca Book, 2017, pp. 114-189; 194-205, 218-241 (capitoli Area Occidentale. le Origini-Età gotica).
Teaching mode
The course is organized comprising lessons in the classroom, accompanied by study visits to historical libraries (if the conditions will allow them to take place).
The lessons in the classroom will be held with the aid of projections illustrating the illuminated manuscripts studied in the course. During the lessons in the classroom facsimiles of illuminated manuscripts present in the Libraries at Sapienza, together with volumes, essays, and articles connected to the examined topics will be used. During the study trips, which will be held in the main historical libraries in Rome, the original manuscripts will be examined.
Frequency
Attendance is strongly recommended. Students who are not able to attend the course must contact the professor by email in order to take the exam.
Exam mode
Oral exams on the topics and the bibliography in the course, using the images available in the textbooks.
The exam will evaluate the student's ability to correctly place and date the illuminations, to comment them critically, connecting them to their contexts, as learnt during the course and thanks to the suggested bibliography. The exam will evaluate the student's command of the scientific vocabulary used in this field, his/her ability to analyze the images, to re-elaborate the suggested reading lists, and to recognize relationships and connections of interdependence among the topics discussed during the course. A thorough knowledge of all the photograpic material in the textbooks is essential to pass the exam. Grades will correspond to the degree of familiarity with all these aspects.
Bibliography
Further reading:
Dix siècles d'enluminure italienne: VIe-XVIe siècles, catalogue de l’exposition par F. Avril, Y. Zaluska, M.-T. Gousset, M. Pastoureau (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, 8 mars-30 mai 1984), Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, 1984 (esclusivamente le parti relative ai secoli VI-XIII)
(disponibile on-line nel sito Gallica:
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k65340919.r=Dix+si%C3%A8cles+d%27enluminure+italienne.langEN);
C. De Hamel, Scribes and illuminators, London, British Museum Press, 1992;
G. Cavallo, Libro e pubblico alla fine del mondo antico, in Libri, editori e pubblico nel mondo antico, a cura di G. Cavallo, Bari, Laterza, 1984, pp.83-132;
M. G. Ciardi Dupré s.v. Miniatura in Enciclopedia dell’Arte Medievale, VIII, Roma, Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana, 1997, pp. 413-452;
K. Weitzmann, La decorazione libraria del IV secolo: tradizione e innovazione, in Uomini, libri e immagini, a cura di L. Speciale, Napoli, Liguori, 2000, pp. 15-54;
C. Segre Montel, Miniatura, in Arti e Storia nel Medioevo, a cura di E. Castelnuovo e G. Sergi, II. Del costruire: tecniche, artisti, artigiani, committenti, Torino, Giulio Einaudi Editore, 2003, pp. 491-505;
G. Orofino, “Leggere” le miniature medievali, in Arti e Storia nel Medioevo, a cura di E. Castelnuovo e G. Sergi, III. Del vedere: pubblici, forme e funzioni, Torino, Giulio Einaudi Editore, 2004, pp. 341-367.
Lesson mode
Oral exams on the topics and the bibliography in the course, using the images available in the textbooks.
The exam will evaluate the student's ability to correctly place and date the illuminations, to comment them critically, connecting them to their contexts, as learnt during the course and thanks to the suggested bibliography. The exam will evaluate the student's command of the scientific vocabulary used in this field, his/her ability to analyze the images, to re-elaborate the suggested reading lists, and to recognize relationships and connections of interdependence among the topics discussed during the course. A thorough knowledge of all the photograpic material in the textbooks is essential to pass the exam. Grades will correspond to the degree of familiarity with all these aspects.
- Lesson code1032173
- Academic year2025/2026
- CourseArchive and Library Theory and Management
- CurriculumSingle curriculum
- Year2nd year
- Semester1st semester
- SSDL-ART/01
- CFU6