This book focuses on the earliest surviving Christian icons, dated to the sixth and seventh centuries, which bear many resemblances to three other well-established genres of ‘sacred portrait’ also produced during late antiquity, namely Roman imperial portraiture, Graeco-Egyptian funerary portraiture and panel paintings depicting non-Christian deities.
Andrew Paterson addresses two fundamental questions about devotional portraiture – both Christian and non-Christian – in the late antique period. Firstly, how did artists visualise and construct these images of divine or sanctified figures? And secondly, how did their intended viewers look at, respond to, and even interact with these images? Paterson argues that a key factor of many of these portrait images is the emphasis given to the depicted gaze, which invites an intensified form of personal encounter with the portrait’s subject.
The book will be of interest to scholars working in art history, theology, religion and classical studies.
By:
Andrew Paterson Imprint: Routledge Country of Publication: United Kingdom Dimensions:
Height: 246mm,
Width: 174mm,
Weight: 453g ISBN:9780367697587 ISBN 10: 0367697580 Series:Routledge Research in Art and Religion Pages: 212 Publication Date:27 May 2024 Audience:
College/higher education
,
Primary
Format:Paperback Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction 1. The Production of Sacred Portraits (i): Techniques and Stylistic Variation 2. The Production of Sacred Portraits (ii): The Visualisation of the Prototype 3. The Reception of Sacred Portraits (i): Functions and Meanings of the Depicted Gaze 4. The Reception of Sacred Portraits (ii): Their Role in Spiritual Practice Conclusion
Andrew Paterson is a Teaching Fellow at the University of Edinburgh.
