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Conflict, Commerce, and an Aesthetic of Appropriation in the Italian Maritime Cities, 1000-1150
Series: - The Medieval Mediterranean, Volume: 112
Author:
In Conflict, Commerce, and an Aesthetic of Appropriation in the Italian Maritime Cities, 1000-1150, Karen Rose Mathews analyzes the relationship between war, trade, and the use of spolia (appropriated objects from past and foreign cultures) as architectural decoration in the public monuments of the Italian maritime republics in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. This comparative study addressing five urban centers argues that the multivalence of spolia and their openness to new interpretations made them the ideal visual form to define a distinct Mediterranean identity for the inhabitants of these cities, celebrating the wealth and prestige that resulted from the paired endeavors of war and commerce while referencing the cultures across the sea that inspired the greatest hostility, fear, or admiration.
Karen Rose Mathews, Ph.D. (1995), University of Chicago, is an Assistant Professor of Art History at the University of Miami. She has published extensively on the use of spolia in the visual culture of the Mediterranean, concentrating on the artistic production of medieval Italy.
"As its title suggests, Karen Rose Mathews’s book argues that the use of spolia in the maritime cities was the result of two main factors: conflict and commerce. After an introduction, the book presents case studies of Salerno, Venice, Pisa, and Genoa, followed by a very short conclusion and an ample bibliography.[...] The comparing and contrasting of the selected cities is a fruitful one: rather than a general exposition of reuse in medieval Italy, the choice of salient examples within a limited period is methodologically sound. Mathews bolsters her claims with both material and written sources. She demonstrates how the appropriated objects are employed to different effect and in different manner. [...] this informative and well-documented book makes accessible a complex subject matter (which, except for Venice, has been discussed mainly by Italian authors) and highlights the multivalence of spolia with useful insights into their rich cultural associations". Bente Kilerich, in Speculum 95/3, July 2020.
Acknowledgments List of Illustrations Introduction: Visualizing Commerce and Conflict in the Maritime Cities of Medieval Italy Conflict and Commerce in the Medieval Mediterranean Visualizing the Relationship between Trade and Conflict Through an Aesthetic of Appropriation 1 Local Traditions and Norman Innovations in the Artistic Culture of Southern Italy Introduction Local Traders and Norman Warriors in Southern Italy Forging an Amalfitan International Style: The Art Patronage of the Local Elite Norman Architectural Patronage and the Spolia Aesthetic 2 Emulation of and Appropriation from Byzantium in Venetian Visual Culture Introduction Conflict, Trade, and the Venetian Presence in the Eastern Mediterranean Appropriated Relics from Byzantium Relics, Spoils, and Spolia in Venetian Art and Architecture 3 The Interplay of Islamic and Ancient Roman Spolia on Pisan Churches Introduction Commerce and Conflict in Eleventh and Twelfth-century Pisa The Signification of Ancient and Contemporary Muslim Spoils onPisan Churches 4 Rivalry with Pisa and Spolia as Plunder of War in Medieval Genoa Introduction Crusade Campaigns and Commercial Compensation Spolia as Plunder in the Art and Architecture of Genoa The Aesthetic of Appropriation and Competition with Pisa Conclusion: Shifting Significations of the Spolia Aesthetic Select Bibliography Primary Sources Secondary Sources
All interested in the intersection of material and visual culture across the medieval Mediterranean and the cross-cultural interaction that facilitated the movement of people and the exchange of goods and ideas.