From Word to Image: The “Hesychastic type” of Mandorla

Abstract

Based on the complex interrelations between word and image, the present paper aims to elucidate the penetrating correlation of the theological thought of the time with the art of a specific epoch. The findings of this study emphasize on the Hesychasm and its influence over Byzantine iconography in the fourteenth century AD, especially in relation to the formation of a new, unusual form of mandorla, called “hesychastic type”. In order to explain its rise and further development in Byzantine and Post Byzantine iconography, the paper discusses the earliest extant patterns of the “hesychastic type” of mandorla from the very beginning of the century and compares them with several subsequent examples. The focal point of the research is to find out which one is the earliest known pattern of the “hesychastic type” of mandorla and the place where this type of the symbol has emerged. The generally shared view claims that the new form has been produced firstly in Thessaloniki and can be seen in the partially survived Transfiguration mosaics in the Holy Apostles Church there. However, this study proceeds from the assumption that the prime model originates from Constantinople, caused by the theological and artistic milieu in the metropolis and probably found its place first in the wall paintings of the Chora Church. In support of this hypothesis, we are going to pay particular attention to the evidences about the relationships between the first and the second city in the Empire, the obvious intervisuality between the iconographic models in both churches and to some data about the erroneous dating of the wall decorations of the Holy Apostles Church in Thessaloniki.