A New Perspective on "Ars" and "Scientia": The Craft and Experience of Building Milan Cathedral Open Access

Abstract

This study revisits the robust body of surviving primary source material from the archives

of Milan Cathedral to identify the previously ignored collaborative and multicultural

environment at the building site. In addition to an investigation of the earliest primary documents

(1386-1402) and a reassessment of 20th century scholarship, this thesis includes the first

integrated examination of the architecture and glazing program together, as representative of

cultural and generational collaboration. Milan Cathedral’s six-century long construction has

drawn scholarly attention, beginning in the anglophone world with James Ackerman’s 1949

article “‘Ars Sine Scientia Nihil Est’ Gothic Theory of Architecture at the Cathedral of Milan.”

However, Ackerman’s invaluable translation also interpreted the documents in a way that has

skewed the perception of the cathedral for decades. Ackerman argued that the hiring of architects

from north of the Alps reflected the incompetency of the Milanese and their inability to design

and construct the cathedral without significant intervention. By examining details from the

primary sources largely ignored by earlier scholars, as well as incorporating a novel

interpretation of the building’s physical evidence, the more nuanced narrative of Milan Cathedral

and the people involved in its construction comes to light.

Table of Contents

Introduction......................................................................................................1

Chapter 1: The Building......................................................................................6

Chapter 2: Scholarly Engagement with Milan Cathedral........................................22

Chapter 3: The Primary Documents.....................................................................36

Chapter 4: Collaboration in the Glazing Program..................................................54

Conclusions.......................................................................................................68

Figures List........................................................................................................72

Bibliography......................................................................................................121

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Art History
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Architecture Art History
Keyword	Italian Architecture Nicolas de Bonaventure Milan Cathedral Gothic Architecture Lombard Architecture Italian Stained Glass
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Elizabeth Pastan, Emory University
Committee Members	André Patrão, Emory University Marshall Duke, Emory University

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