«Many of the greatest experts of the Middle Ages have felt the fascination of the art of that period and have tried to discover its origins and roots, what those works of art meant for their contemporaries. One of these is Johan Huizinga in L'Autunno del Medioevo, another, in L'Arte e la società Medievale is Georges Duby. His experience and knowledge had introduced him to the different Aspects and problems of Medieval society, the structures, the culture and the landscape. Now he was no longer facing papers, documents, chronicles and essays, but abbeys, communal palaces, royal castles, windows, sculptures, miniatures, jewellery. How should these monuments be interpreted which were at the same time unique documents? How should he integrate the information this monuments provided with what he had learned in his studies on society? In this book we find the great historian's thoughts on Medieval Art, divided into different periods, its spaces defined, its types, forms and materials identified, the relationship with philosophy, theology and temporal power exposed, the meaning of the single works read through the expectations of the public, the desires of the consignor, the intention of the artist.» Enrico Castelnuovo