History of Byzantine Art

A.Y. 2025/2026
9
Max ECTS
60
Overall hours
SSD
L-ART/01
Language
Italian
Learning objectives
The course aims to provide a framework of the Byzantine art through the exam of the monumental and luxury production, with attention to the historical-geographical context and the main historiographical lines.
Expected learning outcomes
Students will get the knowledge of the different phases of the Byzantine art and the most important works, with attention to the historical-geographical context and the main historiographical lines. Students will acquire a critical approach in order to read the artistic evidences autonomously.
Single course

This course cannot be attended as a single course. Please check our list of single courses to find the ones available for enrolment.

Course syllabus and organization

Single session

Lesson period
First semester
Course syllabus
Title: Artistic Culture of the Byzantine Empire between imagery and ideology

Part A (20 h, 3 ECTS): Historical and cultural context; case studies of the proto-Byzantine period.
Part B (20 h, 3 ECTS): Case studies of the middle-Byzantine period.
Part C (20 h, 3 ECTS): Case studies of the late-Byzantine period and other related contexts.

9 ECTS: Parts A, B, C
6 ECTS: Parts A and B

The Master's Degree in History and Criticism of Art requires a 9 ECTS examination.

The course aims to present the artistic production of the Byzantine Empire (324-1453) in order to enlighten its crucial role for the development of the figurative culture of the medieval Mediterranean. After an overview of the general chronological and geographical extension, along with the main institutions, single case studies will be presented with focuses on the different historical phases, the main areas of the Empire (especially Constantinople) and other related contexts. These case studies will concern different sectors of production (monumental contexts, painting, sculpture, book illustration, luxury arts and numismatics) and will be read in relation to Byzantine sources as well as to the most recent literature. Particular attention will be addressed to the imperial imagery and to the relations between art and court ceremonial, in order to consider the visual evidences as historical sources and vehicle of power.
Prerequisites for admission
Profound knowledge of the history of Western medieval art and suitable knowledge of the geographical contexts of the Mediterranean area and of the historical events of the Middle Ages.
Teaching methods
Lectures with PowerPoint presentations.
Teaching Resources
9 CFU - Attending Students:

- Images made available for personal use on https://myariel.unimi.it/user/view.php?id=63707&course=7987 (Parts A, B, C).

- Introduzione all'arte bizantina, IV-XV secolo, testi di C. Barsanti, M. della Valle, R. Flaminio, A. Guiglia, A. Iacobini, A. Paribeni, S. Pasi, S. Pedone, A. Taddei. WHOLE TEXT

This is not a published book with ISBN. It is a sort of "lecture notes" you can buy at Copisteria Laura - via Bergamini 17, Milan (in front of the University of Milan, via Festa del Perdono).

9 CFU - NOT attending students:

- Introduzione all'arte bizantina, IV-XV secolo, testi di C. Barsanti, M. della Valle, R. Flaminio, A. Guiglia, A. Iacobini, A. Paribeni, S. Pasi, S. Pedone, A. Taddei. WHOLE TEXT

This is not a published book with ISBN. It is a sort of "lecture notes" you can buy at Copisteria Laura - via Bergamini 17, Milan (in front of the University of Milan, via Festa del Perdono).

- In substitution of the lectures, choose TWO books from the following:

L. Bevilacqua, Arte e aristocrazia a Bisanzio nell'età dei Macedoni. Costantinopoli, la Grecia e l'Asia Minore, Roma, Campisano, 2013.

L. Brubaker, L'invenzione dell'iconoclasmo bizantino, a cura di M.C. Carile, Roma, Viella, 2016.

F. de' Maffei, Bisanzio e l'ideologia delle immagini, a cura di C. Barsanti, A. Guiglia, A. Iacobini, A. Paribeni, M. della Valle, Napoli, Liguori, 2011.

S. Moretti, Roma bizantina: opere d'arte dall'Impero di Costantinopoli nelle collezioni romane, Roma, Campisano, 2014.

S. Pedone, Bisanzio a colori: la policromia nella scultura bizantina, Roma, Bardi, 2022.

M.E. Pomero, Propaganda politica, imperatori e iconografia monetale nel mondo bizantino (1204-1328), Spoleto, Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 2022.

A. Torno Ginnasi, L'imperatore, San Michele Arcangelo e la spada. Dialoghi iconografici e strategie figurative a difesa di Costantinopoli, Milano, Milano University Press, 2025.

G. Vespignani, Ιππόδρομος. Il circo di Costantinopoli Nuova Roma dalla realtà alla storiografia, Spoleto, Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 2010.

6 CFU - Attending students:

- Images made available for personal use on https://myariel.unimi.it/user/view.php?id=63707&course=7987 (Parts A and B).

- Introduzione all'arte bizantina, IV-XV secolo, testi di C. Barsanti, M. della Valle, R. Flaminio, A. Guiglia, A. Iacobini, A. Paribeni, S. Pasi, S. Pedone, A. Taddei, pp. 1-203 (+ "Apparati" at the end of the volume).

This is not a published book with ISBN. It is a sort of "lecture notes" you can buy at Copisteria Laura - via Bergamini 17, Milan (in front of the University of Milan, via Festa del Perdono).

6 CFU - NOT attending students:

In substitution of the lectures, choose ONE book from the following:

L. Bevilacqua, Arte e aristocrazia a Bisanzio nell'età dei Macedoni. Costantinopoli, la Grecia e l'Asia Minore, Roma, Campisano, 2013.

L. Brubaker, L'invenzione dell'iconoclasmo bizantino, a cura di M.C. Carile, Roma, Viella, 2016.

F. de' Maffei, Bisanzio e l'ideologia delle immagini, a cura di C. Barsanti, A. Guiglia, A. Iacobini, A. Paribeni, M. della Valle, Napoli, Liguori, 2011.

S. Moretti, Roma bizantina: opere d'arte dall'Impero di Costantinopoli nelle collezioni romane, Roma, Campisano, 2014.

S. Pedone, Bisanzio a colori: la policromia nella scultura bizantina, Roma, Bardi, 2022.

M.E. Pomero, Propaganda politica, imperatori e iconografia monetale nel mondo bizantino (1204-1328), Spoleto, Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 2022.

A. Torno Ginnasi, L'imperatore, San Michele Arcangelo e la spada. Dialoghi iconografici e strategie figurative a difesa di Costantinopoli, Milano, Milano University Press, 2025.

G. Vespignani, Ιππόδρομος. Il circo di Costantinopoli Nuova Roma dalla realtà alla storiografia, Spoleto, Fondazione Centro Italiano di Studi sull'Alto Medioevo, 2010.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The examination consists of an interview aimed at verifying the acquired knowledge, the historical and cultural framework, and the speaking skills through the critical analysis of images.
Part C
L-ART/01 - HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL ART - University credits: 3
Lessons: 20 hours
Parts A and B
L-ART/01 - HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL ART - University credits: 6
Lessons: 40 hours