Art History 310: Early Christian and Byzantine Art and Architecture (Spring 2013)
Prof. Thomas Dale, Conrad A. Elvehjem Building, Room 203
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 10:00 a.m. – 12:-00p.m. or at other times by appointment
Telephone: 263-5783; E-mail: tedale@.wisc.edu
Course Description:
This course surveys the art and architecture of the Mediterranean world from the rise of Christianity
within the Roman Empire in the 2nd and 3rd centuries to the fall of the Byzantine empire to the Turks in
1453. It is an exciting period which sees the formation of a distinctly Christian art and architecture
drawing upon the religious traditions of Judaism and pagan Rome on one hand, and that of imperial
rulership on the other. The most significant innovations of the period are the invention of the parchment
codex–the ancestor of the modern book–the creation of vast domed spaces for worship on an
unprecedented scale, and the innovation of a distinctive portrait form still prevalent in the religious
culture of Russia and much of Europe: the icon. We will focus first on the city of Rome (between second
and fourth centuries) and then turn to the Byzantine or East Roman Empire centered at Constantinople.
Amongst the high points of the course are the catacombs of Rome, the mosaics of Ravenna, the
architecture of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the mosaics and Pala d’Oro of Saint Mark’s in Venice.
Particular emphasis will be placed on the theory and function of icons or holy images, the use of art to
project imperial ideology, the relationship between written texts and pictorial narrative, the relationship
between art/architecture and ritual, and the appropriation of Byzantine forms and iconography for
ideological purposes outside the empire–especially in Italy and the Russia—and the hybrid culture of the
court in Byzantium itself and the middle East.
Course Goals:
Like the art of other cultures, Early Christian and Byzantine art constitute a pictorial language or
“iconography” designed to convey their society’s essential beliefs–religious, social and political. The
primary aim of this course is to help you comprehend that language, to understand its changing forms
and functions and the power that it exercised upon the beholder at the time it was created. Exams will test
you not only on your ability to identify works of art and architecture but also to analyze them in terms of
their meaning and appropriate functional contexts. Assignments are formulated to reinforce the tools of
iconographical analysis introduced in class and to help you read more critically.
Requirements and Evaluation
The required texts will provide you with useful background and sources of illustrations for the images
discussed in class. In order to succeed in this course, you must attend lectures regularly and take detailed
notes: you cannot rely upon web-sites and textbooks because I will present the material in ways that
depart from the standard texts.
The final grade will be based on participation (10%), a midterm (25%), a final exam (25%) and two short
written assignments (40%). Those students who are interested in substituting a single, longer research
paper for the two shorter assignments should consult the instructor at the beginning of the semester. The
quizzes, which will last no more than ten minutes, are designed primarily to help you acquire a strong
visual knowledge of the material in the course. You will be required to identify each work of art in terms
of subject matter (or name of a building), location (place of origin), date, patron/commissioner, and
medium. You should also be able to jot down a few points pertaining to the meaning and function of the
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work. The midterm will take up an entire class period and will cover all of the lectures up to and
including the week before the midterm date. In addition to short answer identifications, you will be
asked to compare and contrast works of architecture, and two write brief essays relating to themes of
lectures and the content of assigned readings. Exam make-ups. You must take exams at the time
specified on the syllabus. A postponement of the exam will be granted only in the case of serious illness
or the death of a member of your immediate family (I will contact the Dean’s office for verification).
Under no circumstances will you be allowed to take an exam before the specified time.
Required Texts (available for purchase at the University Book Store, State Street)
John Lowden, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture (London: Phaidon, 1998).
Thomas Mathews, The Clash of the Gods: A Reinterpretation of Early Christian Art, revised ed.
Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999.
Recommended Texts (available for purchase at University Book Store)
Hans Belting, Likeness and Presence (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994).
Richard Krautheimer & Slobodan uri, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, revised ed.
(Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1989).
Cyril Mango, The Art of the Byzantine Empire, 312-1453, reprint ed. (Toronto, 1986)
For historical and intellectual background to the period covered in the course, you may also wish to read
Cyril Mango, Byzantium. The Empire of New Rome (New York, 1980); Judith Herrin, The Formation of
Christendom (Princeton, 1987); Peter Brown, The Rise of Western Christendom, Oxford/Cambridge MA,
1996; Peter Brown, The World of Late Antiquity (London, 1989).
