"Neo-Medievalism Studies”, Italy, and the Four Ghosts: architectural history and the study of medievalism

This historiographical piece has two main objectives. On the one hand, it sets out to offer the first sustained discussion of the study of – and the tendency to ignore, underestimate, and criticise – Italian neo-medieval architecture. On the other, by focusing on the Italian case, it reflects on the...

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Main Author: Tommaso Zerbi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Department of Art History, University of Birmingham 2022-06-01
Series:Journal of Art Historiography
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/zerbi.pdf
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author Tommaso Zerbi
author_facet Tommaso Zerbi
author_sort Tommaso Zerbi
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description This historiographical piece has two main objectives. On the one hand, it sets out to offer the first sustained discussion of the study of – and the tendency to ignore, underestimate, and criticise – Italian neo-medieval architecture. On the other, by focusing on the Italian case, it reflects on the interplay of architectural history and medievalism studies, making the special claim that, if medievalism and medievalism studies can be defined as the responses to the Middle Ages and the study of those responses, respectively, then ‘neo-medievalism’ and ‘neo-medievalism studies’ shall describe the architectural and artistic manifestations of medievalism and their study. Using the analogy of the ‘Ghost of the Present’, the ‘Ghost of the Future’, and the two ‘Ghosts of the Past’, the article opens by discussing the reasons for the neglect and marginalisation of, and bias towards, Italian neo-medieval architecture. After reconstructing a critical history of the key episodes in scholarship that has touched upon Italian neo-medieval architecture, it proposes an analysis of the notion of – and an apologia for the study of – neo-medievalism beyond the boundaries of space, style, and time.
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spelling doaj.art-2ed13b9c3a3f4429baf03ca9f22ebf2c2022-12-22T02:26:36ZengDepartment of Art History, University of BirminghamJournal of Art Historiography2042-47522022-06-012626TZ1doi.org/10.48352/uobxjah.00004095"Neo-Medievalism Studies”, Italy, and the Four Ghosts: architectural history and the study of medievalismTommaso Zerbi0Bibliotheca HertzianaThis historiographical piece has two main objectives. On the one hand, it sets out to offer the first sustained discussion of the study of – and the tendency to ignore, underestimate, and criticise – Italian neo-medieval architecture. On the other, by focusing on the Italian case, it reflects on the interplay of architectural history and medievalism studies, making the special claim that, if medievalism and medievalism studies can be defined as the responses to the Middle Ages and the study of those responses, respectively, then ‘neo-medievalism’ and ‘neo-medievalism studies’ shall describe the architectural and artistic manifestations of medievalism and their study. Using the analogy of the ‘Ghost of the Present’, the ‘Ghost of the Future’, and the two ‘Ghosts of the Past’, the article opens by discussing the reasons for the neglect and marginalisation of, and bias towards, Italian neo-medieval architecture. After reconstructing a critical history of the key episodes in scholarship that has touched upon Italian neo-medieval architecture, it proposes an analysis of the notion of – and an apologia for the study of – neo-medievalism beyond the boundaries of space, style, and time.https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/zerbi.pdfarchitectural historymedievalismneo-medievalismrevivalitalyhistoriographyarchitecture
spellingShingle Tommaso Zerbi
"Neo-Medievalism Studies”, Italy, and the Four Ghosts: architectural history and the study of medievalism
Journal of Art Historiography
architectural history
medievalism
neo-medievalism
revival
italy
historiography
architecture
title "Neo-Medievalism Studies”, Italy, and the Four Ghosts: architectural history and the study of medievalism
title_full "Neo-Medievalism Studies”, Italy, and the Four Ghosts: architectural history and the study of medievalism
title_fullStr "Neo-Medievalism Studies”, Italy, and the Four Ghosts: architectural history and the study of medievalism
title_full_unstemmed "Neo-Medievalism Studies”, Italy, and the Four Ghosts: architectural history and the study of medievalism
title_short "Neo-Medievalism Studies”, Italy, and the Four Ghosts: architectural history and the study of medievalism
title_sort neo medievalism studies italy and the four ghosts architectural history and the study of medievalism
topic architectural history
medievalism
neo-medievalism
revival
italy
historiography
architecture
url https://arthistoriography.files.wordpress.com/2022/05/zerbi.pdf
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