ENGLISH

Subtle Bodies: Representing Angels in Byzantium

Book information

Publisher
University of California Press
Year
2001
ISBN
9780520925137
DOI
10.1525/9780520925137
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
3 MB (2978464 bytes)
Series
Transformation of the Classical Heritage; 32
Pages
250\251
Library
degruyter.com
Time added
2023-08-21 15:14:22

Description

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. Glenn Peers demonstrates that these problems of representation provide a unique window on Late Antique thought in general.

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