Figurative Art Research Articles

Prevention of extremism and terrorism in schools: experience of the republic of Dagestan

The article presents the results of the study of preventive anti-terrorist educational work among students of general education schools of the Republic of Dagestan. It is noted that this work with school youth is carried out systematically and comprehensively with the participation of not only teachers, but also external subjects of preventive influence on adolescents from among representatives of law enforcement agencies, various ministries and departments authorised in the field of youth, information and state national policy, cultural and art figures, representatives of the official Muslim clergy, athletes, deputies, veterans of the Special Military Operation and other public opinion leaders. It was revealed that the main format of this work is a thematic preventive conversation with schoolchildren, that requires certain pedagogical skills and competencies. Using a formalised expert survey of school teachers and a series of research interviews, an assessment of the effectiveness of this activity was identified, as well as problems that hinder the improvement of the quality of anti-extremist educational work with Dagestani youth. Noting the importance and usefulness of this work, the interviewed teachers point to a number of problems and factors that reduce its effectiveness. The workload of teachers with "paperwork", frequent demands for various kinds of reports on the work done, formalism, holding events without taking into account the age and individual characteristics of students, incompetence, lack of understanding and support from the parent community, weak interest in such events from both teachers and schoolchildren and a number of other factors hinder the improvement of the quality of anti-terrorist educational work with Dagestani youth. It seems that the prevention of extremism and terrorism is part of the general educational impact of the comprehensive school institution on a child, raising him to be a moral, law-abiding and patriotic citizen. To improve the quality of this work, it is important to raise the authority of school teachers at the state level, since a teacher without authority is a bad educator for teenagers not only in the area of countering the spread of the ideology of extremism and terrorism, but also in the matter of spiritual, moral and patriotic education in general.

Studi Banding Pola Gerak Tari Kataga dengan Seni Gambar Cadas di Situs Tron Bon Lei, Alor, Nusa Tenggara Timur (Tinjauan Etno Arkeologi)

The rock art of the Tron Bon Lei Site, Alor, East Nusa Tenggara has unique form because it is depicted in anthropomorphic figures. The figure is depicted in a certain movement pose and has attributes in the form of traditional clothing and weapons. Kataga dance is a traditional dance that was previously performed in death rituals after war in Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara. This article discusses the form of the anthropomorphic figures of the Tron Bon Lei Site Rock Art and the Kataga Traditional Dance forms with the aim of seeing the similarities and differences between the two objects in relation to the meaning of the rock art. This research was conducted using a qualitative method, namely a descriptive analytical approach. Data collection was carried out using field surveys and literature studies. The results of the research show that there are similarities between the rock art form and the Kataga Dance form. The similarities are in the movement poses, attributes and dance formations. It is hoped that this article can provide a new perspective in interpreting rock art, by looking at similar forms in contextual situation.

AI, heritage and critical thinking development: an education experience within university context

Educational policy makers identify Critical thinking (CT) as an essential driver for development and knowledge growth in any field and in the broad society. Even in the post-pandemic era, CT continues to be defined as one of the skills to be most promoted at the various levels of formal education and training contexts. In particular, with the raise of AI, it is crucial for educational institutions to encourage a critical approach to technology in students, especially in the analysis, interpretation and evaluation of information in order to make decisions and solve problems, also in digital contexts. Art experiences, literary stimuli and writing activities are helpful pedagogical strategies for CT enhancement especially when supported by the use of technologies. Starting from the above-mentioned evidence, a university module was designed by combining collaborative and creative writing sessions based on critical analysis of literary texts and the experience of figurative arts. More than 100 students worked in groups and their CT level was assessed at different times of the course. In particular, AI and machine learning tools were used to identify indicators of critical thinking in the texts produced by the students and to assess the relationship between the production of written texts and the development of CT and reasoning within students taking part in the educational experience. The research results could be used to improve university course design or professional development training courses for CT teaching and learning.

Digital critical edition of Čiurlionis' piano music: a case study

Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875–1911) is a key figure in Lithuanian music and art. As a professional composer and painter, he left behind over 220 paintings and 350 musical compositions. His art showcases early examples of abstract painting and serial music in Europe. However, his work and contributions to the music world are not widely known. The publication of his music was delayed for 50 years, and several different systems of cataloguing Čiurlionis' music were used, as well as different editing practices and multiple editorial versions. This complexity made the performance and further research of his music complicated for contemporary users. After a grant of the Lithuanian Research Council was received in 2022, the digital critical edition of Čiurlionis' piano music was started. It is based on the previous research done by members of a research team, when the Chronological Catalogue of Čiurlionis Music (2007) and several urtext editions were published (2010–2020). The currently developed prototype online system is a web-based application that enables users to work with all of Čiurlionis' piano music (manuscripts and previous editions), to use the digital edition for performances, and for further studies or research. The corpus of material is presented as an online digital critical edition with a catalogue, search tool and a specially developed tool for musicological and computational analysis of music scores.

