Title & Author:

Heaven on earth : art and the Church in Byzantium / edited by Linda Safran.

Publication:

University Park, Penn. : Pennsylvania State University Press, ©1998.

Description:

280 pages : illustrations (some color), maps ; 29 cm

Notes:
Edited versions of papers originally presented at a series of lectures at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., Fall 1991.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Constantinople and the Empire of New Rome / Joseph Alchermes -- "...That Man Might Become God" : Central Themes in Byzantine Theology / Eric D. Perl -- The Responding Icon / Anna Kartsonis -- The Holy Space : Architecture and the Liturgy / Robert Ousterhout -- The Cycle of Images in the Church / Henry Maguire -- Art in the Service of the Liturgy : Byzantine Silver Plate / Susan A. Boyd -- Illuminating the Liturgy : Illustrated Service Books in Byzantium / Nancy Patterson Ševčenko -- Byzantine Pilgrims' Art / Gary Vikan.

Summary:

This easily accessible volume, which grew out of a series of lectures presented at the Smithsonian Institution in 1991, aims to provide a coherent introduction to Byzantine culture with a focus on the interconnected realms of art and religion. The eight participants have revised their lectures into chapters on Byzantine history, theology, icons and icon theory, church architecture, monumental painting, silver church furnishings, illustrated liturgical books, and pilgrimage. In addition to presenting current research on this range of topics, the chapters each contribute original scholarship from authors who are recognized experts in their respective fields. The Introduction, by Linda Safran, deals with views and definitions of Byzantium over the course of its long history and considers why that civilization deserves our attention today. It underscores the essential unifying role of the Orthodox religion in a vast and fluid empire and clarifies how the experiential aspects of that religion--churches, liturgy, church arts and imagery, religious travel--open a window into Byzantine culture. Throughout the book, the past is made vivid by considering what Byzantine believers heard and said and did, as well as what they saw. The book's chapters are cross-referenced and are complemented both by endnotes that cite primary and secondary sources and by "Suggestions for Further Reading" that include English and foreign-language references. There is no comparable art history text that combines this high-caliber range of current scholarship with more than 250 illustrations, including 16 pages of color plates, to introduce Byzantine culture to a broad readership. Contributors are Joseph Alchermes, Susan A. Boyd, Anna Kartsonis, Henry Maguire, Robert Ousterhout, Eric D. Perl, Nancy Patterson Ševčenko, and Gary Vikan.

ISBN:

0271016698 (alk. paper)
9780271016696 (alk. paper)
0271016701 (pbk. ; alk. paper)
9780271016702 (pbk. ; alk. paper)

Subject:

Orthodox Eastern Church In art.
Église orthodoxe Dans l'art.
Orthodox Eastern Church.
Art, Byzantine.
Christian art and symbolism Byzantine Empire Medieval, 500-1500.
Art byzantin.
Art chrétien Empire byzantin Médiévale, 500-1500.
Christian art and symbolism Medieval.
Byzantijnse kunst.
Orthodox Eastern Church and art
Christian artand symbolism Medieval, 500-1500 Byzantine Empire.
Byzantine Empire.

Form/genre:

Proceedings.
works of art.
Art.
Œuvres d'art.

Added entries:

Safran, Linda.

Holdings:

Location: Library main 196811
Call No.: ID N7852.5.H43; ID:98-B1688
Status: Available