Illustrations
A web-site will facilitate your study of the visual examples discussed in class and to provide a core of
images that you will be responsible for in examinations. It can be accessed through the Art History
Department Home-Page via Wisc-World or directly at http://www.arthistory.wisc.edu/ah310/index.html
You will also find all the essential images in the required textbooks and readings listed under each lecture
topic below. In addition, I will post my PowerPoint presentations on Learn@UW.
Readings
Readings provide essential background to the lectures and points of departure for discussion. You will
also be expected to draw upon the content of the readings to answer essay questions in your exams. Most
of those readings not in the required texts, marked * in the syllabus, are available in the Course Reader,
which can be purchased at Bob’s Copy Shop nearby at 616 University Ave, just a couple of blocks east
from the Elvehjem Building. Some materials, marked KL, will only be available in books on reserve at
the Kohler Art History Library Reserve Desk. If you need to make a photocopy, please take care not to
damage the book. Additional materials may be provided on Learn@UW.
Calendar
Jan. 22, 24
Introduction
I. Why Images? Pagan, Jewish and Christian Art in the Roman Empire between the 1st and 3rd
Centuries
Engraved Gem with IXΘΥC (Ichtheus = fish), Syria/Asia Minor, late 3rd century (University of
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia)
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Magical Amulet with Crucifixion of Christ, hematite (bloodstone), Syria, late 2nd to 3rd century (British
Museum, London)
Priscilla Catacomb, Rome, frescoes ca. 200-250
Sarcophagus from Santa Maria Antiqua, Rome, ca. 250
Endymion Sarcophagus, 2nd century (New York, Metropolitan Museum)
Podgoritza bowl, blown glass, Montenegro, 4th century (State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg)
Mithraeum, Dura Europos, Syria (now Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven): Cult niche with
gypsum reliefs of Mithras slaying the bull, 168 & 170-71 A.D.; painted decoration with deeds of
Mithras, ca. 250.
Baptistry, The Christian Building, Dura Europos, Syria (now in Yale University Museum), architecture
and frescoes ca. 254
Synagogue, Dura Europos, frescoes, ca. 200-230
Terms:
sarcophagus; commendatio animae; orant; catacomb; loculus(i); cubiculum(a); arcasolium; refrigerium;
dies natalis; domus ecclesiae; John 10 (The Good Shepherd)
Readings:
KL: Lowden, 4-32; KL: Davis-Weyer, Early Medieval Art, 3-7; * Robin Jensen, Face to Face: Portraits
o fthe Divine in Early Christianity (Minneapolis, 2005), ch. IIII: 69-99 “The Invisible God and the
Visible Image.” Jas Elsner, “Cultural Resistance and the Visual Image: The Case of Dura Europos,”
Classical Philology 95, no. 3 (2001), 269-304. (http://www.jstor.org/stable/1215434)
Discussion:
Why are figural images problematic for Judaism and Christianity, and to what extent can opposition of
figural representation be traced within pre-Christian Roman religion ? Why did Christianity abandon its
initial opposition to images? What common features are displayed in the figural decoration of the
synagogue, Christian baptistery and pagan temple of Mithras at Dura Europos? What explains the
emergence of extensive narrative cycles in the synagogue, and how, according to Elsner, did Judaism
definie itself in relation to both Roman and Christian religion through art?
Jan. 29
II. The Emperor Constantine and the Conversion of Rome in the 4th Century
Portrait of Constantine the Great as Sun-god, Capitoline Museum, Rome
Arch of Constantine, Rome, 312-15: marble bas reliefs
Cathedral of Saint John Lateran (=San Giovanni in Laterano), Rome, 312/13-18
Basilica of Old Saint Peter's, begun, ca. 319/22
Mausoleum of Santa Costanza, Rome, ca 350, with mosaics
Sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, from transept of Old Saint Peter's, 359 (now in the Museum of the
Grottoes of Saint Peter’s), 359
Missorium of Theodosius, silver, (Academia de la Historia, Madrid) 388
Diptych of the Nicomachi and the Symmachi. ivory (left: N: Musée Cluny, Paris; right: Victoria and
Albert Museum, London), ca. 380-390
Terms:
Sol invictus; Battle of the Milvian Bridge, 312; Edict of Milan, 313; basilica; nave; apse; fastigium;
martyrium; transept; burial “ad sanctos”; Ecclesia ex circumcisione (synagogue); Ecclesia ex gentibus
(church of the gentiles); typological/christological interpretation
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Readings:
KL: Lowden, 32-60; Davis-Weyer, Early Medieval Art, 11-15; *Iohannes Deckers, “Constantine the
Great and Early Christian Art,” Picturing the Bible: The Earliest Christian Art, ed. Jeffrey Spier (New
Haven: 2007), 87-109.
