This paper analyzes a faithful copy of a 6 th /7 th-century amulet which exemplifies the parallel... more This paper analyzes a faithful copy of a 6 th /7 th-century amulet which exemplifies the parallel use of multiple distinct varieties of religious imagery within a single art work. The amulet combines a detailed Christological cycle, engraved on the one side, with a representation of a winged creature, standing on two crocodiles, on the other, derived from images of Horus, an ancient Egyptian god. Such an intriguing combination of religious imagery taken from distinct cultural contexts testifies to the survival and integration of earlier beliefs in early Byzantine Egypt and to the various strategies employed by worshippers in the hope of reaching out to several divine forces at once.
This chapter highlights the significance of the material evidence for the study of the cult of sa... more This chapter highlights the significance of the material evidence for the study of the cult of saints and focuses on a number of visual strategies applied in late antique monumental art for the promotion of Christian martyrs. One important strategy was the placement of images of martyrs within the apse decoration, thereby turning them into protagonists within the regular worship of the church. Three main categories are considered: when martyrs featured as protagonists, when they were depicted as members of the heavenly court, or when they were grouped in pairs in the decorations of lateral chapels and small martyrial shrines. Differentiating among these various modes of representations is essential for building a more nuanced understanding of the worship of saints in Late Antiquity, because each type of imagery would have had a distinctive impact on the perception of martyrs and on shaping ideas of Christian holiness.
This chapter focuses on the selection of roles played by angels in early Byzantine visual culture... more This chapter focuses on the selection of roles played by angels in early Byzantine visual culture. In church decorations, the winged beings regularly appeared in pairs as guardians, assuming the likeness of courtiers or military officials. It is argued that within related depictions which show two winged guardians flanking a central motif, the significance of heavenly beings could vary depending on what was placed at the centre, be it a holy figure, a sacred object, or even an ecclesiastical space. Angels could also be depicted in narrative compositions representing the events of the Old and New Testaments. In these compositions, they often performed the role of divine agents enabling the realization of God’s will. The chapter analyses the significance of angelic representations in visual rendering of the scriptural and apocryphal events using the rich and detailed programme of the so-called Murano ivory diptych (6th c.) as an example.
This paper focuses on the formation and development of the image of Christ in the aftermath of th... more This paper focuses on the formation and development of the image of Christ in the aftermath of the official acknowledgment of the Christian church during the reign of Constantine in the fourth century. It analyzes the variety of forms and visual strategies used to convey the divine image. It explores moments of interaction with and departure from previous traditions and treats artistic evidence as a source of information on the complex dynamics taking place in Roman society and religious life within the eternal city at the time. The article stresses the polyvalence and multiformity which defined the image of Christ, who could be represented as a symbol or sign, as an allegorical representation reflective of a theological concept, as a historical figure performing deeds or miracles from the Gospels, as a teacher transmitting his knowledge to the disciples or as a ruler in the act of manifesting his supreme power and absolute kingship. The general overview of the surviving material enables us to trace the gradual changes that the image of this new God was undergoing in the fourth century and to consider these subtle modifications as indications of more general religious transformations.
The author discusses four groups of Byzantine calendar icons kept in the collection of St Catheri... more The author discusses four groups of Byzantine calendar icons kept in the collection of St Catherine’s monastery at Mt Sinai, each differing from the others according to format, number of panels, and in its visual approach to the menologion imagery. The result is a strong sense of distinction between the icons, perhaps suggestive of their different functions. A set of four panels which once formed part of a hexaptych is particularly intriguing. This calendar cycle was made by the Georgian painter Ioannes (John) in the second half of the 11th-early 12th century. These icons were originally placed at the center of a polyptych, flanked by an icon of the Last Judgment on the right side, and a second panel containing a unique combination of five miraculous icons of the Virgin and a narrative cycle dedicated to the Miracles and Passions of Christ on the left. Every image of the calendar series stands for three months of the year and combines around 90 scenes. All martyrs are represented at the moment of their death, while other saints are depicted standing front-on bearing attributes. This contribution offers new insights into the nature of painted hagiographical cycles and different approaches applied for calendar imagery in Byz- antine panel painting. It is argued that book illumination developed in parallel with the calendar icon tradition and clear links can be drawn between the menologion imagery in these two media. The unique style and approach of the painter Ioannes opens up possibilities for deciphering the mysterious world of Byzantine art making, the process of devising new kind of imagery, and the embedding of new meanings into well-known compositions. A detailed analysis of this important group of icons can help to unveil the different connections among book illumination, icon painting, and church decoration, as well as provide an almost endless supply of images of saints, some of which are unique or possess very few representations in the surviving corpus of Byzantine art.
The iconographic type of Mary as Maria Regina was particularly popular in Rome, and as many as th... more The iconographic type of Mary as Maria Regina was particularly popular in Rome, and as many as three images of Maria Regina survive from the latter part of the eighth century. Mary the Queen is depicted in full imperial regalia with a rich crown, sumptuous garments, and purple shoes. The early eighth-century examples are the mural of Pope Hadrian i (r. 772–795) in the atrium of the basilica of Santa Maria Antiqua, the painted niche in the lower church of San Clemente, and the fragmentary remnants of a monumental composition discovered in the early 1990s in Santa Susanna. Various images of Maria Regina found in Rome are traditionally seen as forming a coherent group and demonstrating an uninterrupted historical development. This paper argues, however, that there are significant differences in the rendering, function, choice of setting, and formal characteristics of the earliest examples of this iconography (i.e., created before the 730s) and later versions. The study of Maria Regina images may help to reconstruct the artistic environment and primary objectives of the donors who commissioned the decorations in Rome’s churches in the second half of the eighth century. This, in turn, could lead to improved evaluation of the changes and transformative stages occurring around the year 800.
This contribution examines the role of inscriptions in the mosaic decoration of the main church o... more This contribution examines the role of inscriptions in the mosaic decoration of the main church of the Byzantine Empire. It considers two principal types of epigraphical record – the dedicatory text around the apse and the short captions accompanying the images of saints and emperors. Discussing and contextualizing this material help highlight some common features, as well as distinct traits of the epigraphical evidence found in the mosaic decoration of Hagia Sophia.
This paper is concerned with Early Byzantine practice of complementing icons with frames bearing ... more This paper is concerned with Early Byzantine practice of complementing icons with frames bearing extensive inscriptions. Many surviving panel paintings (6th–8th c.) preserve indications of a frame once set around the rim. The surviving examples from Sinai and Rome represent unique evidence for the use of epigraphy on portable religious objects in the Early Byzantine period. The presence of textual frames transformed the earliest icons into ‘speaking images’, a feature often omitted in our discussions of Early Byzantine imagery. The comprehensive study of these phenomena reveal that the use of the written word in concomitance with religious imagery was from the beginning one of the fundamental characteristics of Byzantine art.
Lidova demonstrates how in its original setting the image of the Orant Virgin from the oratory of... more Lidova demonstrates how in its original setting the image of the Orant Virgin from the oratory of John VII (705–707) in Rome was perceived as a monumental icon. By situating the image of the Orant Virgin into a larger network of early Byzantine monumental icons, this chapter highlights important features of monumental icons and their bodies. These images were often placed within a niche or a border that separated them from other paintings and sometimes created an individual space for the placement of candles, votive gifts, or relics. Similar arrangements indicate that monumental icons were protagonists of special liturgical services.
