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Romanesque Art

Code: 100560
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Art History OB 3

Contact lecturer

Name :
Anna Orriols Alsina
Email :
anna.orriols@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

- Sufficient knowledge of English and French (and, if possible, also Italian) that allow the proper use bibliography and/or electronic resources in these languages.

- The intellectual attitude and level of general culture of a person who, having voluntarily and consciously enrolled in a university degree, is of course interested in studying and gaining new knowledge.

- It is absolutely essential that both oral and written expression are correct in content and form, as must be required of anyone who has completed high school and aspires to a university degree, regardless of the language used.

Objectives

1- To provide a general vision of this artistic period, parallel to the specific knowledge of its various manifestations . This should allow to assimilate the profile and specificities of the art of this period in order to be able to identify and evaluate the works then produced.

2 - To understand the fundamental relationships between art and the historical, religious, social, economic, political and cultural context, as well as the various functions and readings of the work of art.

3- To know and learn how to conveniently handle the relevant bibliography and certain electronic resources, insofar as they allow the knowledge provided in the classroom to be expanded and information to be sought when necessary.

4- To acquire and progressively master a specific lexic that allows the correct interpretation and description of a work, a typology or an iconographic theme.

5 - To dismantle false myths and erroneous interpretations about this period and its artistic manifestations, largely derived from the weight of a certain historiographic tradition and the lack of knowledge of the scientific bibliography that allows its objective and updated understanding.

Learning outcomes

  1. Applying the iconographic knowledge to the reading of artistic imagery.
  2. Analysing ideas about an artistic phenomenon in a given cultural context.
  3. Analysing the creators of an artistic phenomenon in a specific cultural context.
  4. Analysing the recipients of an artistic phenomenon in a specific cultural context.
  5. Working in teams, respecting the other's points of view and designing collaboration strategies.
  6. Connecting an artistic imagery with other cultural phenomena within its period.
  7. Reconstructing the artistic outlook of a particular cultural context.
  8. Identifying the artistic imagery, placing it into its cultural context.
  9. Accurately defining and explaining an artistic object with the specific language of art criticism.
  10. Examining an artistic imagery and distinguishing its formal, iconographic and symbolic values.
  11. Distinguishing the elaboration techniques and processes of an artistic object.
  12. Explaining the reception mechanisms of a work of art.
  13. Efficiently presenting knowledge in oral and written form.
  14. Encouraging creativity and fomenting innovative ideas.

Contents

1. The Romanesque worlds. Patronage and legitimation. Transfers.

2. Architecture. Starting points and new approaches.

3. The return of monumental sculpture. Portals and cloisters. Cult images.

4. The transformation of space. Mural painting, mosaics, textiles, historiated doors. Liturgical furnishings.

5. The treasury. Illuminated manuscripts and luxury arts.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Autonomous 20 0.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Supervised 10 0.4 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14
Directed 120 4.8 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

- During classroom-based instruction, the programme will be developed in master class sessions, always with the accompaniment of images and occasionally the reading of texts or the use of some electronic resource. Readings will be assigned and others will be recommended.

- Interventions by students will be welcome, in the form of questions, comments or contribution of complementary information that can generate a debate or lead to other aspects of interest.

- The Virtual Campus /Aules Moodle will be used to provide lists of bibliography, links and other material deemed appropriate, as well as to warn of incidents that may affect the course.

- There will be a regular control of attendance to class. Attendance is necessary to obtain one's own class notes, for a correct understanding of the subjects and for participation in the activities that may be carried out. In no case does the existence of the Virtual Campus / Aules Moodle, or the notes floating around on the Internet, save face-to-face instruction nor are they any guarantee that the course will be passed. It is, therefore, the absolute and exclusive responsibility of the student for the lack of knowledge arising from not following the course in person.

- All information regarding readings, tasks, calendar and programmed activities will be provided in the classroom and/or through the Virtual Campus / Aules Moodle.

- E-mail will only be used if the student is unable to come to the Faculty or if it has been agreed with the lecturer.

- Tutorials are reserved for specific and particular doubts, leaving those of collective interest for interventions in the classroom.

  • Fifteen minutes of a class session, within the schedule established by the centre or degree programme, will be set aside for students to complete the evaluation surveys for the teaching staff and the course.
  • The teaching methodology and the evaluation proposed in the guide may undergo some modification subject to the onsite teaching restrictions imposed by health authorities.


Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Classroom exercices 20% 0 0 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14
Mid-term exam 1 40% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13
Mid-term exam 2 40% 0 0 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

To pass the subject, students must obtain a grade of no less than 5 out of 10.

A grade of Not assessable will be awarded if the student has completed less than 30% of the assessment activities.

When the results of each evaluative activity are published, the procedure and date for grade review will be announced (via Moodle).

The following assessment tasks will be carried out:

A) Two midterm exams

One halfway through the semester and another at the end, covering the material taught in each part. Dates will be set on the first day of class.

B) Classroom exercises:

Two classroom exercises (which will account for a total of 20% of the final grade), to be specified in due course.


