medieval
The medieval program emphasizes the monumental arts with a pluralistic approach based on Richard Krautheimer’s philosophy that every problem wants its own solution. Professor Edson Armi uses an integrated methodology that combines the study of architecture and sculpture and explores issues of connoisseurship, design, labor, construction and structure, as well as the creative process and cultural context of art. Recent graduate students have focused on French Romanesque and early Gothic architecture and sculpture. In the past five years, three students have received prestigious Chateaubriand Fellowships from the French government to pursue dissertation research in France, on the Cistercian abbey at Pontigny, the Royal Portal at Chartres Cathedral, and the royal abbey at Etampes. Other thesis and dissertation projects include the Mozarabic sculpture at Saint-Genis-des-Fontaines, the Cistercian abbey of Le Thoronet in Provence, and the sculpture of Gislebertus at Autun. Students are encouraged to take courses in the outstanding medieval studies program (www.medievalstudies.ucsb.edu).
