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Byzantium and Florentia. Byzantine art in Florence from the 13th to the 18th century

Teruzzi, Marta (2017) Byzantium and Florentia. Byzantine art in Florence from the 13th to the 18th century. Advisor: Pellegrini, Prof. Emanuele. Coadvisor: Moretti, Prof. Simona . pp. 380. [IMT PhD Thesis]

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Abstract

The research is placed within the complex matter of the individuation and the comprehension of the movable Byzantine heritage in Italy, and focuses on Tuscany and specifically on Florence as a case study. The main aim of the research is to analyse the movable Byzantine heritage existing today in Florence, also in its historical aspects. Modern heritage is understood as the result of a long process of cultural choices and of dominant interpretations given throughout the centuries, and the research wants to address a double matter: on one side, the principal purpose is to define the extent of the extant heritage, to identify its main characters and to reconstruct its sequences. On the other side, the aim is to understand what kind of reflections and interpretations were proposed about these objects in the Florentine cultural context: which was the perception of Byzantine artefacts and of Byzantine art? Which objects were considered important (if any) and why? Was there a specific interest for the Byzantine culture? These two fields of analysis are evidently strongly intertwined; however, they are examined with different methodologies, different sources and basing on different requirements and definitions. The first aim of the project - defining the extent of the heritage which flow into the city from the Byzantine Empire – is based on the creation of a catalogue of the Byzantine artworks of Florence, including a list of the all extant pieces and the catalogue entries of those artworks which arrived during the periods considered by the analysis (13th-18th centuries). The second aim of the research – understanding the changing attitudes and interests in Byzantine artefacts – is faced by following a chronological order, starting from the 13th century, when we find the first traces of Byzantine objects, and ending with the presence of the French occupation: the dates of 1799-1803 mark a deep political change and a moment of crisis in the management of the artistic heritage of the city, with the Director of the Uffizi Gallery, Tommaso Puccini, sending a part of the collection to Palermo in order to preserve it. The elements used to look at the interests in Byzantium are multiple. As first, all the aspects of the artworks' life which emerged during the cataloguing: acquisition and display, eventual disposal or destruction, re-use or rearrangement. Artistic literature is also an important field of research, and all the chapters include a paragraph which analyses the art historians' opinions and the place that 'Greek art' occupied in art historical literature. Another important factor considered by the research is the lost heritage: reconstructing the real number and typology of the Byzantine artworks which were circulating in Florence is retained fundamental to have a full overview of the appreciation of Byzantine art in Florence.

Item Type: IMT PhD Thesis
Subjects: N Fine Arts > NX Arts in general
PhD Course: Management and Development of Cultural Heritage
Identification Number: 10.6092/imtlucca/e-theses/231
NBN Number: urn:nbn:it:imtlucca-27258
Date Deposited: 14 Sep 2017 07:55
URI: http://e-theses.imtlucca.it/id/eprint/231

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