January 31
III. Sacred Space and Papal Ideology in Fifth-Century Rome
Santa Pudenziana, apse mosaic, ca. 400
Santa Sabina, Rome, church, mosaics with personifications of Church and Synagogue, 422-33; wooden
doors with Peter and Paul Crowning Ecclesia
Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, wall mosaics of nave and triumphal arch, 432-40
Old Saint Peter's, Rome, original wall paintings ca. 375-400
Readings:
Grabar, "The Assimilation of Contemporary Imagery," in Christian Iconography, 31-54;
Krautheimer/Ćurčić, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, 39-67, 167-74;
Mathews, Clash of the Gods, II. 23-53; IV.92-114
Discussion
How does Mathews call into question the traditional concept of Early Christian art as formulated by
Krautheimer and Grabar? How might Matthew’s view about the relationship with “imperial” Roman art
be modulated by Deckers’ reading?
Feb. 5
IV. Art, Architecture and Civic Ritual in Constantinople, the “New Rome”
Column of Constantine (Cemberlitas= “Burnt Column”)
Coin of Constantine as Helios, 337
"Tetrarchs", porphyry, originally from the Philadelphion in Constantinople (now on exterior of San
Marco, Venice), ca. 300
Hippodrome (including Obelisk of Thutmosis II, 1504-1490 BC, with base set up in 390 AD by
Theodosius I; Bronze serpent column, 479BC?)
Hagia Sophia II, 405-415
Landwalls of Constantinople, built by Theodosius II, 405-13
Readings:
*R. Krautheimer, Three Christian Capitals (Berkeley, 1983), 41-67. *Sarah Bassett, “The antiquities in
the Hippodrome of Constantinople.” Dumbarton Oaks Papers v. 45 (1991), 87-96.
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Feb. 7, 12 (Feb. 12 Meet in Kohler Library to Look at Facsimiles)
V. From Roll to Codex: Text and Image in Byzantine and Late Antique Manuscript Illumination in
the 5th and 6th Centuries
Vatican Vergil (Rome, Vatican Library, MS lat. 3225), ca. 400-25: 45v Aeneas and Achates approach the
Sibyl; 73v: Trojan Council; 40r: Death of Dido
Quedlinburg Itala (Berlin, Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, MS theol. lat. fol. 485
Vienna Genesis (Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS theol. gr. 31), 6th century Vienna
Dioscurides (Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, MS med. gr. 1), 512, made for Princess
Anicia Juliana
Rossano Gospels (Rossanno Cathedral Library)
Rabbula Gospels, 585 (Florence, Laurentian Library, cod. Plutarch I, 56)
Readings:
Lowden, 84-96; *Kurt Weitzmann, “Narration in Early Christendom,” American Journal of Archaeology
61 (1957):83-91; Herbert L. Kessler, “The Word Made Flesh in Early Decorated Bibles,” in Picturing the
Bible, 141-68. Additional illustrations: K. Weitzmann, Late Antique and Early Christian Book
Illumination (New York, 1977)).
Discussion:
What, according to Weitzmann, is the significance of the shift from roll to codex in the early centuries of
the common era? What does he see as the changing relationship between text and image? What
conventions of pictorial narrative does Weitzmann single out as clues to a lost archetype? What aspects of
Weitzmann’s theory are challenged by Lowden? How does he see the relationship between monumental
images and manuscript illumination in a different way? To what extent does early Christian book
illustration draw upon Jewish tradition?
Feb 14 On-line Lecture (Topic VI. No class today)
Feb. 19 Discussion
VI. Baptism, Burial and the Afterlife: The Architecture and Mosaics of Ravenna from Galla
Placidia to Theodoric
Oratory of Santa Croce, Santi Nazaro e Celso = "Mausoleum of Galla Placidia", wall mosaics, ca. 425-50
Baptistery of the Cathedral (Orthodox Baptistery): architecture ca 400-50; mosaics, 458
Arian Baptistery, mosaics ca. 500
S. Apollinare Nuovo, architecture, ca. 490; mosaics, 490-500 and 550
Readings:
Lowden, 103-116; Davis-Weyer, Early Medieval Art, 49-53; *Annabel Wharton, “Ritual and
Reconstructed Meaning: The Neonian Baptistery in Ravenna,” Art Bulletin 69 (1987), 358-75.
