Das Institut für Kunstgeschichte und Musikwissenschaft, Abteilung Christliche Archäologie und Byzantinische Kunstgeschichte, der WissenschaftsCampus Mainz "Byzanz zwischen Orient und Okzident" und das Studium generale laden zu folgendem Vortrag ein:
Associate Prof. Dr. Maria Parani (Nicosia, Cyprus)
Revisiting the Famous Representation of the Procession of the Constantinopolitan Hodegetria at the Vlacherna Monastery in Arta
Vortrag in englischer Sprache
Mittwoch, 27. Januar 2016, 18:15 Uhr, Hs 02-521, Georg Forster-Gebäude, Jakob-Welder-Weg 12
The late thirteenth-century representation of the procession of the icon of the Virgin Hodegetria in Constantinople, located on the west wall of the narthex of the katholikon of the Vlacherna Monastery in Arta (Epiros, Greece), offers a rare glimpse into the use of dress as a means of constructing and communicating identity in medieval Byzantium. The unconventional theme of the mural, along with the unusual posture of the bearer of the icon, the market vignettes that frame the central scene, and, not least, the attire of the depicted figures have all been considered as indicative of the "realistic" nature of the representation, which is generally thought to reflect an actual procession that took place in Constantinople. Given the importance of the depicted dress not only in establishing the "historicity" of the scene, but also in understanding and interpreting it, I propose to take a closer look at the attire employed to characterize the groups and individuals represented in the mural. My aim in undertaking this examination is not simply to explore the Arta painting as a potential source for the study of Late Byzantine dress or to confirm the argument for its verisimilitude. Taking the enquiry further, I will be investigating whether the depicted dress actually supports current interpretations of the composition or whether it invites us to modify or qualify them within the context of a female convent in the Late Byzantine state of Epiros, which was, at the time, precariously poised between East and West politically, but firmly anti-Unionist and Greek-Orthodox religiously.
Maria Parani, Assoc. Prof.: Undergraduate studies at the University of Athens (diploma in History and Archaeology, with a specialization in Archaeology and Art History, 1991), postgraduate studies at University College London (M.A. in Field and Analytical Techniques in Archaeology, 1993) and the University of Oxford (D.Phil. in Byzantine Art and Archaeology, 2000). She teaches at the University of Cyprus since January 2005. Research interests: daily life in Byzantium and the exploration of alternative sources for the study of Byzantine material culture to supplement archaeological data, such as written texts and artistic representations, Byzantine imperial ceremonial and interregional exchange in the field of court culture, Byzantine dress, light and lighting in Byzantium. She has published on Byzantine material culture, especially on dress and jewelry as a mirror of cultural, social and personal identity in Byzantium.
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