The paper is dedicated to the image of Maria Regina on the “palimpsest wall” in S. Maria Antiqua ... more The paper is dedicated to the image of Maria Regina on the “palimpsest wall” in S. Maria Antiqua church in Rome. Traditionally dated to the sixth century, the attribution of the image has rarely been the focus of special attention, although it has been mentioned regularly in general publications on the ancient Forum basilica. The paper opens with a general review of the status quaestionis, providing a systematic overview of known opinions and studies. The discussion continues with a nuanced analysis of the iconography and formal characteristics of the Maria Regina image, as well as of the historical realities of sixth-century Rome. This leads the author to conclude that the earliest figurative image on the “palimpsest wall” was most probably created during the Ostrogothic rule in the city, i.e. in the first third of the sixth century. As a working possibility, it is argued that besides Theoderic, who resided in Rome and was engaged in a number of building and renovation activities, another plausible commissioner of the image could be his daughter Amalasuntha, who acted as a regent and a queen of Ostrogoths in the years between 526 and 535.
This paper is dedicated to the problem of artists’ signatures in Byzantium and, more specifically... more This paper is dedicated to the problem of artists’ signatures in Byzantium and, more specifically, to the question of anonymity, which is often considered to be a basic characteristic of Eastern Christian art. Declaration of authorship is traditionally seen as a sign of sinful vanity, antagonistic to the religious spirit of the Middle Ages. However, work on this material reveals numerous traces of authorship left by Byzantine artists on their work in the form of epigraphical records. Through a selection of the most insightful examples, based primarily on mosaics, murals and icon painting, this paper demonstrates that the tradition of creating inscriptions bearing the names of masters was a phenomenon neither limited to a particular chronological period of Byzantine history nor influenced by specific historical or cultural transformations. On the contrary, it represents a continuous tradition developing from the period of late antiquity right up to the end of the Middle Ages. The range of surviving evidence, the variability of linguistic forms and paleographic aspects, as well as the array of creative approaches taken to the placement of signatures and dedicatory inscriptions, help to reveal a concern for the preservation of memories of individual involvement within the world of the Medieval Christian masters. Whilst not always in line with a contemporary understanding of the role of artists’ signatures, these testimonies nevertheless call for a reevaluation of the question of complete anonymity and the personality of the artist in Byzantine art.
The paper provides an overview of the earliest surviving images of the Annunciation. It demonstra... more The paper provides an overview of the earliest surviving images of the Annunciation. It demonstrates that the iconography of this scene went through a number of formative stages in early Christian period and this transformation is indicative of the changing perception of the event and the development of the theological tradition in relation to the theme of incarnation. In the third-fourth century, images of the Annunciation are exceptionally rare, and the rendering of the scene is dependent on the Roman visual tradition. From about 400, the representation of the basket with loom and the purple thread held by Mary become indispensable elements of the Annunciation imagery, a shift reflected in the monuments coming from both Eastern and Western parts of the empire. This change reveals not only the growing cult of Mary, but also the great role played by the apocryphal sources in the creation of the visual ‘texture’ of narrative compositions connected to the Virgin. Furthermore, it coincides with and echoes the contemporary homiletic tradition which attributed deep religious meaning to the process of weaving, and the making of the garments, and of the temple veil, all associated with Christ’s body and the mystery of incarnation. Finally, it is demonstrated in the paper that the apocryphal Annunciation at the Spring was equally popular at the time and regularly substituted for images of the Annunciation in the House in the narrative cycles focused on the figure of Mary.
This paper analyzes a faithful copy of a 6 th /7 th-century amulet which exemplifies the parallel... more This paper analyzes a faithful copy of a 6 th /7 th-century amulet which exemplifies the parallel use of multiple distinct varieties of religious imagery within a single art work. The amulet combines a detailed Christological cycle, engraved on the one side, with a representation of a winged creature, standing on two crocodiles, on the other, derived from images of Horus, an ancient Egyptian god. Such an intriguing combination of religious imagery taken from distinct cultural contexts testifies to the survival and integration of earlier beliefs in early Byzantine Egypt and to the various strategies employed by worshippers in the hope of reaching out to several divine forces at once.
This chapter highlights the significance of the material evidence for the study of the cult of sa... more This chapter highlights the significance of the material evidence for the study of the cult of saints and focuses on a number of visual strategies applied in late antique monumental art for the promotion of Christian martyrs. One important strategy was the placement of images of martyrs within the apse decoration, thereby turning them into protagonists within the regular worship of the church. Three main categories are considered: when martyrs featured as protagonists, when they were depicted as members of the heavenly court, or when they were grouped in pairs in the decorations of lateral chapels and small martyrial shrines. Differentiating among these various modes of representations is essential for building a more nuanced understanding of the worship of saints in Late Antiquity, because each type of imagery would have had a distinctive impact on the perception of martyrs and on shaping ideas of Christian holiness.
This chapter focuses on the selection of roles played by angels in early Byzantine visual culture... more This chapter focuses on the selection of roles played by angels in early Byzantine visual culture. In church decorations, the winged beings regularly appeared in pairs as guardians, assuming the likeness of courtiers or military officials. It is argued that within related depictions which show two winged guardians flanking a central motif, the significance of heavenly beings could vary depending on what was placed at the centre, be it a holy figure, a sacred object, or even an ecclesiastical space. Angels could also be depicted in narrative compositions representing the events of the Old and New Testaments. In these compositions, they often performed the role of divine agents enabling the realization of God’s will. The chapter analyses the significance of angelic representations in visual rendering of the scriptural and apocryphal events using the rich and detailed programme of the so-called Murano ivory diptych (6th c.) as an example.
This paper focuses on the formation and development of the image of Christ in the aftermath of th... more This paper focuses on the formation and development of the image of Christ in the aftermath of the official acknowledgment of the Christian church during the reign of Constantine in the fourth century. It analyzes the variety of forms and visual strategies used to convey the divine image. It explores moments of interaction with and departure from previous traditions and treats artistic evidence as a source of information on the complex dynamics taking place in Roman society and religious life within the eternal city at the time. The article stresses the polyvalence and multiformity which defined the image of Christ, who could be represented as a symbol or sign, as an allegorical representation reflective of a theological concept, as a historical figure performing deeds or miracles from the Gospels, as a teacher transmitting his knowledge to the disciples or as a ruler in the act of manifesting his supreme power and absolute kingship. The general overview of the surviving material enables us to trace the gradual changes that the image of this new God was undergoing in the fourth century and to consider these subtle modifications as indications of more general religious transformations.