Resits (Make-up exams)

A missed exam may be retaken only under the following conditions:

  • if it could not be taken at the scheduled time (with valid justification)
  • if the final grade is a fail with a score no lower than 3.5
  • The resit date is set by the Faculty. No changes or individual exceptions will be allowed. If any changes occur, they will affectthe entire group and will be duly communicated.
  • The resit exam will follow the same structure as the midterms. The length may vary slightly.
  • There is no resit option for classroom exercises; only for exams.

Single assessment

Students opting for single assessment are not exempt from attending class. The only difference is that they will have a single date to complete all assessments for the course.

It will consist of the same components:

  • one exam on the course content (80% of the final grade)
  • one or two exercises to be specified (20% of the final grade)

Date: A single assessment date will be set within the official period defined by the Faculty.

The same resit procedure will be applied as in continuous assessment.


IMPORTANT

If a student engages in any irregularity that may significantly affect the grade of an assessment task, that task will be given a grade of 0, regardless of any disciplinary process that may follow. If multiple irregularities occur in the assessments of the same subject, the final grade for that subject will be 0.

For this subject,the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed only in very specific and justified cases. AI use is permitted exclusively for support tasks, such as proofreading and/or translation, and never for the creation of written exercises. If used (and only when permitted), students must clearly identify the parts generated with AI tools and specify which tools were used.

Lack of transparency in the use of AI in any assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty and may result in partial or total penalisation of the activity’s grade, or more serious sanctions in severe cases.

Assessment tasks involving irregularities are not eligible for resits.

It is not permitted to take photographs in class or record sessions by any means.

Bibliography

* General studies are included. Additional bibliography on specific aspects, regions, and case studies will be provided throughout the course.


Ambrose, Kirk, The Marvellous and the Monstrous in the Sculpture of Twelfth-Century Europe, Woodbridge, The Boydell Press, 2013.

Angheben, Marcel, et al., Les stratégies de la narration dans la peinture médiévale: la représentation de l’Ancien Testament aux IVe-XIIe siècles, Turnhout, Brepols, 2020.

Angheben, Marcel, D’un jugement à l’autre. La représentation du jugement immédiat dans les Jugements derniers français: 1100-1250, Turnhout, Brepols, 2013.

Bacile, Rosa Maria & John McNeill (eds.), Romanesque and the Mediterranean: Points of Contact across the Latin, Greek and Islamic Worlds c.1000 to c.1250, British Archaeological Association - Routledge, 2015.

Bango, Isidro, El Arte románico, Madrid, Historia 16 (Historia del Arte, 18), 1989.

Barral i Altet, Xavier, El románico. Ciudades, catedrales y monasterios, Colònia, Taschen, 1999.

Barral i Altet, Xavier, Contre l'art roman? Essai sur un passé réinventé, París, Fayard, 2006.

Braunfels, Wolfgang, Arquitectura monacal en Occidente, Barcelona, Barral 1975 [ed. original alemanya, 1969]

Cahn, Walter, Romanesque Bible Illumination, Nova York, 1982 / La bible romane, Friburg, Office du Livre, 1982.

Camps i Sòria, Jordi et al. (eds.), Romanesque: patrons and processes. Design and instrumentality in the Art and Architecture of Romanesque Europe, Londres, British Archaeological Association – Routledge, 2018.

Christe, Yves, Les grands portails romans. Études sur l’iconographie des Teophanies romanes, Ginebra, Droz, 1971.

Conant, Kennet John, Carolingian and Romanesque Architecture, 800–1200, (Pelican History of Art), Yale University Press, 1992 (= 3a ed. revisada de 1974); hi ha traducció castellana de l’ed. original de 1954: Arquitectura carolingia y románica 800-1200, Madrid, Cátedra, 1982.

Dale, Thomas, Pygmalion’s Power: Romanesque Sculpture, the Senses, and Religious Experience, Penn State University Press, 2019

Dodwell, Charles R., The Pictorial Arts of the West, 800–1200 (Pelican History of Art), Yale University Press, 1993; trad.: Artes pictóricas en Occidente 800-1200, Madrid, Cátedra, 1995.

Durliat, Marcel, La sculpture romane de la route de Saint-Jacques. De Conques à Compostelle, Mont-de-Marsan, C.E.H.A.G., 1990.

El romànic i la Mediterrània. Catalunya, Toulouse i Pisa. 1120-1180 (Catàleg d’exposició, MNAC, 29 febrer – 18 maig 2008), eds. Manuel Castiñeiras i Jordi Camps, Barcelona, MNAC, 2008.

Erlande-Brandenburg, Alain, De pierre, d’or et de feu. La création artistique au Moyen Âge IVe-XIIIe siècle, Paris, Fayard, 1999.

Español, Francesca; Yarza, Joaquín, El romànic català, Manresa, Angle, 2007.

Forsyth, Ilene H., The Throne of Wisdom. Wood Sculptures of the Madonna in Romanesque France, Princeton University Press, 1972.

Fozi, Shirin, Romanesque Tomb Effigies: Death and Redemption in Medieval Europe, 1000-1200, Penn State University Press, 2021.

Franzé, Barbara, L'Église et les églises Iconographie du monde grégorien (Rome, Italie, France), Brepols, 2024.

