The Apse, the Image and the Icon. An Historical Perspective of the Apse as a Space for Images

Brenk, Beat

ISBN 10: 389500703X / ISBN 13: 9783895007033

Published by Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag, 2010

About this Item

Spätantike - Frühes Christentum - Byzanz 220 S. 106 s/w Abb./ill. b/w, 37 farbige Abb./ill. (color), 600 g. This book deals with the apse as a showcase for images in the early Christian and early Byzantine periods. Two opposed traditions, harking back to early imperial times, nourished the invention of the Christian apse image: on the one hand there were statues in apses of pagan temples and imperial cult rooms which were venerated during cult ceremonies, on the other hand, there were apse mosaics in nymphaea where aquatic myths and figures celebrated the amenities of water. Christian apse mosaics originated within this context and in spite of the Old Testament prohibition of the image. Mosaics and frescoes in apses of cult rooms generated very particular effects, evoking in the viewer respect, admiration, awe and maybe even veneration. The capacity of the image to have an impact on the viewer could not be decreed by the Church, but this was an affair manifested more or less casually according to the inventive power of the artist. This book explores the interactions between the various image-media during the early Christian and early Byzantine periods; it particularly investigates the participation of the viewer and of the patron.

Seller Inventory # 2703

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Apse, the Image and the Icon. An Historical Perspective of the Apse as a Space for Images
• Publisher: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag
• Publication Date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 389500703X
• ISBN 13: 9783895007033
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Neu

About this title

Synopsis

This book deals with the apse as a showcase for images in the early Christian and early Byzantine periods. Two opposed traditions, harking back to early imperial times, nourished the invention of the apse image: on the one hand there were statues in apses of pagan temples and imperial cult rooms that were venerated during cult ceremonies; on the other hand, there were apse mosaics in nymphaea where aquatic myths and figures celebrated the amenities of water. Christian apse mosaics originated within this context and in spite of the Old Testament prohibition of the image. Mosaics and frescoes in apses of cult rooms generated very particular effects, evoking in the viewer respect, admiration, awe and even veneration. The capacity of the image to have an impact on the viewer could not be decreed by the Church, but was an affair manifested more or less casually according to the inventive power of the artist. This book explores the interactions between the various image-media during the early Christian and early Byzantine periods; it particularly investigates the participation of the viewer and of the patron.