The author discusses four groups of Byzantine calendar icons kept in the collection of St Catheri... more The author discusses four groups of Byzantine calendar icons kept in the collection of St Catherine’s monastery at Mt Sinai, each differing from the others according to format, number of panels, and in its visual approach to the menologion imagery. The result is a strong sense of distinction between the icons, perhaps suggestive of their different functions. A set of four panels which once formed part of a hexaptych is particularly intriguing. This calendar cycle was made by the Georgian painter Ioannes (John) in the second half of the 11th-early 12th century. These icons were originally placed at the center of a polyptych, flanked by an icon of the Last Judgment on the right side, and a second panel containing a unique combination of five miraculous icons of the Virgin and a narrative cycle dedicated to the Miracles and Passions of Christ on the left. Every image of the calendar series stands for three months of the year and combines around 90 scenes. All martyrs are represented at the moment of their death, while other saints are depicted standing front-on bearing attributes. This contribution offers new insights into the nature of painted hagiographical cycles and different approaches applied for calendar imagery in Byz- antine panel painting. It is argued that book illumination developed in parallel with the calendar icon tradition and clear links can be drawn between the menologion imagery in these two media. The unique style and approach of the painter Ioannes opens up possibilities for deciphering the mysterious world of Byzantine art making, the process of devising new kind of imagery, and the embedding of new meanings into well-known compositions. A detailed analysis of this important group of icons can help to unveil the different connections among book illumination, icon painting, and church decoration, as well as provide an almost endless supply of images of saints, some of which are unique or possess very few representations in the surviving corpus of Byzantine art.
The iconographic type of Mary as Maria Regina was particularly popular in Rome, and as many as th... more The iconographic type of Mary as Maria Regina was particularly popular in Rome, and as many as three images of Maria Regina survive from the latter part of the eighth century. Mary the Queen is depicted in full imperial regalia with a rich crown, sumptuous garments, and purple shoes. The early eighth-century examples are the mural of Pope Hadrian i (r. 772–795) in the atrium of the basilica of Santa Maria Antiqua, the painted niche in the lower church of San Clemente, and the fragmentary remnants of a monumental composition discovered in the early 1990s in Santa Susanna. Various images of Maria Regina found in Rome are traditionally seen as forming a coherent group and demonstrating an uninterrupted historical development. This paper argues, however, that there are significant differences in the rendering, function, choice of setting, and formal characteristics of the earliest examples of this iconography (i.e., created before the 730s) and later versions. The study of Maria Regina images may help to reconstruct the artistic environment and primary objectives of the donors who commissioned the decorations in Rome’s churches in the second half of the eighth century. This, in turn, could lead to improved evaluation of the changes and transformative stages occurring around the year 800.
This contribution examines the role of inscriptions in the mosaic decoration of the main church o... more This contribution examines the role of inscriptions in the mosaic decoration of the main church of the Byzantine Empire. It considers two principal types of epigraphical record – the dedicatory text around the apse and the short captions accompanying the images of saints and emperors. Discussing and contextualizing this material help highlight some common features, as well as distinct traits of the epigraphical evidence found in the mosaic decoration of Hagia Sophia.
This paper is concerned with Early Byzantine practice of complementing icons with frames bearing ... more This paper is concerned with Early Byzantine practice of complementing icons with frames bearing extensive inscriptions. Many surviving panel paintings (6th–8th c.) preserve indications of a frame once set around the rim. The surviving examples from Sinai and Rome represent unique evidence for the use of epigraphy on portable religious objects in the Early Byzantine period. The presence of textual frames transformed the earliest icons into ‘speaking images’, a feature often omitted in our discussions of Early Byzantine imagery. The comprehensive study of these phenomena reveal that the use of the written word in concomitance with religious imagery was from the beginning one of the fundamental characteristics of Byzantine art.
Lidova demonstrates how in its original setting the image of the Orant Virgin from the oratory of... more Lidova demonstrates how in its original setting the image of the Orant Virgin from the oratory of John VII (705–707) in Rome was perceived as a monumental icon. By situating the image of the Orant Virgin into a larger network of early Byzantine monumental icons, this chapter highlights important features of monumental icons and their bodies. These images were often placed within a niche or a border that separated them from other paintings and sometimes created an individual space for the placement of candles, votive gifts, or relics. Similar arrangements indicate that monumental icons were protagonists of special liturgical services.
The paper is dedicated to the image of Maria Regina on the “palimpsest wall” in S. Maria Antiqua ... more The paper is dedicated to the image of Maria Regina on the “palimpsest wall” in S. Maria Antiqua church in Rome. Traditionally dated to the sixth century, the attribution of the image has rarely been the focus of special attention, although it has been mentioned regularly in general publications on the ancient Forum basilica. The paper opens with a general review of the status quaestionis, providing a systematic overview of known opinions and studies. The discussion continues with a nuanced analysis of the iconography and formal characteristics of the Maria Regina image, as well as of the historical realities of sixth-century Rome. This leads the author to conclude that the earliest figurative image on the “palimpsest wall” was most probably created during the Ostrogothic rule in the city, i.e. in the first third of the sixth century. As a working possibility, it is argued that besides Theoderic, who resided in Rome and was engaged in a number of building and renovation activities, another plausible commissioner of the image could be his daughter Amalasuntha, who acted as a regent and a queen of Ostrogoths in the years between 526 and 535.
This paper is dedicated to the problem of artists’ signatures in Byzantium and, more specifically... more This paper is dedicated to the problem of artists’ signatures in Byzantium and, more specifically, to the question of anonymity, which is often considered to be a basic characteristic of Eastern Christian art. Declaration of authorship is traditionally seen as a sign of sinful vanity, antagonistic to the religious spirit of the Middle Ages. However, work on this material reveals numerous traces of authorship left by Byzantine artists on their work in the form of epigraphical records. Through a selection of the most insightful examples, based primarily on mosaics, murals and icon painting, this paper demonstrates that the tradition of creating inscriptions bearing the names of masters was a phenomenon neither limited to a particular chronological period of Byzantine history nor influenced by specific historical or cultural transformations. On the contrary, it represents a continuous tradition developing from the period of late antiquity right up to the end of the Middle Ages. The range of surviving evidence, the variability of linguistic forms and paleographic aspects, as well as the array of creative approaches taken to the placement of signatures and dedicatory inscriptions, help to reveal a concern for the preservation of memories of individual involvement within the world of the Medieval Christian masters. Whilst not always in line with a contemporary understanding of the role of artists’ signatures, these testimonies nevertheless call for a reevaluation of the question of complete anonymity and the personality of the artist in Byzantine art.
The paper provides an overview of the earliest surviving images of the Annunciation. It demonstra... more The paper provides an overview of the earliest surviving images of the Annunciation. It demonstrates that the iconography of this scene went through a number of formative stages in early Christian period and this transformation is indicative of the changing perception of the event and the development of the theological tradition in relation to the theme of incarnation. In the third-fourth century, images of the Annunciation are exceptionally rare, and the rendering of the scene is dependent on the Roman visual tradition. From about 400, the representation of the basket with loom and the purple thread held by Mary become indispensable elements of the Annunciation imagery, a shift reflected in the monuments coming from both Eastern and Western parts of the empire. This change reveals not only the growing cult of Mary, but also the great role played by the apocryphal sources in the creation of the visual ‘texture’ of narrative compositions connected to the Virgin. Furthermore, it coincides with and echoes the contemporary homiletic tradition which attributed deep religious meaning to the process of weaving, and the making of the garments, and of the temple veil, all associated with Christ’s body and the mystery of incarnation. Finally, it is demonstrated in the paper that the apocryphal Annunciation at the Spring was equally popular at the time and regularly substituted for images of the Annunciation in the House in the narrative cycles focused on the figure of Mary.
