Tuesday 19 September 2023, at 3:00-5:00 PM, Auditorium Palazzo Prodi – Department of Humanities, via Tommaso Gar 14, Trento
In 2022, three decades after its initial composition, an unprecedented and visionary exploration of the history of art in Europe was published in the ‘I libri di XY’ series. Curated by Decio Gioseffi, a distinguished art historian renowned for his particular specialization in perspective, this work represents a comprehensive analysis of the entire evolutionary spectrum of Western art, starting from its relationship with the legacy of Antiquity and exchanges with Near Eastern art, and culminating in the excellences that shaped and characterized the Italian and European Renaissance (with plans for a continuation into the latter half of the twentieth century).
One of the most captivating aspects of the book is the modernity with which Decio Gioseffi applies an operational method from the scientific world to the historical narrative of art, a method that he extensively discussed during his long collaboration with Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti. This is made possible not only through the author’s specialized knowledge but also by his ability to place artistic production within the context of society and history.
A salient feature of this work lies in its modern application of a unified operationalist method derived from the scientific realm to the historical narrative of art, a method extensively discussed during the enduring academic collaboration between Decio Gioseffi and Carlo Ludovico Ragghianti. Such an approach is made possible not only through the author’s specialized knowledge but also through his aptitude to contextualize artistic production within the context of society and history. Consequently, Storia dell’arte in Europa unfolds as a rich, interconnected fabric featuring beautiful passages that also touch upon fashion, literature, engineering and technology, military strategy, and the history of languages.
A discussion between Claudio Strinati and Franco Purini, moderated by Denis Viva, will revolve around the uniqueness of this operationalist method and its significance in the realm of art dissemination.
In addition to the printed volume, the Università degli Studi di Trento Publishing House is pleased to present an open-access digital edition of the book, published in collaboration with Il Poligrafo Publishing House. This digital edition is further enriched by an interactive atlas featuring selected images chosen by the curators, complementing Gioseffi’s text with some of the most emblematic elements drawn from his introductory university lectures on art history and method.
