AH 310 - Church and Empire: Early Medieval Art, c. 250-1050

(3.00 cr.)

An exploration of European art beginning with the earliest emergence of Christian art in the mid-third century through the flowering of magnificent church architecture in the twelfth century. Brilliant mosaics; sculpture in stone, ivory, and bronze; glittering reliquaries holding saints' bones; monasteries; and illuminated manuscripts are among the types of artworks examined. Students investigate how Christianity and the growing influence of Germanic ethnic groups transformed the artistic heritage of the Roman Empire during this period, and how pilgrimage, aesthetic theories of beauty, the fear of idolatry, assertions of sacred and secular power, and other contextual factors shaped artworks. This course meets in the Manuscript Room and Medieval Department at The Walters Art Museum several times during the semester. IC/IM