Россия, Грузия, Христианский Восток. Духовные и культурные связи., 2023
Статья посвящена композиции «Распятия»
(X век), находящейся в пещерном храме под номе-
ром 7 из... more Статья посвящена композиции «Распятия»
(X век), находящейся в пещерном храме под номе-
ром 7 из монастырского комплекса в Саберееби, Гру-
зия. Рассматриваемая иконографическая программа
обладает рядом уникальных особенностей, в числе
которых и такой достаточно редко встречающийся
мотив как изображение Иерусалимского храма. Как
показано в работе, речь идет об устойчивой иконо-
графии однонефного храмового пространства, глав-
ной отличительной чертой которого является драго-
ценная завеса, представляемая в ряде изображений
разорванной на две части. Задачей статьи было выя-
вить данный мотив в нескольких памятниках средне-
византийского периода и проанализировать историю
его развития, благодаря чему удалось реконструиро-
вать иконографию, практически не обсуждавшуюся в
научной литературе ранее и при этом символически
чрезвычайно важную для темы Страстей.
The article analyzes a little-known composition of the
Crucifixion dated to the 10th century and preserved inside
a cave church (traditionally identified as cave number 7)
forming part of the monastery of Sabereebi in Georgia.
Besides a series of unique iconographic features, this
mural stands out due to the presence of such architectural
motif as the image of the Temple of Jerusalem decorated
with a veil torn in two. The aim of this paper was to explore
the subsequent evolution of this motif in the Middle
Byzantine and Western Medieval painting and reconstruct
a self-standing and understudied medieval iconographic
tradition in representations of Christ’s Passions.
Статья посвящена мозаичной декорации, украшающей заалтарную стену в римской часовне, примыкающей ... more Статья посвящена мозаичной декорации, украшающей заалтарную стену в римской часовне, примыкающей к Латеранскому баптистерию и посвященной св. Венанцию. Исполненный на стенах часовни цикл состоит из нескольких частей. Особый интерес представляет программа апсиды, включающая череду святых мучеников, расположенных как внутри конхи, так и по сторонам от алтарной ниши. Выбор этих святых, как и общая иконография, не находит прямых аналогий в других памятниках и, вероятно, является результатом личных пожеланий заказчика-папы Иоанна IV (640-642), а использованные художниками особые приемы и композиционные принципы позволяют пролить свет на своеобразие художественного языка работавших в Риме раннесредневековых мастеров.
Статья посвящена двум сторонам оклада из слоновой кости, известного в литературе как Муранский ди... more Статья посвящена двум сторонам оклада из слоновой кости, известного в литературе как Муранский диптих. Название диптиха определило упоминание XVIII в. о местонахождении одной из его сторон в монастыре на о. Мурано неподалеку от Венеции. Разрозненные части оклада находятся сегодня в разных европейских музейных и библиотечных собраниях, а именно: в Равенне, Манчестере, Берлине, Париже и Санкт-Петербурге. Несмотря на обстоятельства сохранности, общий вид оклада поддается довольно точной реконструкции. Помимо исследования составных элементов этого ранневизантийского памятника и его иконографической программы, в данной работе будет проанализировано художественное своеобразие Муранского диптиха в контексте близких по времени и сюжету произведений. Выявление его специфических особенностей по сравнению с другими окладами позволит раскрыть многогранность искусства резьбы по слоновой кости и дополнит существующие представления об утраченных художественных циклах и развернутых монументальных программах ранневизантийского времени.
Муранский диптих представляет собой один из важнейших примеров резьбы по кости, сохранившихся от ... more Муранский диптих представляет собой один из важнейших примеров резьбы по кости, сохранившихся от ранневизантийского времени. Первоначально диптих служил окладом Евангелия и украшал кодекс с двух сторон: с одной находились сцены, посвящённые Христу, с другой - рельефы с апокрифическими сказаниями, связанными с Марией и её матерью св. Анной. Данная работа посвящена истории изучения и анализу первых научных публикаций этого памятника, оказавшегося в центре внимания специалистов во второй половине XIX в. После издания кости из Равенны в монументальном труде Раффаэля Гарруччи в 1880 г. один за другим ведущие византинисты того времени - Дмитрий В. Айналов и Йозеф Стржиговский - стали выявлять и публиковать утраченные фрагменты оклада. Предлагаемая работа позволит реконструировать последовательность обнаружения фрагментов Муранского диптиха, что ранее не осуществлялось, а также установить их местонахождение на момент конца XIX в. Как показано в работе, историю изучения Муранского диптиха можно рассматривать как один из ярчайших примеров развития искусствоведческой мысли в эпоху формирования истории византийского искусства как академической дисциплины.
Статья посвящена рассмотрению начального этапа формирования иконографии «Благовещения». Несмотря ... more Статья посвящена рассмотрению начального этапа формирования иконографии «Благовещения». Несмотря на широкое распространение этого сюжета в Средние века, от самого раннего периода дошло крайне мало примеров. Исходя из сохранившегося материала, можно утверждать, что изображения благовестия Марии приобретают полноценное художественное воплощение только к V в. Ранние примеры «Благовещения» позволяют проследить основные этапы формирования иконографического канона и выявить характерные особенности изображений одного из важнейших событий христианской истории. Предлагаемое исследование направлено на рассмотрение влияния апокрифов и раннехристианской богословской традиции на данный сюжет. Оно также позволяет раскрыть значение рассматриваемого материала для изучения становления культа Богоматери.
Статья посвящена изображениям святых мучениц в ранневизантийском искусстве. Образы святых жен был... more Статья посвящена изображениям святых мучениц в ранневизантийском искусстве. Образы святых жен были широко распространены в декорациях церквей Востока и Запада, о чем свидетельствуют не только письменные источники, но и редкие сохранившиеся от раннего времени памятники. Рассмотрение этого материала позволяет составить представление о развитии религиозного почитания святых в первые века христианского искусства, а также проследить эволюцию художественных программ от частного почитания конкретных персонажей до общецерковного прославления мучениц как сонма святых и спутниц Богоматери.
The definition of the Virgin as Patricia was introduced by Nikodim Kondakov in the early twenti... more The definition of the Virgin as Patricia was introduced by Nikodim Kondakov in the early twentieth century in connection with Early Christian images of the Mother of God that portray Mary in rich garments of a noble Roman woman. This type differs from later renderings characterized by the presence of a maphorion covering the head of the Virgin. Picking up on some of Kondakov’s observations, this paper explores the importance of late antique representations showing Mary wearing a rich secular costume, which, as a rule, consisted of a girdle, jeweled collar, pearl earrings, diagonal sash similar to loros, and a headdress adorned with precious stones. The appearance of this iconographic type in the earliest Marian cycles and coexistence of the Patricia image with other representations of the Mother of God produced an interplay of meanings that was conveyed through the peculiarities of the attire.
