Iconography, Art, and Architecture of Medieval Rome: The Development of a New Christian Visual Language

This course is a study of Rome’s transition from Pagan Empire to Capital of Christianity through its monuments, churches, and art. The churches of Rome provide the perfect setting to analyze its development of a Christian pictorial language as evidenced through its works of art and architecture.

During this course, students will understand Italian art in its religious and political contexts. Students will learn to recognize the visual impact the Christianization of Rome had on its urban landscape along with the iconography that was created and utilized throughout the works of art, architecture and monuments of Rome. This course will strengthen the students’ aesthetic comprehension of this new visual language through a study of the transformation of the ideology of the ancient basilica, the art of the mosaics, the painted icons, and the sculptural and architectural elements evident throughout Rome. Students will also be introduced to the evolution of the visual representation of Christ in art.