Early Medieval Art

The Tempietto sul Clitunno stands as yet another early medieval monument whose dating remains imprecise. One could easily pass over this small church, especially as good color photos prove difficult to find, but I have my own images that I offer here, in combination with some that you may find on Flickr.

Flickr offers a nice view of the exterior. The refinement of the carving in the pediment will contrast with other Longobard sculpture that we will soon encounter, and the dedicatory inscription evokes an imperial past. For its translation see The Tempietto Del Clitunno Near Spoleto: Text and Illustrations by Judson Emerick.

The painting inside, however, captures my attention. Flickr has a broader shot of the east wall. In the apex of the wall,

two angels in medallions flank a gemmed cross, also in a medallion. My photo does not show the cross clearly, but a black-and-white photo in the second volume of Emerick’s monograph does.

Christ appears in the conch of the niche,

and on the side walls, Peter

and Paul.

In the Flickr photo of the entire niche wall, you may also see palm trees on the flanking walls.

This assembly of wall paintings lacks a personalizing element, as in the Chapel of Theodotus, thereby permitting a more general interpretation. The gemmed cross recalls the actual Visigothic votive crosses from the Guarrazar Treasure. The panels of Peter and Paul recall those in the Sancta Sanctorum, which I can only find here and here. And the palm trees actually have counterparts in the Chapel of Theodotus, if you can find photos of them! The paintings of course may then be related to the pediment carvings of the exterior. Emerick suggests multiple historical circumstances, and I am tempted to suggest yet another, but I think greater value derive from a discussion of how these images relate to one another and to images elsewhere, and what these observations reveal about the function of individual images relative to the space of the church and the function of the program as a whole, especially as it relates to Rome.

In the course of advising my students on their seminar papers, I have realized that even students with a  serious interest in medieval may lack familiarity with the basic research tools.   So, I offer here the starting points for any research project:

Bibliography of the History of Art (by way of library subscription)

International Medieval Bibliography (by way of library subscription)

Index of Christian Art (by way of library subscription)

Hollis Catalogue

I also have responsibility for a graduate level seminar this semester.  The graduate students take the upper-level undergraduate survey (3 hours), and then we meet for an additional 1 1/2 hours per week, as a sort of half seminar.  I decided to dedicate this meeting to early medieval monasteries.  Here is my syllabus.

Early Medieval Monasteries Syllabus 

I offer some cautions.  First, almost every project requires proficiency in either French, German, or Italian.  Second, the effort to contextualize demands a certain amount of dedication from the student.  This syllabus would not match just any group of students.