Discussion:
How do the architecture and mosaics of Ravenna reinforce the rituals of baptism and burial? What are the
principles that determine the layout of the pictorial programs of the mosaics? How does Wharton find
meaning in the specific arrangement of themes in the Orthodox Baptistery? How does Matthews call into
question previous interpretations of processional images in the Ravenna mosaics in terms of imperial
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ritual? (Compare his approach to that of Wharton).
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Feb. 21
VII. Early Monastic Art and Architecture in Coptic Egypt
Kellia “The Cells”, cells of hermits in Nitrian desert, Egypt, ca. 385-90, 5th-7th ; wall paintings with
crosses
White Monastery of Shenoute, near Sohag, ca. 450
Monastery of Apa Jeremias, Saqqara, ca. 550; portrait paintings of monastic saints from cell A, 6th-7th
centuries
Monastery of Apa Apollo, Bawit, remains ca. 5th-6th centuries; paintings 6th-7th centuries: Christ in
Majesty with Theotokos and apostles
Red Monastery near Sohag, 525-50; with mural paintings of Virgin and Child; saints
Readings:
Krautheimer/Ćurčić, Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, 110-117
*Elizabeth S. Bolman “Depicting the kingdom of heaven: paintings and monastic practice in early
Byzantine Egypt” Egypt in the Byzantine World, 300-700. Ed. Roger S. BAGNALL. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.(2007) 408-433
KL: Elizabeth Bolman, “The White Monastery Federation and the Angelic Life,” in Byzantium and
Islam. Age of Transition, 7th – 9th century ed. Helen C. Evans & Brandie Ratliff (New York: Metropolitan
Museum of Art, 2012), 75-77
Feb. 26, 28
VIII. Art, Architecture and Imperial Ritual in Constantinople during the Reign of Justinian
***Feb. 28: Assignment 1 Due (Annotated Bibliography & Outline of Research paper)***
Hagia Sophia III (Church of Holy Wisdom, “The Great Church”), designed by Anthemios of Tralles and
Isidore of Miletus, 532-37
Ambo (pulpit) from Beyazit Basilica (now in the Garden of Hagia Sophia)
Hagia Eirene, begun 532
Hagios Polyeuktos, built for Anicia Juliana, ca. 524-27 (architectural fragments now in the
Archaeological Museum, Istanbul; “pilastri acritani” now displayed outside the south facade of
San Marco in Venice)
Saints Sergios and Bakchos (known in Turkish as Kucuk Aya Sophia or “Little Hagia Sophia”), built by
Justinian as chapel in the Palace of Hormisdas ca. 527-36
Readings:
C. Mango, The Art of the Byzantine Empire, 312-1453. rpt. Toronto, 1986, 72-102; Krautheimer/uri,
Early Christian and Byzantine Architecture, 205-37; *Bissera Pentcheva, “Hagia Sophia and
Multisensory Aesthetics,” Gesta 50, no.2 (2011), 93-111.
Discussion:
Paul the Silentiary and Procopius have both left (poetic) literary descriptions or “ekphrases” of Hagia
Sophia. How do their accounts relate to the actual building? What do they each emphasize? How is the
architecture of Hagia Sophia revolutionary in terms of its planning and spatial organisation? How,
according to Krautheimer, does the building serve the ritual of the Byzantine church as well as the
imperial entourage?
March 5
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IX. Justinianic Art in Ravenna: Ritual and Politics
San Vitale, Ravenna: architecture, built for Bishops Ecclesius and Victor with funding from Julianus
Argentarius ca. 530-45; mosaics made for bishops Victor and Maximianus, ca. 540-48
Sant’ Apollinare in Classe, architecture and apse mosaic: 532/6-49
Ivory Cathedra (Throne) of Maximian, ca 550 (Museo Arcivescovile, Ravenna)
Readings:
Lowden, 116-144; Mathews, The Clash of the Gods , 142-176; *C. Barber, “The imperial panels at San
Vitale: a reconsideration,” Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies 14 (1990), 19-42; *I. AndreescuTreadgold and Warren Treadgold, “Procopius and the Imperial Panels of S. Vitale,” Art Bulletin LXXIX
(1997), 708-723.
