Bacci 2010 Nouthesia

This article aims to examine the material of a codex entitled Hermeneia of the Painters. The manuscript in question constitutes a copy of an esteemed constitutio textus of late byzantine period regarding the descriptions of Saint's physiognomy along with quotations from their dicta and an entry of verses and epigrams related to biblical events. As I am intended to prove, byzantine painting manuals were not just a collection of technical and iconographical advises, like the post-byzantine ones, but mainly a corpus of theoretical knowledge necessary for artists' nurture.

This thesis discusses the role and place of artists who painted icons in Early Byzantium. To date, they have not been the focus of much academic attention. Instead, information about artists is spread across a range of discussions concerning Byzantium and the history of art. This thesis collates and interprets the empirical and theoretical evidence to concentrate on the people who produced religious portraits before Iconoclasm. In so doing, I seek to further our understanding of these individuals, and offer a more nuanced view of their socio-cultural context, their practices, and the images they painted.

1994

This chapter investigates the visual aspects of physical beauty of the saintly images depicted within the painterly ensembles of Byzantine art in the period between sixth and fifteenth centuries. It also examines the processes of transposition of beauty as a religious and ideological notion into the visual sphere of its iconographic and aesthetic significance. During the millennium of development of Byzantine mural painting, the different categories of saints have evolved in assemblies of respectable and influential characters with whom the believers could communicate through silent prayers, as well as through their own self-comparison. In that process of ideological interaction between the faithful and the saints as the " constitutional members " of the painted microcosmos of Christian temples, the physical appearance of the saintly images was, by all means, a strong argument in the religious discourse regarding their role in the mission for salvation of humanity. In that regard, each saintly category has received different visual concept of aesthetic values related to their specific physical attraction. Hence, different saintly categories have acquired different aesthetic codes for visual configuration of beauty in the structural design of their iconographic appearance throughout the era of Byzantine artistic production.

Eastern Christian Art, 2005

The Dumbarton Oaks Papers were founded in 1941 for the publication of articles relating to late antique, early medieval, and Byzantine civilization in the fields of art and architecture, history, archaeology, literature, theology, law, and the auxiliary disciplines. Articles should be submitted normally in English or French. Preference is given to articles of substantial length, but shorter notes will be considered if they relate to objects in the Dumbarton Oaks collections. Articles for submission should be prepared according to the submission guide, style guide, and list of abbreviations posted on the Dumbarton Oaks website, http://www.doaks.org/.

The Routledge Handbook of Early Christian Art surveys a broad spectrum of Christian art produced from the late second to the sixth centuries. The first part of the book opens with a general survey of the subject and then presents fifteen essays that discuss specific media of visual art—catacomb paintings, sculpture, mosaics, gold glass, gems, reliquaries, ceramics, icons, ivories, textiles, silver, and illuminated manuscripts. Each is written by a noted expert in the field. The second part of the book takes up themes relevant to the study of early Christian art. These seven chapters consider the ritual practices in decorated spaces, the emergence of images of Christ’s Passion and miracles, the functions of Christian secular portraits, the exemplary mosaics of Ravenna, the early modern history of Christian art and archaeology studies, and further reflection on this field called “early Christian art.” Each of the volume’s chapters includes photographs of many of the objects discussed,...

The most recent studies of the sketches drawn at the end of 12th century in the margins of a copy of John Chrysostom’s commentary on Genesis (Oxford, Magdalen College, ms. Gr. 3) has raised the controversial question of whether Byzantine model books might have been circulating both sides of the Mediterranean at this date. In my opinion, the Oxford manuscript is proof of the existence of patterns circulating through the workshops and the artist’s desire to practice drawing before painting. Some of these drawings present many similarities with the style and iconography of painters working in Holy Land, Sinai and Catalonia at that date or a little bit after. It allows us to reconsider as well the role played by Catalonia –a land open to the Mediterranean- in the making of the Mediterranean Art around 1200.

Anglisticum Journal, 2016

The establishment of the Byzantine Empire by Constantine the Great in AD 330 ushered a new dimension in the religious horizon of the early church. It created a new system of worship and the use of religious art in Christian religious activities. This religious art flourished in the empire until it degenerated into idolatry which led to serious controversy in the Eastern Church. This paper therefore examined the role Byzantine religious art played in the early church. It also considered the historical development of Byzantine art with particular reference to icons and mosaics and their characteristics and finally x-rayed the influence of icons and mosaics on the early church liturgy and theology.