Between the Pagan Past and Christian Present in Byzantine Visual Culture (Hardcover)

Paroma Chatterjee

ISBN 10: 1108833586 / ISBN 13: 9781108833585

Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2022

Hardcover. Up to its pillage by the Crusaders in 1204, Constantinople teemed with magnificent statues of emperors, pagan gods, and mythical beasts. Yet the significance of this wealth of public sculpture has hardly been acknowledged beyond late antiquity. In this book, Paroma Chatterjee offers a new perspective on the topic, arguing that pagan statues were an integral part of Byzantine visual culture. Examining the evidence in patriographies, chronicles, novels, and epigrams, she demonstrates that the statues were admired for three specific qualities - longevity, mimesis, and prophecy; attributes that rendered them outside of imperial control and endowed them with an enduring charisma sometimes rivaling that of holy icons. Chatterjee's interpretations refine our conceptions of imperial imagery, the Hippodrome, the Macedonian Renaissance, a corpus of secular objects, and Orthodox icons. Her book offers novel insights into Iconoclasm and proposes a more truncated trajectory of the holy icon in medieval Orthodoxy than has been previously acknowledged. This book is about the importance of pre-Christian, pagan statues in Byzantine art which has so far focused heavily on the sacred icons of Christ and the saints. It will interest those seeking an accessible and interesting study on topics such as art, history, religion, literature and ideas related to the Roman Empire. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability. Seller Inventory # 9781108833585

Synopsis:

This book posits that along with holy icons, pagan statues were an integral part of Byzantine visual culture.

About the Author: Paroma Chatterjee is associate professor of art history at the University of Michigan. She is the author of Living Icons: The 'Vita' Image in Byzantium and Italy, 11th-13th Centuries (Cambridge University Press, 2014).

Bibliographic Details

Title: Between the Pagan Past and Christian Present...
Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Publication Date: 2022
Binding: Hardcover
Condition: new