Ранневизантийский оклад, известный как Муранский или Равеннский диптих, представляет собой яркий... more Ранневизантийский оклад, известный как Муранский или Равеннский диптих, представляет собой яркий пример искусства резьбы из слоновой кости. От десяти рельефов, некогда входивших в состав Муранского диптиха, на сегодняшней день известно местонахождение девяти. Пять из них составляют одну из сторон оклада с изображением тронного Христа по центру. В XVIII в. этот рельеф хранился в монастыре св. Михаила на острове Мурано, а затем попал в Равенну и ныне выставлен в Национальном музее. Совсем другая участь постигла вторую сторону оклада с изображением тронной Богоматери. Этот рельеф оказался разделенным на составные части, от которых сохранились лишь четыре фрагмента, каждый из которых претерпел сложную судьбу и прошел через множество коллекций и рук, прежде чем оказаться в современных собраниях. Центральная пластина хранится в библиотеке г. Манчестер, верхний рельеф находится в собрании Боде в Берлине, в то время как нижняя планка, выставлена в посвященных Византии залах Лувра. Наконец, две композиции, некогда украшавших боковую пластину, оказались в коллекции М.П. Боткина в Санкт-Петербурге и вместе с другими экспонатами из этого богатого собрания были переданы вначале в Русский музей на хранение, а затем в Эрмитаж. Как правило, Муранский диптих рассматривают в связи с другими окладами, наиболее сохранными примерами которых являются обрамления Библии из Сен-Люписен и Эчмиадзинского Евангелия. Нередко исследователи относят все три оклада к одному времени и общей школе, хотя ряд особенностей свидетельствуют скорее об их принадлежности к разным периодам или ареалам византийского мира. В этой связи особое значение в общей программе Муранского диптиха приобретают присутствующие в его декорации ветхозаветные сюжеты, которые включают в себя «Три отрока в пещи огненной» и «Историю Ионы». Обращает внимание также значительное число ангельских фигур, представленных как на центральных пластинах с тронными Христом и Богоматерью, так и в обрамляющих их повествовательных циклах. В докладе будет проведен анализ ветхозаветных сцен и ангельских фигур Муранского диптиха, с целью, с одной стороны, выявить их значение для представленной на окладе программы, а с другой, в более широком контексте, - показать их место в византийском искусстве доиконоборческого времени.
A number of late antique sources imply that Byzantine empresses often built both their public ima... more A number of late antique sources imply that Byzantine empresses often built both their public image and their lifestyle on the figure of the Mother of God. In a state defined by Christian faith, the Virgin served as a quintessential example of female virtue and at the same time a sovereign through her role in the heavenly court. Rhetorical parallels between empresses and Mary were highlighted in public ceremonies and found reflection in the visual arts. The most emphatic testimony to the complex relationship between secular and religious iconography can be found in late antique imagery of Mary as Queen, Maria Regina, which engages the patterns and styles devised for imperial representations. This paper explores how imagery could migrate from one context to another and how this migration could bring new meanings to existing visual formulae. It concentrates on the different ways in which ideas of female power and holiness were translated into art in late antiquity, and contrasts this process with parallel developments in relation to representations of male saints.
This contribution is dedicated to an image depicting the Mother of God seated on a throne which r... more This contribution is dedicated to an image depicting the Mother of God seated on a throne which regularly appears within compositions of the Adoration of the Magi. One of the most significant examples of this image is preserved on a sixth-century ivory at the British Museum which depicts Mary surrounded by three magi and an angel. Following the analysis of this ivory, this paper argues for the existence of a self-standing iconographic type of the Virgin during the Early Byzantine period. This type, which is characterized by a number of distinguishing features, has not previously been brought to light or given thorough consideration in art historical scholarship, nor had it been given a specific name. The rich material evidence for this kind of Marian representation, gathered together and systematically analyzed in this paper, would expand the range of late antique iconographies of the Mother of God. In addition, this contribution aims to highlight core similarities between the Byzantine image under discussion and several Romanesque apse decorations. It will be argued that these similarities serve as a testimony to a transition between singular visual modes and the migration of Marian imagery from the East to the West, processes which remain otherwise unattested in written sources.
В докладе будет рассмотрена ктиторская композиции папы Адриана I, некогда украшавшая атриум ц. Са... more В докладе будет рассмотрена ктиторская композиции папы Адриана I, некогда украшавшая атриум ц. Санта Мария Антиква и являющаяся важнейшем свидетельством живописи Рима конца VIII в. Из-за состояния сохранности росписи папы Адриана I были сняты со стен атриума и сегодня находится в основном пространстве церкви. Роспись представляет собой многофигурную композицию большого размера. В центре композиции изображена Богоматерь на троне с Младенцем Христом. Справа и слева от нее, по три с каждой стороны, представлено шесть фигур – два епископа, три святых воина и сам папа Адриан I. Доклад будет посвящен подробному иконографическому и стилистическому анализу этой росписи с попыткой идентифицировать образы святых, которые из-за утраты подписей остаются безымянными. Важной задачей исследования станет восстановление того культурного и исторического контекста, который предопределил возникновение этой ктиторской композиции, а также выявление ее связи с более ранними декорациями в ц. Санта Мария Антиква. Особой темой станет уточнение значения росписи папы Адриана для истории развития важнейшей для средневекового искусства Рима иконографии Марии Регины (Богоматери Царицы).
Доклад посвящен мозаичной декорации, украшающей заалтарную стену в небольшой часовне, посвященной... more Доклад посвящен мозаичной декорации, украшающей заалтарную стену в небольшой часовне, посвященной св. Венанцию и примыкающей к Латеранскому баптистерию. Развёрнутый цикл, который станет предметом подробного анализа, состоит из нескольких частей. Особый интерес представляет собой программа апсиды, включающая череду святых мучеников, расположенных как внутри конхи, так и по сторонам от алтарной ниши. Выбор этих святых, а также общая иконография, не находят прямых аналогий в других памятниках и, по всей видимости, являются результатом личных пожеланий заказчика – папы Иоанна IV (640-642). Помимо обсуждения изображений святых и их роли в декорации, в докладе будут выявлены особые приемы и композиционные принципы, способные пролить свет на своеобразие художественного языка работавших в Риме раннесредневековых мастеров.
SESSION OF FREE COMMUNICATIONS
New Feasts, New Sermons:
The Cult of Mary on the Eve of Iconocla... more SESSION OF FREE COMMUNICATIONS
New Feasts, New Sermons: The Cult of Mary on the Eve of Iconoclasm, in Byzantium and Beyond
This proposed session aims to explore theological connections between Rome and Byzantium on the eve of Iconoclasm by highlighting both the textual tradition (especially homilies) and the accompanying iconographical developments. By the end of the 6th century, the two major feasts of the Hypapantē (i.e. the ‘meeting’, the Presentation of Christ to Symeon) and of the Koimēsis (or Dormitio) of the Virgin were already a part of the liturgical calendar of Constantinople. The Hypapantē was introduced under Justinian in 542, while the Koimēsis began to be celebrated a few decades later, during the reign of Maurice (582–602). Additionally, this is the time when, according to archaeology, the church at the Virgin’s burial site in Jerusalem (i.e. in Gethsemane) was rebuilt. In Rome, it was under the Greek-Palestinian pope Theodore I (642–49) that the celebration of the Hypapantē was established, with the Latin name of the Natalis Sancti Symeonis, and the Assumption. The Natalis Sancti Symeonis soon metamorphosed into the Purificatio Sanctae Mariae, apparently to add emphasis to the role of the Mother of God in the feast (i.e., her offering a sacrifice of purification for having been a woman in child-bed, as prescribed by the Mosaic Law). By the end of the 7th century in Rome, four Marian feasts are attested: the Purificatio Sanctae Mariae (February 2), the Annunciation (March 25), the Assumption (August 15), and the Nativity of the Virgin (September 8). To complement the new calendars in both Constantinople and Rome, there appeared an increasing number of homilies commemorating these recently formalized feasts. However, it is only from the 8th century onwards that systematic collections of Marian sermons began to be produced in the West. The earliest extant Latin homilies on the Hypapantē are those by Bede (†735) and by Ambrosius Autpertus (†784), while on the Koimēsis there is one by Autpertus. The latter author appears to draw inspiration directly from the Byzantine tradition, so much so, in fact, that numerous parallels of exegesis and imagery surrounding these same feasts can be found among the works of Andrew of Crete, Germanos of Constantinople, and John of Damascus. The Byzantine homilies, in turn, rely upon long-standing eastern hymnographic and homiletic traditions about the Virgin (e.g., in Sophronius of Jerusalem and Maximus the Confessor in the seventh century, but extending back to Romanos the Melode in the sixth, and Ephrem the Syrian in the fourth).
