2019-20

The course deals with methodological questions involved in the history of Byzantine art.  It examines the terms ‘iconography’ and ‘iconology’, theories pertaining to iconology, various schools of painting, such as the ‘Vienna School’ and the founders of iconology in Europe.  It also deals with the term ‘Byzantine iconology’ and iconological matters in the history of Byzantine art. 

The aim of the course is to acquaint students with the basic concepts and principles involved in the history of art and with the development of theory regarding the ‘reading’ and interpretation of art as a phenomenon and of particular works of art.
 
In particular, upon completion of the course, the student will be acquainted with:
 
·       what painting, sculpture and architecture is,
·       the role of line and colour,
·       form and style,
·       painting techniques,
·       general subject categories,

The course forms a basic introduction to the history of medieval Europe. It examines the formation and evolution of the Medieval world throughout the European continent, from the fall of the Roman empire and the foundation of the Germanic (“barbarian”) kingdoms to the Renaissance and the transition to the Early Modern Era.

During the first part of the course, lasting three weeks, the students are introduced, first, to the scholars and their work who have dealt with the history of modern Hellenism from the beginning of the historiography of the Greek nation to the present, second, to the most important scholarly institutions in which the subject is studied and promoted, third, to the academic journals, conferences and symposia that have dealt with the study of the history of modern Hellenism and, fourth, to the types of direct and indirect sources employed by scholars who deal with the subject.