ART 306: ROMANESQUE and GOTHIC ART
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Research Paper: Medieval Art in Boston, Cambridge, and New York City
Length and format: 8-10 pages, double-spaced, 12-point Times Roman, 1" margins
Selection of paper object, rank 1-3 (1 = top choice), due by email: F, Oct. 9
Annotated bibliography and preliminary ideas/argument, due in class: F, Nov. 6
Presentations in class: M, Dec. 7; W, Dec. 9; F, Dec. 11; and M, Dec. 14
Final paper, due: F, Dec. 18 by 9 am (at professor’s office).
An overarching theme of our course is the relationship of the visual and the visionary in the Middle Ages. As
Herbert Kessler states in his book Seeing Medieval Art, a key claim for the religious use of images is that they
allow access to “the invisible by means of the visible.” Like medieval theologians, we want to figure out how
the act of optical seeing connects to the desire for spiritual seeing. Most importantly, how were medieval art
objects implicated in this dynamic? As you will learn from class lectures, readings, and discussions, a number
of factors were crucial to how these objects and images were experienced. These factors include: the object’s
formal and material qualities, scale and spatial configuration, and the ways in which the viewer’s body is
implicated in various forms of piety.
For this research paper, you should choose one object in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston or
the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cloisters in New York (select from the list provided; see posted
PowerPoint presentation of objects). Your goal is to explore the object in terms of its material, form,
iconography, and function. Feel free to compare your objects to other similar examples. Ideally, your research
should lead you to an issue or theme that you can explore and argue in depth. This focus is totally up to you, but
you might consider: the cult of saints and relics, pilgrimage, the depiction of Mary and Christ, the role of
images in church ritual versus private devotion, etc. In addition, try to connect your exploration of the object to
the course’s broader themes, such as the visual and the visionary.
You will be expected to research your object as completely as possible. Beyond carefully looking at the object
and describing its formal qualities, take note of all the information provided by the museum. In addition, you
should strive to use eight to twelve sources (both primary and secondary); you must footnote these sources
following the Art Department Style sheet. Note: Don’t be surprised to find very little scholarship on your
specific object. Instead of lots of articles and books about your specific object, you will need to research similar
objects, images, and themes. In addition to your written paper, include images of your object, as well as any
comparative images necessary to your discussion and argument. Note: You will make a short PowerPoint
presentation (with images) of your paper’s key ideas during one of the last class meetings of the semester (to be
scheduled).
For your convenience, several potentially helpful books are on Course Reserves in Healey Library. These
include three catalogues of the MFA collection. Also, utilize libraries in the area. Don’t forget to check online
databases such as the Grove Dictionary of Art, Art Index, BHA (Bibliography of the History of Art), JSTOR,
and WorldCat, all available through Healey’s website. Remember: If unavailable at UMB, articles and books
can be ordered through Interlibrary Loan.
Object List
MFA, Boston:
(1) Triptych pendant with Martyrdom of St. Barbara, Mary Magdalene, and St. Gereon, enamel, gilding, silver,
Germany (Cologne), 1504 (47.1450a-b).
(2) Bosom of Abraham Trinity, alabaster sculpture, England, 1420-1450 (Decorative Arts Special Fund, 1927).
(3) Christ in Majesty, fresco, Spain (Catalan), c. 1150-1200 (Evans Fund, 1921; 21.1285).
(4) Master of the Urbino Coronation, Crucifixion, fresco, Italy, 1360s (Hemenway Fund, 1940, 40.91).
(5) Bartolomeo Vivarini, Virgin and the Dead Christ with the Ascension and Saints, polyptych, Italy, 1485
(Adams Shaw, 1901, 01.4).
(6) Barna da Siena (?), Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine, panel painting, Italy, c. 1340 (Wyman Whitman Fund,
1915, 15.1145).
(7) Maestro Daddesco, Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints, Crucifixion, Coronation of the Virgin, panel
painting, Italy, c. 1340-1350 (Zoe Oliver Sherman Collection, 1938, 38.1840).
(8) Marriage Casket, ivory and silver, England, 14th century (64.1467).
Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge:
(9) Roberto Oderisi, The Man of Sorrows, tempera and gold on panel, Naples, Italy, c. 1354 (Fogg Museum,
1937.49).
(10) Master of the Fogg Pietà, The Lamentation over the Dead Christ, tempera and gold on panel, Italy, c. 1330
(Fogg Museum, 1927.306).
(11) Pietà, polychromed wood, Austrian, c. 1420 (Busch-Reisinger Museum, BR59.95).
(12) Master of Offida, The Virgin and Child Enthroned; Christ on the Cross between the Virgin and Saint John
the Evangelist, tempera and gold on panels with engaged frame, Italy, c. 1350 (Fogg Museum, 1920.5).
Metropolitan Museum, New York (5th Ave.):
(13) Lorenzo Monaco, The Intercession of Christ and the Virgin, tempera on canvas, Santa Maria del Fiore,
Florence, before 1402 (Cloisters Collection, 1953, 53.37).
(14) Shrine of the Virgin, oak with linen covering, paint, and gilding, German, c. 1300 (J. Pierpont Morgan,
1917, 17.190.185).
(15) Reliquary Arm of Saint Valentine, silver, gilded silver, blue cabochon, Basel, Switzerland, c. 1380-1400 (J.
Pierpont Morgan, 1917, 17.190.351).
(16) Virgin and Child Reliquary, walnut with paint, gesso, and linen, French, Auvergne, c. 1175-1200 (J.
Pierpont Morgan, 1916, 16.32.194).
(17) Virgin and Child with Cradle, ivory, Germany, c. 1350-1400 (Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917,
17.190.182).
(18) Ivory Polyptych with Scenes from Christ’s Passion, ivory, France, c. 1350 (Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan,
1917, 17.190.205).
(19) Reliquary of St. Christopher, silver and silver-gilt, Toulouse, France, c. 1375-1425 (Gift of J. Pierpont
Morgan, 1917, 17.190.361.
The Cloisters, Fort Tryon Park, New York:
(20) Ivory Diptych with Scenes of the Life of Christ and the Virgin, Saint Michael, John the Baptist, Thomas
Becket, and the Trinity, ivory, Germany, c. 1350 (Cloisters Collection, 1970, 1970.324.8a, b).
(21) Retable with Scenes from the Life of St. Andrew, tempera and gilding on panel, Roussillon (modern
France), c. 1420-1430 (Rogers Fund, 1906, 06.1211.1-.9).