The 49th Spring Symposium of the Society
for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
INSCRIBING TEXT... more The 49th Spring Symposium of the Society for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies INSCRIBING TEXTS IN BYZANTIUM: CONTINUITIES AND TRANSFORMATIONS 18-20 March 2016, Exeter College, Oxford
In spite of the striking abundance of extant primary material – over 4000 Greek texts produced in the period between the sixth and fifteenth centuries – Byzantine Epigraphy remains largely uncharted territory, with a reputation for being elusive and esoteric that obstinately persists. References to inscriptions in our texts show how ubiquitous and deeply engrained the epigraphic habit was in Byzantine society, and underscore the significance of epigraphy as an auxiliary discipline. The growing interest in material culture, including inscriptions, has opened new avenues of research and led to various explorations in the field of epigraphy, but what is urgently needed is a synthetic approach that incorporates literacy, built environment, social and political contexts, and human agency. The SPBS Symposium 2016 has invited specialists in the field to examine diverse epigraphic material in order to trace individual epigraphic habits, and outline overall inscriptional traditions. In addition to the customary format of panel papers and shorter communications, the Symposium will organise a round table, whose participants will lead a debate on the topics presented in the panel papers, and discuss the methodological questions of collection, presentation and interpretation of Byzantine inscriptional material.
Conceived as an accompaniment to the Ashmolean exhibition Imagining the Divine, the Empires of Fa... more Conceived as an accompaniment to the Ashmolean exhibition Imagining the Divine, the Empires of Faith research project is pleased to announce a series of weekly seminars on art and religions in Late Antiquity. The series is intended to engage with questions explored by the Empires of Faith project’s team over the past four years. Speakers from diverse fields will present aspects of their work and consider methodological approaches to the history and art of the first millennium AD. The papers will focus on problems of religious identity in relation to material culture, case-studies of the metamorphoses of ancient sites and the transmission of visual forms, as well as complex issues of modern historiography and museums as an artificially constructed environment. All of them will explore and question the ways in which we can think of and imagine the divine in Late Antiquity.
The proposed panel session focuses on the material evidence that is reflective of cultural and ar... more The proposed panel session focuses on the material evidence that is reflective of cultural and artistic interaction between different religions and imperial powers in the Early Middle Ages (6th-8th century). The aim of the session is to demonstrate that art forms and imagery were constantly migrating. The visual and architectural language of the 'other' was often purposefully adopted in Byzantium or taken by 'others' from Byzantium, presupposing that non-Christian visual and architectural language could be used within a Christian environment and vice versa. The existing testimonies to this kind of transition and appropriation make a strong case for a certain transparency of the boundaries between different faiths and states at the time. The papers in this panel will focus on three artistic media (architecture, painting, and metalwork), introducing detailed and specific approaches to the overall problem in order to demonstrate the full diversity of interactive pathways. The ultimate goal of the session is to pose new questions and call for the re-evaluation of our assumptions regarding the political austerity and religious isolationism of Early Byzantium in light of existing material evidence.
The exhibition features the creation of the specific visual languages of five of the world religi... more The exhibition features the creation of the specific visual languages of five of the world religions: Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. The imagery still used by these belief systems today is evidence for the development of distinct religious identities in Late Antiquity. Emblematic visual forms, such as the figures of Buddha or Christ, or Islamic aniconism, only evolved in dialogue with a variety of coexisting visualizations of the sacred. As late antique believers appropriated some competing models and rejected others, they created compelling and long-lived representations of faith, but also revealed their indebtedness to a multitude of contemporaneous religious ideas and images.
The conference presents a range of methodological and historiographical questions and queries ... more The conference presents a range of methodological and historiographical questions and queries about the disciplinary basis of a comparative study of late antique art and religion. Inevitably, there must be a significant deconstructive exposure of the ideological freighting of political interest and nationalist investment in all kinds of ancestralisms and alterities from the period of European imperial colonialism via the post-World War I crisis to the totalitarian and racist ideological programmes of the 1930s and 40s, as exemplified in the history of scholarship on the always-fraught questions of religion and visual culture. The papers thus are not only historical in looking at late antiquity, visual in looking at material culture, but also historicist in placing the scholarly frames of approach in their specific cultural and temporal contexts.
The Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS) is a freely accessible online publication that provides ... more The Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS) is a freely accessible online publication that provides theological commentary on the Bible in dialogue with works of art.
The fifth instalment of the series of posts on unexpected juxtapositions in the Imagining the Div... more The fifth instalment of the series of posts on unexpected juxtapositions in the Imagining the Divine exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum. Maria Lidova is struck by two very different objects - an early Christian gold glass and a Roman sarcophagus - in the first gallery that tackle similar themes of death and marriage.
Icons of Space brings together prominent scholars of Byzantine religion, art, and architecture to... more Icons of Space brings together prominent scholars of Byzantine religion, art, and architecture to honor renowned art historian Alexei Lidov. Lidov developed hierotopy, an innovative approach for studying the creation of sacred spaces. Sixteen chapters in this volume present icons of space by posing questions about multi-layered iconic ideas and the lived experiences of the creators and beholders of iconic spaces. Thus, this book contributes to image theory and theories of architecture and sacred space. Simultaneously, it moves beyond colonial studies that predominantly focus on religion and politics as expressions of privileged knowledge and power. This book will appeal to those interested in hierotopy and arts.
This groundbreaking volume brings together scholars of the art and archaeology of late antiquity ... more This groundbreaking volume brings together scholars of the art and archaeology of late antiquity (c. 200−1000), across cultures and regions reaching from India to Iberia, to discuss how objects can inform our understanding of religions. During this period major transformations are visible in the production of religious art and in the relationships between people and objects in religious contexts across the ancient world. These shifts in behaviour and formalising of iconographies are visible in art associated with numerous religious traditions including, but not limited to, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, religions of the Roman Empire, and paganism in northern Europe. Studies of these religions and their material culture, however, have been shaped by Eurocentric and post-Reformation Christian frameworks that prioritised Scripture and minimised the capacity of images and objects to hold religious content. Despite recent steps to incorporate objects, much academic discourse, especially in comparative religion, remains stubbornly textual. This volume therefore seeks to explore the ramifications of placing objects first and foremost in the comparative study of religions in late antiquity, and to consider the potential for interdisciplinary conversation to reinvigorate the field.
