عنوان

The genesis and transformation of the Visitation in Byzantine art

Number

TLpq902738760

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

The genesis and transformation of the Visitation in Byzantine art

General Material Designation

[Thesis]

First Statement of Responsibility

Andrea K. Olsen Lam

Subsequent Statement of Responsibility

H. Maguire

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

The Johns Hopkins University

Date of Publication, Distribution, etc.

2010

Specific Material Designation and Extent of Item

374-n/a

Dissertation or thesis details and type of degree

Ph.D.

Body granting the degree

The Johns Hopkins University

Text preceding or following the note

2010

Text of Note

Though recent scholarship has investigated many aspects of the Virgin's cult in Byzantium, the Visitation has been entirely overlooked with respect to both its theological significance and its popularity in pre-iconoclastic art. My research examines textual sources such as biblical commentaries, sermons and hymns, as well as visual representations of the event dated between the sixth and the fourteenth centuries. I address the significance of the Virgin's pregnancy for the formation of orthodox theology, its relevance to iconoclastic debates and its role Marian devotion. In addition, I explore the Visitation's relevance to broader questions such as female piety and gender issues, differing public and private uses of religious imagery, and the relationship between texts and images. Before iconoclasm, depictions of the Visitation typically portray Mary and Elizabeth embracing, clasping hands or standing together in conversation. During this period the scene appears on numerous portable objects, including ivories, pilgrims' ampullae, wedding jewelry and textiles. Particularly on private objects, the Visitation's meaning was somewhat flexible in that it represented an event in the biblical narrative, but it could simultaneously be imbued with personal significance. In some instances, the Visitation acted as a medico-magical charm that remedied problems of fertility and childbirth. After iconoclasm, the most popular iconographic type of the scene portrays Elizabeth reverently bowing and kissing the Virgin's cheek as the women embrace. Between the ninth and the fourteenth centuries, the Visitation appears in monumental representations of the lives of Christ, the Virgin and John the Baptist, and also in illustrations of the Akathistos Hymn. However, aside from representations in illuminated manuscripts, the scene virtually disappears from portable objects usually associated with devotion. My research culminates in a study of the reasons for the Visitation's decline on small-scale objects. Though the importance of Mary's motherhood of Christ and her relationship to him became increasingly important, the Visitation does not seem to have played any role in the Virgin's cult after iconoclasm. Instead, other, more popular visual formulae developed that facilitated veneration of the Virgin as the vessel and Mother of God.

Byzantium

Communication and the arts

Female piety

Marian devotion

Philosophy, religion and theology

Visitation

Andrea K. Olsen Lam

H. Maguire

Electronic name

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y