Joshua Roll - Hardcover

Wander, Steven

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3895008540 ISBN 13: 9783895008542

Publisher: Reichert Verlag, 2012

Synopsis

The "Joshua Roll" (Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Pal. gr. 431), a tenth-century illuminated scroll of the first half of the Old Testament book of Joshua, is among the finest examples of Byzantine book illumination. Previously overlooked, the texts accompanying the pictures along with other primary sources explain the miniatures. A critical edition of the Greek with English translation shows how elegantly and accurately the artist illustrated the epic story of Joshua's conquest of the Promised Land. Details of iconography and style suggest that the Joshua Roll is the copy of a cartoon for a triumphal column, which likely was intended to honor the exploits of Basil "the Bastard", chamberlain or chief minister of four emperors, Constantine VII, Nicephorus Phocas, John Tzimisces and the young Basil II.

About this title

About the Author:

Steven H. Wander received his Ph.D. in medieval art history from Stanford University. Recipient of grants and awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities, American Council of Learned Societies, UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, and the Fulbright program to the Courtauld Institute of Art, he has held teaching positions at the University of California, Irvine and currently at the University of Connecticut, Stamford. He has published widely on Byzantine Art and English Gothic Architecture.

Review:

"...Wander makes important and novel contributions to our understanding of the Joshua Roll, challenging longstanding assumptions about the internal relationship of text and image as well as the accuracy of the inscriptions themselves." --Alicia Walker, The Medieval Review, 15.09.13

About this edition

• Publisher: Reichert Verlag
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 3895008540
• ISBN 13: 9783895008542
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224