The volume 'Materials for the Study of Late Antique and Medieval Greek and Latin Inscriptions in ... more The volume 'Materials for the Study of Late Antique and Medieval Greek and Latin Inscriptions in Istanbul' is a revised and updated edition of the booklet originally produced for the Summer Programme in Byzantine Epigraphy. This collection of 37 essays has been prepared by Ida Toth and Andreas Rhoby to provide a broad coverage of Constantinople's (Istanbul's) inscriptional material dating back to the period between the 4th and the 15th centuries. It is intended as a comprehensive teaching tool and also as a dependable vademecum to the extant traces of Istanbul’s rich late antique and medieval epigraphic legacy: https://austriaca.at/8370-9
This book reveals the rewards of exploring the relationship between art and religion in the first... more This book reveals the rewards of exploring the relationship between art and religion in the first millennium, and the particular problems of comparing the visual cultures of different emergent and established religions of the period in Eurasia-Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroas-trianism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and the pagan religions of the Roman world. Most of these became established and remained in play as what are called 'the world religions'. The chapters in this volume show how the long traditions of studying these topics are caught up in complex local, ancestral, colonial and post-colonial discourses and biases, which have made comparison difficult. The study of late antiquity turns out also to be an examination of the intellectual histories of modernity.
This book explores how the Virgin Mary's life is told in hymns, sermons, icons, art, and other me... more This book explores how the Virgin Mary's life is told in hymns, sermons, icons, art, and other media in the Byzantine Empire before AD 1204. A group of international specialists examines material and textual evidence from both Byzantine and Muslim-ruled territories that was intended for a variety of settings and audiences and seeks to explain why Byzantine artisans and writers chose to tell stories about Mary, the Mother of God, in such different ways. Sometimes the variation reflected the theological or narrative purposes of story-tellers; sometimes it expressed their personal spiritual preoccupations. Above all, the variety of aspects that this holy figure assumed in Byzantium reveals her paradoxical theological position as meeting-place and mediator between the divine and created realms. Narrative, whether 'historical', theological, or purely literary, thus played a fundamental role in the development of the Marian cult from Late Antiquity onward.
Perceptions of the Body and Sacred Space in Late Antiquity and Byzantium seeks to reveal Christia... more Perceptions of the Body and Sacred Space in Late Antiquity and Byzantium seeks to reveal Christian understanding of the body and sacred space in the medieval Mediterranean. Case studies examine encounters with the holy through the perspective of the human body and sensory dimensions of sacred space, and discuss the dynamics of perception when experiencing what was constructed, represented, and understood as sacred. The comparative analysis investigates viewers' recognitions of the sacred in specific locations or segments of space with an emphasis on the experiential and conceptual relationships between sacred spaces and human bodies. This volume thus reassesses the empowering aspects of space, time, and human agency in religious contexts. By focusing on investigations of human endeavors towards experiential and visual expressions that shape perceptions of holiness, this study ultimately aims to present a better understanding of the corporeality of sacred art and architecture. The research points to how early Christians and Byzantines teleologically viewed the divine source of the sacred in terms of its ability to bring together - but never fully dissolve - the distinctions between the human and divine realms. The revealed mechanisms of iconic perception and noetic contemplation have the potential to shape knowledge of the meanings of the sacred as well as to improve our understanding of the liminality of the profane and the sacred.
The Reception of the Virgin in Byzantium: Marian Narratives in Texts and Images (ed. Thomas Arentzen & Mary B. Cunningham), 2019
The edited volume The Reception of the Virgin in Byzantium: Marian Narratives in Texts and Images... more The edited volume The Reception of the Virgin in Byzantium: Marian Narratives in Texts and Images (ed. Thomas Arentzen & Mary B. Cunningham) is being published by Cambridge University Press August 15. This new contribution to Marian historiography includes contributions from leading scholars of visual art, hagiography, hymnography and more.
Contributors: Thomas Arentzen, Leslie Brubaker, Maximos Constas, Mary B. Cunningham, Francesca Dell’Acqua, Maria Evangelatou, Georgia Frank, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Evgenios Iverites, Elizabeth Jeffreys, Derek Krueger, Andrea Olsen Lam, Maria Lidova, Damaskinos Olkinuora, Eirini Panou, and Stephen J. Shoemaker.
The book launch will take place in Rainolds Room at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, on Tuesday 20th August, 6 pm – please note, it is by invitation only.
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Papers by Maria Lidova
ecclesiastical space. Angels could also be depicted in narrative compositions representing the events of the Old and New Testaments. In these compositions, they often performed the role of divine agents enabling the realization of God’s will. The chapter analyses the significance of angelic representations in visual rendering of the scriptural and apocryphal events using the rich and detailed programme of the so-called Murano ivory diptych (6th c.) as an example.
niche in the lower church of San Clemente, and the fragmentary remnants of a monumental composition discovered in the early 1990s in Santa Susanna. Various images of Maria Regina found in Rome are traditionally seen as forming a coherent group and demonstrating an uninterrupted historical development. This paper argues, however, that there are significant differences in the rendering, function, choice of setting, and formal characteristics of the earliest examples of this iconography (i.e., created before the 730s) and later versions. The study of Maria Regina images may help to reconstruct the artistic environment and primary objectives of the donors who commissioned the decorations in Rome’s churches in the second half of the eighth century. This, in turn, could lead to improved evaluation of the changes and transformative stages occurring around the year 800.
which is often considered to be a basic characteristic of Eastern Christian art. Declaration of authorship is traditionally seen as a sign of
sinful vanity, antagonistic to the religious spirit of the Middle Ages. However, work on this material reveals numerous traces of authorship
left by Byzantine artists on their work in the form of epigraphical records. Through a selection of the most insightful examples, based
primarily on mosaics, murals and icon painting, this paper demonstrates that the tradition of creating inscriptions bearing the names of
masters was a phenomenon neither limited to a particular chronological period of Byzantine history nor influenced by specific historical
or cultural transformations. On the contrary, it represents a continuous tradition developing from the period of late antiquity right
up to the end of the Middle Ages. The range of surviving evidence, the variability of linguistic forms and paleographic aspects, as well
as the array of creative approaches taken to the placement of signatures and dedicatory inscriptions, help to reveal a concern for the
preservation of memories of individual involvement within the world of the Medieval Christian masters. Whilst not always in line with
a contemporary understanding of the role of artists’ signatures, these testimonies nevertheless call for a reevaluation of the question
of complete anonymity and the personality of the artist in Byzantine art.
ecclesiastical space. Angels could also be depicted in narrative compositions representing the events of the Old and New Testaments. In these compositions, they often performed the role of divine agents enabling the realization of God’s will. The chapter analyses the significance of angelic representations in visual rendering of the scriptural and apocryphal events using the rich and detailed programme of the so-called Murano ivory diptych (6th c.) as an example.
niche in the lower church of San Clemente, and the fragmentary remnants of a monumental composition discovered in the early 1990s in Santa Susanna. Various images of Maria Regina found in Rome are traditionally seen as forming a coherent group and demonstrating an uninterrupted historical development. This paper argues, however, that there are significant differences in the rendering, function, choice of setting, and formal characteristics of the earliest examples of this iconography (i.e., created before the 730s) and later versions. The study of Maria Regina images may help to reconstruct the artistic environment and primary objectives of the donors who commissioned the decorations in Rome’s churches in the second half of the eighth century. This, in turn, could lead to improved evaluation of the changes and transformative stages occurring around the year 800.
which is often considered to be a basic characteristic of Eastern Christian art. Declaration of authorship is traditionally seen as a sign of
sinful vanity, antagonistic to the religious spirit of the Middle Ages. However, work on this material reveals numerous traces of authorship
left by Byzantine artists on their work in the form of epigraphical records. Through a selection of the most insightful examples, based
primarily on mosaics, murals and icon painting, this paper demonstrates that the tradition of creating inscriptions bearing the names of
masters was a phenomenon neither limited to a particular chronological period of Byzantine history nor influenced by specific historical
or cultural transformations. On the contrary, it represents a continuous tradition developing from the period of late antiquity right
up to the end of the Middle Ages. The range of surviving evidence, the variability of linguistic forms and paleographic aspects, as well
as the array of creative approaches taken to the placement of signatures and dedicatory inscriptions, help to reveal a concern for the
preservation of memories of individual involvement within the world of the Medieval Christian masters. Whilst not always in line with
a contemporary understanding of the role of artists’ signatures, these testimonies nevertheless call for a reevaluation of the question
of complete anonymity and the personality of the artist in Byzantine art.
