Conference Presentations by Rosie Aroush
An Exposition of Yohannes of Amida’s 17th-Century Miniature of Heavenly Jerusalem, 2018
The priest Yohannes was the principal scribe of the metropolitan of the Armenian Mesopotamian Ami... more The priest Yohannes was the principal scribe of the metropolitan of the Armenian Mesopotamian Amida scriptorium at the beginning of the seventeenth century. Despite being a little-studied figure, he was a miniaturist of high artistic quality and, from colophon data, it is evident that he was a highly educated person. One of his major works was a manuscript entitled “Abridged Bible,” to which he contributed the opening full-page miniatures depicting Heavenly Jerusalem. The main multi-layer composition features the Holy Trinity on the throne surrounded by cherubim and angels with the Garden of Eden, including its trees, flowers, and the four rivers of Eden—a combination that was a new variant in iconography.
Making use of iconographic, formal, and comparative methodology, this paper shows how the artist applied and transformed theories from miniature art and exegetical literature in his composition of Heavenly Jerusalem. After placing the iconography in the context of Byzantine and Eastern Christian art, I discuss one of the general motive trees, interpreting it through the lens of Canon Table commentaries. Due to its multi-layered composition and the combination of its pictorial elements, the miniature in the iconographic index is ordinary for the iconography of its time. By reading the general motive tree in the context of Canon Table commentaries, it becomes clear that there is a mutual relationship with its other pictorial elements and allegorical representations such as color and number symbolism. Finally, I explain how the miniature corresponds to the tenth Canon Table, which symbolically represents Heavenly Jerusalem.
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Conference Presentations by Rosie Aroush
Making use of iconographic, formal, and comparative methodology, this paper shows how the artist applied and transformed theories from miniature art and exegetical literature in his composition of Heavenly Jerusalem. After placing the iconography in the context of Byzantine and Eastern Christian art, I discuss one of the general motive trees, interpreting it through the lens of Canon Table commentaries. Due to its multi-layered composition and the combination of its pictorial elements, the miniature in the iconographic index is ordinary for the iconography of its time. By reading the general motive tree in the context of Canon Table commentaries, it becomes clear that there is a mutual relationship with its other pictorial elements and allegorical representations such as color and number symbolism. Finally, I explain how the miniature corresponds to the tenth Canon Table, which symbolically represents Heavenly Jerusalem.
Making use of iconographic, formal, and comparative methodology, this paper shows how the artist applied and transformed theories from miniature art and exegetical literature in his composition of Heavenly Jerusalem. After placing the iconography in the context of Byzantine and Eastern Christian art, I discuss one of the general motive trees, interpreting it through the lens of Canon Table commentaries. Due to its multi-layered composition and the combination of its pictorial elements, the miniature in the iconographic index is ordinary for the iconography of its time. By reading the general motive tree in the context of Canon Table commentaries, it becomes clear that there is a mutual relationship with its other pictorial elements and allegorical representations such as color and number symbolism. Finally, I explain how the miniature corresponds to the tenth Canon Table, which symbolically represents Heavenly Jerusalem.