Discussion:
How does the architecture of San Vitale relate to that of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople? What
discrepancies in the planning may be attributed to the different liturgical usage in Ravenna? The mosaics
of Justinian and Theodora are often viewed as deliberate statements of imperial authority imposed upon
the local population in support of Archbishop Maximian (cf. Lowden) and further that the apse mosaic
represents a kind of parallel to imperial images of subjects making offerings to the emperor. How does
Charles Barber use gender theory read the Theodora panel in a new way? How do Andressecu-Treadgold
and Treadgold critique previous interpretations of the imperial panels? How do they use
archaeological/technical analysis together with texts to support a new identification of figures in the
Justinian panel? What crucial changes do they note in the mosaic? Is their argument convincing?
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March 7, 12
X. Seeing is believing: The "Loca Sancta" and the Arts of Pilgrimage
Monastery of Saint Catherine at Mount Sinai, Egypt, rebuilt by Justinian, ca. 543-65 (including mosaics
of Moses and the Transfiguration of Christ)
Reliquary Box Lid from the Sancta Sanctorum (now Vatican Museums, Rome), 6th-7th centuries
Pewter Pilgrim’s ampulla from Holy Land with Crucifixion and Resurrection, 6th-7th century
(Dumbarton Oaks, Washington DC)
Pewter Pilgrim’s ampulla showing Crucifixion with kneeling pilgrims and Women at Tomb (Monza
Cathedral Treasury, ampulla 13)
Pewter Pilgrim’s ampulla showing Locus Sanctus scenes (Monza Cathedral Treasury, ampulla 2)
Qal’at Sem’an, Shrine of Symeon the Stylite the Elder, ca 480-490
Votive plaque silver gilt of Symeon Stylites the Elder, 6th century (Paris, Musée du Louvre)
Terra-cotta Pilgrim’s Token of Symeon Stylites the Elder, 6th - 7th century (Berlin, Museum für Spätantike
und Byzantinische Kunst–Staatliche Museen)
Basilica of Hagios Demetrios, Thessaloniki, architecture, ca. 600; mosaics, ca. 620
Readings:
Jas Elsner, Art and the Roman Viewer: The Transformation of Art from the Pagan World to Christianity
(Cambridge, 1995), 97-123; *Gary Vikan, “Byzantine Pilgrims’ Art,” in Linda Safran, ed. Heaven on
Earth. Art and the Church in Byzantium (University Park PA, 1998), 229-263.
Discussion:
How does art shape the experience of the Byzantine pilgrim in different ways? How, according to Elsner,
do the mosaics of Sinai (their iconography, placement and style) constitute a form of visual pilgrimage
that reinforces the symbolic value of the pilgrimage site itself? How do the pilgrim’s ampullae and the
Sancta Sanctorum reliquary box reinforce the pilgrim’s identification with the events of Christ’s life in a
very tangible way once he/she has returned home? What relationship is established here between relic
and image?
March 14
XI. Liturgy, Display and Ideology: Ivories and Silver Vessels of the Sixth and Seventh Centuries
Shepherd Plate, silver, 527-65 (Saint-Petersburg, Hermitage Museum)
Hercules Plate, silver, 6th century? (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale)
Silenus and the Maenad, 610-41 (Saint-Petersburg, Hermitage Museum)
Cyprus Plates, originally from Lambousa, 628-30 (New York, Metropolitan Museum & Nicosia,
Archaeological Museum)
Kaper Koraon Treasure, buried after 605
Readings:
Lowden, 79-83; *Ruth Leader, “The David Plates Revisited,” Art Bulletin 82, no. 3 (2000), 407-427.
Discussion
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What purposes do Byzantine silver and ivory objects serve with the Byzantine liturgy? What does
Byzantine silver reveal about secular taste and continuities with Roman antiquity? How does Leader
critique conventional interpretations of the David plates in terms of imperial ideology?
March 19
XII. Early Byzantine Material Culture: Textiles, Amulets and Magic
Woolen tapestry hanging with Dionysian deities, from Antinöopolis, ca. 500 (New York, Metropolitan
Museum of Art)
Linen Tunic with tapestry-woven clavi and decorative panels depicting Dionysian motifs, ca. 400-450
(New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art)
Tapestry-woven hanging of Theotokos and saints in medallions, 6th century (Cleveland Museum of Art)
Silk textile roundel with Annunciation, 6th-8th century (Vatican Museums)
Round tapestry-woven Tunic Ornament with Narrative of Joseph, from Achmim, 6th-7th century (Trier,
Städtisches Museum)
Tapestry-woven Tunic roundel with David summoned to be anointed by Samuel,7th-9th century
(Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery)
Tapestry-woven Tunic hem with roundel showing David brought before Saul by Samuel half-roundels
showing Holy Riders, 7th-9th century
Silver arm-band with Christological scenes and amuletic motifs, 7th century
Readings:
*H. Maguire, “Garments pleasing to God,” Dumbarton Oaks Papers 44 (1990):215-24; KL: Mango, Art
of the Byz Empire, 50-51; *T. Dale, "The Power of the Anointed: The Life of David on Two Coptic
Textiles in the Walters Art Gallery," Journal of the Walters Art Gallery 51 (1993):23-42.
