Problems and methods of studying decorative and applied arts in modern Мedieval art studies

Decorative and applied art of the Medieval period has attracted the attention of researchers since the XIX century. Art history medieval studies were formed as a systematic, interdisciplinary approach to works of art and phenomena of artistic life based on the historical and cultural context in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The distinctive features of the monuments of the epoch are contained in the large-scale influence of the Christian tradition, in the peculiarities of the reception of works in the context of the temple space, in the syncretic essence of art, in the hierarchical concept of the world, in the polysemantic character, specific attitude to history and the past, in ambivalence and didacticism. There is a body of sources, among which the so-called «prescription treatises», chronicles and statutes of workshops are distinguished. Of particular importance in the study of medieval applied art is the analysis of social institutions: the guild organization, the principles of training, the requirements for master. The typology of objects assumes an ideological and semantic component, iconographic and functional aspects, classification according to materials and techniques, the nature of decor and ornament. The problematic field of research is the issues of chronology and style. Researchers use the principle of periodization based on the sequence of historical events, determine the epochs by the ruling dynasties, traditionally only the Mature Middle Ages are associated with specific artistic styles – Romanesque and Gothic. Attribution requires determining the region of creation, school, workshop, a group of experts or a specific artist, the author’s problem has become one of the key ones in modern studies that refute the concept of «ameless art». Based on identifying stylistic analogies, fixing the distinctive features of the workshop (brand), determining the ways of movement of the artel, the concept of medieval art is formed, characterized by an individual creative manner. The problem of exhibiting medieval monuments in the museum space – the formation of permanent expositions and exhibition projects – is solved through the scientific reconstruction of the principles of the object’s existence in the architectural and artistic environment.