ART 306: ROMANESQUE and GOTHIC ART
Research Paper: Medieval Art in Boston and New York City
Length and format: 8-10 pages, double-spaced, 12-point Times Roman, 1" margins
Annotated bibliography and preliminary ideas/argument, due in class: T, April 5
Presentations: T, May 3; Th, May 5, and T, May 10.
Final paper, due in class: T, May 10
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). 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 consult eight to twelve sources (both primary and secondary). 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: you can order articles and books
through Interlibrary Loan.
Research Paper: Medieval Art in Boston and New York City
MFA, Boston:
1) Triptych pendant with Martyrdom of St. Barbara, Mary Magdalene, and St. Gereon, Germany, enamel,
gilding, silver, 1504.
2) Eucharistic Dove, France (Limoges), enamel, gilding on copper, late 14th century (William Francis
Warden Fund, 1949, 49.1075).
3) Bosom of Abraham Trinity, alabaster sculpture, England, 1420-1450 (Decorative Arts Special Fund,
1927).
4) Christ in Majesty, fresco, Spain (Catalan), c. 1150-1200 (Evans Fund, 1921; 21.1285).
5) Master of the Urbino Coronation, Crucifixion, fresco, Italy, 1360s (Hemenway Fund, 1940, 40.91).
6) Bartolomeo Vivarini, Virgin and the Dead Christ with the Ascension and Saints, polyptych, Italy, 1485
(Adams Shaw, 1901, 01.4).
7) Barna da Siena (?), Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine, Italy, c. 1340 (Wyman Whitman Fund, 1915,
15.1145).
8) Master of the Osservanza, Reliquary with Crucifixion, Italy, panel painting and compartments, late 1440s
(Charles Potter Kling Fund, 1960, 60.536).
9) Maestro Daddesco, Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints, Crucifixion, Coronation of the Virgin, Italy,
panel painting, c. 1340-1350 (Zoe Oliver Sherman Collection, 1938, 38.1840).
10) Niccolò di Buonaccorso, Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints and Angels, Italy, panel painting, c.
1380 (Mrs. Thomas O. Richardson, 1920, 20.1860).
11) Unidentified artist, Christ as the Man of Sorrows, Alsatian, oil on panel, c. 1470 (56.262).
12) Unidentified artist, Virgin and Child, France, wood, c. 1210-1225 (59.701).
13) Goteke Klinghe, Baptismal Font, Germany (Bremen), leaded bronze, 1483 (41.561).
Metropolitan Museum, New York (5th Ave.):
1) Lorenzo Monaco, The Intercession of Christ and the Virgin, Santa Maria del Fiore, Florence, before 1402
(tempera on canvas; Cloisters Collection, 1953, 53.37).
2) Reliquary Bust of Saint Yrieix, Church of Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, c. 1220-1240 (silver and gilded silver,
etc.; J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917, 17.190.352a).
3) Crucifix, North Italian (near Treviso), 1180-1230 (painted wood; Fletcher Fund, 1947, 47.100.54).
4) Shrine of the Virgin, German, c. 1300 (oak with linen covering, paint, gilding; J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917,
17.190.185).
5) Chasse with the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket, French, Limoges, c. 1190 (gilded copper with
enamel; Private Collection, United Kingdom, L.2008.58.5).
6) Reliquary Arm of Saint Valentine, Basel, Switzerland, c. 1380-1400 (silver, gilded silver, blue cabochon;
J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917, 17.190.351).
7). Ivory Tabernacle with Scenes from the Infancy of Christ, North French or North Spanish, c. 1250-1300
(Robert Lehman, 1975, 1975.1.1553).
8) Virgin and Child Reliquary, French, Auvergne, c. 1175-1200 (walnut with paint, gesso, and linen; J.
Pierpont Morgan, 1916, 16.32.194).
9) Virgin and Child with Cradle, Germany, c. 1350-1400 (ivory, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917,
17.190.182).
10) Ivory Polyptych with Scenes from Christ’s Passion, France, c. 1350 (ivory, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan,
1917, 17.190.205).
11) Reliquary of St. Christopher, Toulouse, France, c. 1375-1425 (silver and silver-gilt, Gift of J. Pierpont
Morgan, 1917, 17.190.361.
The Cloisters, Fort Tryon Park, New York:
1) Arm Reliquary, South Lowlands, Meuse, c. 1230 (silver and silver gilt over wood, etc.; Cloisters
Collection, 1947, 47.101.33).
2) Ivory Diptych with Scenes of the Life of Christ and the Virgin, Saint Michael, John the Baptist, Thomas
Becket, and the Trinity, Germany, c. 1350 (Cloisters Collection, 1970, 1970.324.8a, b).
3) The Lamentation, Spain, c. 1480 (walnut, paint, and gilding; Cloisters Collection, 1955, 55.85).
4) Retable with Scenes from the Life of St. Andrew, Roussillon (modern France), c. 1420-1430 (tempera,
gilding on panel; Rogers Fund, 1906, 06.1211.1-.9).
5) St. Roch, Normandy, France, early 16th century (painted wood, The Cloisters Collection, 1925,
25.120.239a, b).