Gauthier, Madeleine, Émaux du Moyen Âge occidental, Friburg, Office du Livre, 1978.

Glass, Dorothy F., Romanesque Sculpture in Campania. Patrons, Programs, and Style, University Park (Penn.), The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1991.

Glass, Dorothy F., The Sculpture of Reform in North Italy, ca 1095-1130: History and Patronage of Romanesque Façades, Farnham, Routledge, 2010.

Grodecki, Louis, Le vitrail roman, Friburg, Office du Livre, 1977.

Hearn, Millard F., Romanesque Sculpture. The Revival of Monumental Stone Sculpture in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries, Oxford,1981.

Kendall, Calvin B., The Allegory of the Church. Romanesque Portals and their Verse Inscriptions, Toronto – Buffalo - Londres, University of Toronto Press, 1998.

Kupfer, Marcia, Romanesque wall painting in central France : the politics of narrative, New Haven - Londres, Yale University Press, 1993.

La France romane, catàleg de exposició (Paris, Musee du Louvre, 10.03 -6.06 2005), coord. Danielle Gaborit-Chopin, París, Hazan – Musée du Louvre, 2005.

Lasko, Peter, Ars Sacra 800-1200 (Pelican History of Art), Yale University Press, 2012 (2 ed. ampliada i actualitzada). Trad. cast.: Arte sacro 800-1200, Madrid, Cátedra, 1999 (de l’ed. de 1972).

Lutz, Gerhard, John McNeill & Richard Plant (eds.), Romanesque and the Year 1000, Londres, British Archaeological Association - Routledge, 2025.

McNeill, John & Richard Plant (eds.), Romanesque and the Past: Retrospection in the Art and Architecture of Romanesque Europe, British Archaeological Association - Routledge, 2014.

McNeill John & and Richard Plant (eds.), Romanesque Saints, Shrines, and Pilgrimage, Londres, British Archaeological Association - Routledge, 2020.

McNeill, John & Richard Plant (eds.), The Regional and Transregional in Romanesque Europe, British Archaeological Association - Routledge, 2021.

Petzold, Andreas, Romanesque Art, Londres, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1995.

Romano, Serena, Riforma e tradizione, 1150 – 1197, (La Pittura Medievale a Roma, Corpus, vol. IV), Milà, Jaca Books, 2006.

Rudolph, Conrad (ed.), A companion to Medieval art: Romanesque and Gothic in Northern Europe, Hoboken (NJ), Wiley Blackwell, 2019.

Sánchez Márquez, Carles, Patrimoni romànic. L'art català dels segles XI al XII, Barcelona, 2025.

Santerre, Jean-Marie, Les images sacrées en Occident au Moyen Âge, Madrid, Akal, 2021.

Schapiro, Meyer, Estudios sobre el románico, Madrid, 1984. [ed. or. Romanesque Art. Selected Papers, New York, 1977]

Stalley, Roger, Early Medieval Architecture, Oxford (Oxford History of Art), 1999.

The Art of Medieval Spain A.D. 500-1200, Nova York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993.

Toman, Rolf (ed.), El Románico, Colònia - Barcelona, Taschen, 1996.

Vergnolle, Eliane, L’art roman en France, París, Flammarion, 1994.

Verzár Borstein, Christine, Portals and politics in the early Italian city-state: The sculpture of Nicholaus in context, Parma, Università degli Studi di Parma - Istituto di storia dell'arte - Centro di studi medievali, 1988.

Voyer, Cécile; Éric Sparhubert (dirs.), L’image médiévale: fonctions dans l’espace sacré et structuration de l’espace cultuel, Turnhout, Brepols, 2011.

Williamson, Paul, Medieval Ivory Carvings. Early Christian to Romanesque, Victoria & Albert Museum, Londres, 2010.

Wirth, Jean, L’image à l’époque romane, París, Cerf, 1999.

Yarza, Joaquín, Arte y Arquitectura en España 500-1250, Madrid, Cátedra, 1979.

Yarza, Joaquín, et al. (eds.), Arte medieval. II. Románico y gótico (Fuentes y documentos para la historia del arte, III), Barcelona, Gustavo Gili, 1982.

Zarnecki, George, Romanesque, Londres, The Herbert Press, 1989 [1971].


Encyclopedic compendia (texts are available online)


Enciclopedia dell’arte medievale, 12 vols., Roma 1991-2002.

Catalunya Romànica, 27 volums, Barcelona, 1984-1998.

Enciclopedia del Románico en la Península Ibérica, Aguilar de Campoo, 2002- (en curs de publicació)


Online resources


- Webs de museus: Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY); British Museum (Londres), Victoria & Albert Museum (Londres); Musée du Louvre (París); Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya (Barcelona), etc.

- Art et architecture romane https://romanes.com/art_roman.html

- Románico digital https://www.romanicodigital.com/

- Monestirs https://monestirs.cat


Software

No specific software is necessary. Although unlikely, if required later in the course, this would be indicated in due time.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed
(PAUL) Classroom practices 1 Catalan first semester morning-mixed