DU1713 Seminar: Medieval Art from Constantine to Giotto II

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Zuzana Frantová, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Adrien Palladino, M.A., Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Zuzana Frantová, Ph.D.
Department of Art History – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Art History – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is offered to students of any study field.
The capacity limit for the course is 15 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/15, only registered: 0/15, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/15
Course objectives
Medieval Church Treasuries. Conception, Experience and Perception. This seminar investigates the precious medieval “objects” that are kept in the so-called church treasuries. The most important ones are the reliquaries made of precious materials that symbolically visualized what was hidden. It focuses also on the so-called naturalia: objects of plant or animal origin which, first and foremost, provoked (and still provoke) wonder. The aim of the seminar is to explore how these objects were conceived, experienced, perceived, and used before they became “mere“ museum objects and historical testimonies. It also focuses on the practice of conserving objects in institutions over several centuries and examines these in terms of their actual materials, manufacturing practices, reception, and reuse.
Learning outcomes
Students will develop a comprehensive knowledge of the important role of objects of art that are usually termed as “decorative“, “minor“, “applied“, or “industrial“ in the Christian culture. By examining a vast array of images, objects, materials, and techniques, students will encounter and thoroughly study (through seminar work) some of the most famous objects of the European medieval church treasuries. The students will be able to understand their relation to liturgy, collective memory, as well as their functions as marvels of nature. They will search for the symbolic meaning of precious materials and the techniques used. As such, at the end of the course, they will be provided with intellectual tools to discuss and criticize outdated or conventional approaches to the topic. In this seminar format, they will also learn to research and synthetize information on the selected period and objects, as well as to transmit and convey this information in the form of an oral presentation accompanied by a slideshow. This presentation will also be presented in written form, as an essay, including the use of scholarly footnotes and bibliography.
Syllabus
  • Forthcoming
Teaching methods
Interactive seminar with PowerPoint presentations
Assessment methods
Student are requested to prepare an oral presentation in class, whcih will be followed by a short written paper about a single object kept in one of the famous medieval treasuries, chosen in arrangement with the teacher.
Language of instruction
English
The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/DU1713