Discussion;
To what extent do textiles, and the stamped or engraved objects considered here share the iconography of
works of art made for the elite cultures of church and state, such as manuscript illumination and silver?
How is the function of narrative transformed by its functional context on clothing or amulets, or as
interior decoration for houses?
March 21
***MIDTERM EXAMINATION (Topics I to XI)***
March 23-31: Spring Break
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April 2
XIII. Likeness and Presence: Portrait Icons before Iconoclasm
Icons from Mt. Sinai: Pantocrator, encaustic on panel, 6th century
Christ–“Semitic Type”, encaustic on panel, 6th century
Saint Peter with medallions of Christ, Mary and John the Evangelist, encaustic on panel. 6th
century
Madonna and Child with angels, and Saints Theodore and George, encaustic on panel,
6th century
Icon of Madonna and Child from Santa Maria Nova, Rome, 6th century (?)
Icon of Enthroned Christ from Sancta Sanctorum, Rome, 7th century?
Madonna della Clemenza, Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome, 705-07
Later Copies early Byzantine types:
Hodegetria, ivory panel from Constantinople, 11th century copy of 5th-century? type (Utrecht,
Rijksmuseum Het Catherijneconvent)
Mandylion (face of Christ), San Bartolomeo degli Armeni, Genova, early 14th century Byzantine copy of
6th-century? type
Mandylion, twelfth-century panel from Novgorod (Moscow, Tretyakov Gallery)
Icon of Madonna and Child from Santa Maria Nova, Rome, 6th century (?)
Icon of Enthroned Christ from Sancta Sanctorum, Rome, 7th century?
Readings:
Belting, 78-114; Mathews, Clash of Gods, 177-190. Recommended, especially for illustrations and
commentaries on individual icons: K. Weitzmann, The Icon ( New York, 1978).
Discussion:
How did the Early Byzantine Church overcome the traditional Judeo-Christian resistance to fashioning
portrait images of God and holy personages (prophets, saints...)? What continuities from the ancient, preChristian cult/ritual of images does Belting emphasize? How do Cormack Mathews call into question
traditional interpretations of icons and their origins?
April 4
XIV. Iconoclasm, the Cult and Theory of Holy Images
Chludov Psalter, ca. 850 (Moscow, State Historical Museum MS grec. 129)
Hagia Eirene, Constantinople: apse mosaic of cross, after 740
Hagia Sophia, Constantinople: inserted cross mosaic in the Seketron, ca. 770
Beresford Hope Cross, ca. 800
Fieschi Morgan Cross Reliquary, cloisonné enamel and silver gilt with niello, ca. 800 (New
Readings:
Belting, Likeness and Presence, 144-63; Mango, Art of the Byz Empire, 149-77.
Discussion:
What are the principal causes of iconoclasm? What theological arguments do the iconoclasts (opponents
of icons) make against holy images and what justifications for icons do the iconoduels (proponents of
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icons) offer in their defense? Come prepared to take sides and debate the merits of icons, using the texts
included in Mango’s source collection.
April 9
XV. The Macedonian “Renaissance”, Court Art and Ideology
Hagia Sophia, Constantinople, mosaics installed 867 by Emperor Basil I (867-86)
Apse mosaic of Theotokos; North Tympanum mosaics of patriarchs-general view
-mosaics installed under Leo VI (886-912)
-tympanum of southwest vestibule: Theotokos enthroned between Justinian and Constantine;
narthex mosaic from tympanum over Imperial Door: Christ enthroned between Mary and the
Archangel Michael with emperor prostrate
Ivory Sceptre of Leo VI, 886-912 (Berlin, Museum für Spätantike und Byzantinische Kunst–Staatliche
Museen)
Ivory plaque showing Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos crowned by Christ, 944-59 (Moscow, Museum of
Fine Art)
Paris Psalter (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale MS grec. 139), ca. 950-70, made for Constantine VII
Porphyrogenitos (?)
