Antonio Muñoz e la storia della miniatura bizantina: un nuovo indirizzo di ricerca alla scuola di Adolfo Venturi

• Autores: Giovanni Gasbarri
• Localización: Rivista di storia della miniatura, ISSN 1126-4772, Nº. 18, 2014, págs. 176-185
• Idioma: italiano
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Antonio Muñoz and the History of Byzantine Book Illumination.

    Antonio Muñoz (1884-1960) is usually remembered for his intense activity as General Director for Arts and Antiquities during the Fascist period. His brief yet relevant career as a Byzantinist is often underestimated in the secondary literature, despite the fact that, before World War I, he was unanimously considered as the most promising Italian specialist in Byzantine art. After studying under Adolfo Venturi, in 1903 Muñoz began to write for several important journals such as "L'Arte", "Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft" and "Byzantinische Zeitschrift", particularly focusing on Byzantine art and illumination under the influence of Strzygowski's controversial theories. At this early stage, his most important work was certainly the new edition of the "Codex Purpureus Rossanensis" (1907), a manuscript which had been displayed at the "Exhibition of Italo-Byzantine Art" held in Grottaferrata between 1905 and 1906. The book was internationally praised as a significant progress in the field of the illumination history. However, in spite of the high expectations placed on him, since 1911 Muñoz was absorbed by his new professional responsabilities as a state official and gradually abandoned the study of Byzantine art. With the support of previously unpublished or little-known documentation, this article aims to provide a new critical analysis of Muñoz's studies on Byzantine illumination, as well as a more balanced evaluation of their impact on the scholarly community at the turn of the twentieth century.