Course Description
Various issues of panel painting in the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines not only mastered the production of such pieces of art but additionally they developed a highly sophisticated theory of images that was unique in the medieval world. This course explores the dynamics between the theory and the practice of creating, displaying, and venerating icons.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Graduate students will be expected to produce an extensive
research paper on specific works or issues related to the field
and the methodologies appropriate to the topic under
consideration in the course. This paper will be a detailed,
in-depth consideration of the student's chosen theme requiring
not only a demonstration of advanced research skills (including
the ability to read and use material presented in foreign
languages), but also an articulation of the student's ability to
understand and manipulate the critical apparatus of art history.
Athena Title
ICONS IN BYZANTIUM
Prerequisite
Two ARHI 3000-level courses and permission of major
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
Students will be expected to learn to analyze works of art and architecture and to interpret their meaning by taking into account the original cultural context in which these monuments were created. Since this is a writing-intensive course students will be expected to conduct research and compose a short term paper.
Topical Outline
Week 1: Introduction Week 2: Late Antique Portraiture Week 3: Late Antique Funerary Art Week 4: Miraculous Images "Not-Made-By-Human-Hand" Week 5: Icons and Relics Week 6: Icons in Everyday Life: Magical Practices Week 7: The Rejection of the Icons Week 8: New Theory of the Holy Images Week 9: New Theory of the Holy Images Week 10: Icons and Ascetics Week 11: Icons and Emperors Week 12: The Technique of Painting Icons Week 13: Icons and Rituals Week 14: Icons and the Cults of Local Saints Week 15: Icons with Narrative Cycles: Hagiographic Icons Week 16: Images on the Backs of Byzantine Icons