Joshua Roll, ca. 950 (Rome, Vatican Library, MS pal. grec. 431)
Ivory Plaque from rosette casket, ca. 950 (New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art): Joshua and the
Gibeonites
Ivory Plaque of the Entry into Jerusalem, ca. 950 (Berlin, Museum für Spätantike und Byzantinische
Kunst–Staatliche Museen)
Ivory Plaque of the Washing of the Feet, ca. 950 (Berlin, Museum für Spätantike und Byzantinische
Kunst–Staatliche Museen)
Veroli Casket, ivory, ca. 950 (London, Victoria & Albert Museum)
Painted Glass Bowl with classicising medallions, ca. 950 or 12th century (Venice, Treasury of San Marco)
Troyes Casket, ivory casket with hunting scenes, 10th century
Readings:
K. Weitzmann, "The Character and Intellectual Origins of the Macedonian Renaissance" in Studies in
Classical and Byzantine Manuscript Illumination. Chicago, 1971, 176-223; Alicia Walker,
“Appropriation. Stylistic Juxtaposition and the Expression of Power,” in the Emperor and the World.
Exotic Elements and the Imaging of Middle Byzantine Imperial Power (Cambridge, 2012), 45-79.
Discussion:
How do the accounts of the Macedonian “Renaissance” offered by Weitzmann and Webb differ in
method and argument? To what extent do both style and content inform Byzantine imperial ideology?
April 11
XVI. "Icons in Space": Middle Byzantine Church Decoration
Monastery of Hosios Loukas, Katholikon, architecture and mosaics, early 11th century (before 1048)
Ochrid, H. Sophia, apse, ca. 1050
Monastery of the Koimesis, Daphni (near Athens), ca. 1100
Church of Saint George at Kurbinovo, Yugoslav Macedonia, ca. 1190
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Harbaville Triptych, ivory, 10th century (Paris, Musée du Louvre): Deesis and saints
Ivory diptych with “Dodekaorton” or Twelve Feasts, 11th century (Saint Petersburg, Hermitage Museum)
Menologion of Basil II, ca. 1000 (Rome, Vatican Library, MS grec. 1613), fol. 299v: Baptism
Gospel Book, ca. 1100 (Parma, Biblioteca Palatina)
Iconostasis Beam, tempera and gold leaf on panel: Deesis and Twelve Feasts (Monastery of St. Catherine,
Mt. Sinai), twelfth-century
Iconostasis Beam in enamel, originally from Constantinople (Pantokrator Monastery?), twelfth century
(now forming upper zone of Pala d’Oro, San Marco, Venice)
Reading:
KL: Lowden, 229-270; KL: O. Demus, Byzantine Mosaic Decoration (London, 1948), 3-39; *T.
Mathews, "The Transformation Symbolism in Byzantine Architecture and the Meaning of the Pantokrator
in the Dome," in Church and People in Byzantium, ed., R. Morris (Birmingham, 1990), 191-214. *C.
Barber, "From Transformation to Desire: Art and Worship after Byzantine Iconoclasm," Art Bulletin 75
(1993):7-16
Discussion:
How does Otto Demus define the “classical system” of Middle Byzantine church decoration, and what
essential relationships does he establish between art and architectural space/ art and the beholder? How
does Mathews critique Demus and attempt to redefine the nature of Middle Byzantine church decoration;
what does he see as the essential function of the Pantocrator in the dome vis-à-vis the spectator? How
does Barber call into question Mathews’ interpretation of the Pantocrator?
April 16
XVII. Late Antique, Byzantine and Russian Orthodox Art in the Chazen
(Meet in Gallery I on second floor of Elvehjem Building, accessed from Paige Court)
April 18, 23, 25
XVIII. Middle Byzantine Programmes in Foreign Courts
1) Building “Heaven on Earth” in the Kievan Rus
Hagia Sophia, Kiev, constructed under Yaroslav the Wise (1019-54)
St. Demetrios, Vladimir, 1193-97
Reading: KL Olenka Pevny, “Kievan Rus” in The Glory of Byzantium, 281-286
2) Byzantine Court Culture in Norman Sicily
Palermo, Cappella Palatina: architecture and mosaics of the dome and transept, under Roger II, 1140-43.
Martorana (St. Mary of the Admiral), Palermo: architecture and mosaics, for George of Antioch, ca. 1143
Cefalù Cathedral, sanctuary mosaics, 1148
Readings: KL: Lowden, 309-346; *W. Tronzo, “"The Medieval Object-Enigma and the Problem of
the Cappella Palatina in. Palermo," Word and Image 9 (1993), 197-228.
