| Course Description |
This graduate seminar will examine the medium of sculpture in the medieval European context. Starting with its ambivalent reception and its association with pagan idolatry, the course will explore how the formal, material, and phenomenal qualities inherent to the three-dimensional medium engendered sculpture with a unique ability to convey complicated theological precepts to the masses, elevate the drama of the liturgy, and conjure visionary experiences. Structured around case studies of objects abroad and in American collections, the seminar will couple rigorous visual analysis with classic and contemporary methodological approaches from the field in its study of reliquaries, altarpieces, tombs, monumental architectural programs, and liturgical props, among other works.
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