(X век), находящейся в пещерном храме под номе-
ром 7 из монастырского комплекса в Саберееби, Гру-
зия. Рассматриваемая иконографическая программа
обладает рядом уникальных особенностей, в числе
которых и такой достаточно редко встречающийся
мотив как изображение Иерусалимского храма. Как
показано в работе, речь идет об устойчивой иконо-
графии однонефного храмового пространства, глав-
ной отличительной чертой которого является драго-
ценная завеса, представляемая в ряде изображений
разорванной на две части. Задачей статьи было выя-
вить данный мотив в нескольких памятниках средне-
византийского периода и проанализировать историю
его развития, благодаря чему удалось реконструиро-
вать иконографию, практически не обсуждавшуюся в
научной литературе ранее и при этом символически
чрезвычайно важную для темы Страстей.
The article analyzes a little-known composition of the
Crucifixion dated to the 10th century and preserved inside
a cave church (traditionally identified as cave number 7)
forming part of the monastery of Sabereebi in Georgia.
Besides a series of unique iconographic features, this
mural stands out due to the presence of such architectural
motif as the image of the Temple of Jerusalem decorated
with a veil torn in two. The aim of this paper was to explore
the subsequent evolution of this motif in the Middle
Byzantine and Western Medieval painting and reconstruct
a self-standing and understudied medieval iconographic
tradition in representations of Christ’s Passions.
Как правило, Муранский диптих рассматривают в связи с другими окладами, наиболее сохранными примерами которых являются обрамления Библии из Сен-Люписен и Эчмиадзинского Евангелия. Нередко исследователи относят все три оклада к одному времени и общей школе, хотя ряд особенностей свидетельствуют скорее об их принадлежности к разным периодам или ареалам византийского мира. В этой связи особое значение в общей программе Муранского диптиха приобретают присутствующие в его декорации ветхозаветные сюжеты, которые включают в себя «Три отрока в пещи огненной» и «Историю Ионы». Обращает внимание также значительное число ангельских фигур, представленных как на центральных пластинах с тронными Христом и Богоматерью, так и в обрамляющих их повествовательных циклах. В докладе будет проведен анализ ветхозаветных сцен и ангельских фигур Муранского диптиха, с целью, с одной стороны, выявить их значение для представленной на окладе программы, а с другой, в более широком контексте, - показать их место в византийском искусстве доиконоборческого времени.
New Feasts, New Sermons:
The Cult of Mary on the Eve of Iconoclasm, in Byzantium and Beyond
This proposed session aims to explore theological connections between Rome and Byzantium on the eve of Iconoclasm by highlighting both the textual tradition (especially homilies) and the accompanying iconographical developments.
By the end of the 6th century, the two major feasts of the Hypapantē (i.e. the ‘meeting’, the Presentation of Christ to Symeon) and of the Koimēsis (or Dormitio) of the Virgin were already a part of the liturgical calendar of Constantinople. The Hypapantē was introduced under Justinian in 542, while the Koimēsis began to be celebrated a few decades later, during the reign of Maurice (582–602). Additionally, this is the time when, according to archaeology, the church at the Virgin’s burial site in Jerusalem (i.e. in Gethsemane) was rebuilt. In Rome, it was under the Greek-Palestinian pope Theodore I (642–49) that the celebration of the Hypapantē was established, with the Latin name of the Natalis Sancti Symeonis, and the Assumption. The Natalis Sancti Symeonis soon metamorphosed into the Purificatio Sanctae Mariae, apparently to add emphasis to the role of the Mother of God in the feast (i.e., her offering a sacrifice of purification for having been a woman in child-bed, as prescribed by the Mosaic Law). By the end of the 7th century in Rome, four Marian feasts are attested: the Purificatio Sanctae Mariae (February 2), the Annunciation (March 25), the Assumption (August 15), and the Nativity of the Virgin (September 8).
To complement the new calendars in both Constantinople and Rome, there appeared an increasing number of homilies commemorating these recently formalized feasts. However, it is only from the 8th century onwards that systematic collections of Marian sermons began to be produced in the West. The earliest extant Latin homilies on the Hypapantē are those by Bede (†735) and by Ambrosius Autpertus (†784), while on the Koimēsis there is one by Autpertus. The latter author appears to draw inspiration directly from the Byzantine tradition, so much so, in fact, that numerous parallels of exegesis and imagery surrounding these same feasts can be found among the works of Andrew of Crete, Germanos of Constantinople, and John of Damascus. The Byzantine homilies, in turn, rely upon long-standing eastern hymnographic and homiletic traditions about the Virgin (e.g., in Sophronius of Jerusalem and Maximus the Confessor in the seventh century, but extending back to Romanos the Melode in the sixth, and Ephrem the Syrian in the fourth).
for the Promotion of Byzantine Studies
INSCRIBING TEXTS
IN BYZANTIUM:
CONTINUITIES AND TRANSFORMATIONS
18-20 March 2016, Exeter College, Oxford
In spite of the striking abundance of extant primary material – over 4000 Greek texts produced in the period between the sixth and fifteenth centuries – Byzantine Epigraphy remains largely uncharted territory, with a reputation for being elusive and esoteric that obstinately persists. References to inscriptions in our texts show how ubiquitous and deeply engrained the epigraphic habit was in Byzantine society, and underscore the significance of epigraphy as an auxiliary discipline. The growing interest in material culture, including inscriptions, has opened new avenues of research and led to various explorations in the field of epigraphy, but what is urgently needed is a synthetic approach that incorporates literacy, built environment, social and political contexts, and human agency. The SPBS Symposium 2016 has invited specialists in the field to examine diverse epigraphic material in order to trace individual epigraphic habits, and outline overall inscriptional traditions. In addition to the customary format of panel papers and shorter communications, the Symposium will organise a round table, whose participants will lead a debate on the topics presented in the panel papers, and discuss the methodological questions of collection, presentation and interpretation of Byzantine inscriptional material.
ISBN 9780367723491
reviewed in:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1751696X.2019.1649897
Contributors: Thomas Arentzen, Leslie Brubaker, Maximos Constas, Mary B. Cunningham, Francesca Dell’Acqua, Maria Evangelatou, Georgia Frank, Susan Ashbrook Harvey, Evgenios Iverites, Elizabeth Jeffreys, Derek Krueger, Andrea Olsen Lam, Maria Lidova, Damaskinos Olkinuora, Eirini Panou, and Stephen J. Shoemaker.
The book launch will take place in Rainolds Room at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, on Tuesday 20th August, 6 pm – please note, it is by invitation only.