3) Appropriation and Adaptation in Medieval Venice
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Basilica of San Marco (the Ducal Chapel), Venice: architecture mainly completed 1094 (facade after
1204)
Readings: KL: Belting, 195-207; *Thomas Dale, “Cultural Hybridity in Medieval Venice
Reinventing the East at San Marco after the Fourth Crusade,” in San Marco, Byzantium and the myths of
Venice, ed. H. Maguire and Robert S. Nelson (Washington, D. C.: Dumbarton Oaks, 2010), 151-191.
Discussion:
How is Middle Byzantine church decoration adapted in different for specific ideological and religious
reasons in the courts of the Kievan Rus, Norman Sicily and Venice? What distinctive meanings does
“cultural hybridity” have and how is the concept applied differently by Tronzo and Dale? How do
Tronzo and Dale take into account specific aspects of court ritual and privileged viewing in their
interpretations?
April 30
XIX. Crusader Art and Cultural Hybridity in the Holy Land
KL: Glory of Byzantium, 389-401; Eva Hoffman, “Christian-Islamic Encounters on Thirteenth-century
Ayyubid Metalwork: Local Culture, Authenticity and Memory,” Gesta XLIII/2 (2004):129-142 (online at
http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/stable/pdfplus/25067100.pdf)
Maria Georgopoulou, “Orientalism and Crusader Art: Constructing a New Canon,” Medieval Encounters
5, no. 3 (1999): 289-321 (online through MadCat).
Discussion:
How is “Crusader Art” usually defined? How do the metalwork and glass objects studied by Eva
Hoffmann and Maria Georgopoulou further complicate the definition of “Crusader Art” in terms of
production and intended audiences? How does Georgopoulou adapt Said’s concept of Orientalism to
medieval Crusader Art?
May 2
XX. The Shroud of Turin and Liturgical Images of the Passion
***Assignment 2 due***
Shroud of Turin, Byzantine textile icon, early 14th century Constantinople (now in Turin Cathedral)
Saint Panteleimon, Nerezi (Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), mural paintings, 1164
-Deposition and Threnos/Entombment of Christ
“Our Lady of Vladimir”, icon of Virgin & Child “Eleousa”, 12th century, Constantinople (now Tretyakov
Gallery, Moscow); back of icon showing Arma Christi
Double-sided icon from Kastoria, 12th century: Hodegetria (front); Man of Sorrows (back)
Saint George, Kurbinovo (Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia), mural paintings, 1191
-Threnos; apse showing con-celebration of bishops and Amons Aer
King Abgar with the Mandylion, icon, St. Catherine’s, Mt. Sinai, ca. 950
Burial Shroud of King Milutin of Serbia (Belgrade, Museum of Church Art)
Readings:
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*W. Dale, "The Shroud of Turin: Icon or Relic?" Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research 29
(1987): 187-192; KL: S. uri, "Late Byzantine 'Loca Sancta'? Some Questions Regarding Form and
Function of Epitaphioi," in Twilight of Byzantium. Princeton, 1991, 251-61.
Discussion:
Why does Dale argue that the traditional question of the authenticity of the shroud of Turin is a false one
and how does he redefine the terms of debate? How did the image of the Threnos emerge and how did it
prepare the way for a full-length image of the body of Christ? How does uri explain the function of
related images on epitaphioi?
May 7, 9
XXI. The Palaeologan Renaissance and the Collapse of the Empire
Deesis mosaic, Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, south gallery, ca. 1205 or 1261?
Tekfur Saray (so-called “Palace of Constantine Porphyrogenitos”), extension of Blachernae Palace,
Istanbul, ca. 1350
Fethiye Djami (St. Mary Pammakaristos), Istanbul, 1315 under Andronikos II
Monastery of Gracanica (Serbia), pre-1321 for King Milutin
Kariye Djami (Monastery of the Savior in the Chora), Istanbul: architecture of naos, ca. 1077-81 under
Maria Ducas and restoration ca. 1100 under Isaac Comnenos; architecture of outer narthex and
parekklesion and decoration (mosaics and frescoes), 1316-21 under Theodore Metochites
Readings:
KL: Lowden, 389-424; KL: Krautheimer/uri, Early Christian & Byzantine Architecture, 413-50 (esp.
440ff);
Discussion:
What impact did the political and religious climate of the late Byzantine empire have on the appearance
of Byzantine art and architecture? What role is played by private patrons?
***Saturday May 18 at 10:05 a.m. to 12:05 pm: FINAL EXAM****
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