Subtle Bodies: Representing Angels in Byzantium
Glenn Peers and A. Long
Abstract
Throughout the course of Byzantine history, Christian doctrine taught that angels have a powerful place in cosmology. It also taught that angels were immaterial, bodiless, invisible beings. But if that were the case, how could they be visualized and depicted in icons and other works of art? This book describes the strategies used by Byzantine artists to represent the incorporeal forms of angels and the rationalizations in defense of their representations mustered by theologians in the face of iconoclastic opposition. The book demonstrates that these problems of representation provide a unique ... More
Throughout the course of Byzantine history, Christian doctrine taught that angels have a powerful place in cosmology. It also taught that angels were immaterial, bodiless, invisible beings. But if that were the case, how could they be visualized and depicted in icons and other works of art? This book describes the strategies used by Byzantine artists to represent the incorporeal forms of angels and the rationalizations in defense of their representations mustered by theologians in the face of iconoclastic opposition. The book demonstrates that these problems of representation provide a unique window on Late Antique thought in general.
Keywords:
Byzantine history,
Christian doctrine,
angels,
cosmology,
icons,
works of art,
Byzantine artists,
incorporeal forms,
iconoclastic opposition,
Late Antique thought
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 2001 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780520224056 |
| Published to California Scholarship Online: March 2012 |
DOI:10.1525/california/9780520224056.001.0001 |