Деколонізація топонімів міста Вінниця: лексико-семантичний аналіз

A toponym is defined as a common name for any toponymic objects, starting from large geographical names and administrative districts and ending with small internal urban objects (names of streets, squares, settlements, regions, countries, etc.). The main purpose and function of toponyms is to highlight, individualize, and identify named objects among others. Ukrainian onomastics has consistently pointed to the necessity of a systematic study of toponymy, including microtoponymy. The attention of researchers to the microtoponymy of certain regions of Ukraine has increased significantly, and this is represented in the studies of M. Khudash, K. Tsiluiko, E. Cherepanova, D. Buchko, L. Humetska, K. Halas, I. Zheliezniak, S. Verbych, Y. Karpenko, Z. Kupchynska, V. Loboda, J. Pura, M. Torchynskyi, N. Torchynska, Y. Stepanov, and many others. Equally important is the study of urban names, including regional ones. Urban name is the name of an inner-city object that represents the semantic character of the city, records the history of urban structures, their social, ethnic and cultural function. Both Ukrainian and foreign scholars have conducted research in the field of urban names. Among them: D. Buchko, O. Belei, N. Lisniak, N. Liasovets, R. Liashenko, O. Halai, I. Sabodash, Y. Fernos, L. Masenko, P. Chuchka, T. Shmelva, V. Kamianets, M. Blicha, E. Jedrzefko, and others. The purpose of this article is to analyze the lexical and semantic aspects of the hodonyms of Vinnytsia, which appeared as a result of the decolonization of toponyms in 2023. The main research methods are: descriptive, comparative-historical, structural-semantic, and component analysis. Results. The new names immortalize the memory of outstanding figures of culture and art, significant historical episodes, heroes of the all-time liberation struggles, and heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war. All the analyzed onyms are divided into two groups: derivatives of other proper names, including anthroponyms, microtoponyms, microhydronyms, and onyms of appellative origin. The group of hodonyms derived from anthroponyms includes about 150 names. Among them are the following: 1) hodonyms-names of the heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war; 2) hodonyms-names of cultural and arts figures, including Ukrainian writers, publicists, journalists, literary scholars, critics, folklorists, composers, singers, actors, artists, architects, and film directors; 3) hodonyms-names of Ukrainian public figures, princes, philanthropists, human rights activists, politicians, military leaders, scientists, educators, and rebels. The group of hodonyms derived from toponyms is presented as follows: 1) derived from oikonyms, including astionym; 2) derived from chorononyms, including sovereignonyms; 3) derived from microtoponyms, microhydronyms. The group of hodonyms derived from appellatives is represented by a small number of names for natural features of the area, the location of an object, etc. Novelty consists in the fact that it is the first lexical and semantic analysis of the hodonyms of Vinnytsia as part of the decolonization of toponyms in 2023. Conclusions. Like other cities in Ukraine, Vinnytsia faced a wave of decolonization of toponyms with Russian and Soviet echoes in 2022-2023. As a result, streets, alleys, and squares were given their historical names. There are personal tributes to the fallen heroes of the Russian-Ukrainian war. The urbanonymicon of Vinnytsia is structured by onymic and appellative derivatives, among which anthroponymic and toponymic homonyms predominate. They reflect the worldview of the city's inhabitants, have important cultural significance, and perform a social, ethnic, and cultural function.

Formation of “Moscow text” in Leningrad’s second culture

Leningrad’s “second culture” primarily created an alternative image of the city’s culture, constructing its genealogy as a continuation of the highest achievements of Russian Art Nouveau. The Moscow text seems marginal to this culture, not essential for interpreting the vicissitudes of the twentieth century. A close examination of the institutions of the second culture yet shows that in it, the Moscow text was fabricated. The Moscow origin was understood as a metaphysics of culture, different from the mystical-ecstatic programs of the figures of independent art in Leningrad, as a readjustment of optics rather than an experiment with corporeal and spiritual principles in art. The pinnacle of this understanding was B. Groys’s conception of Moscow romantic conceptualism as a variant of Russian cosmism. Even before that, though, in the 37 journal, the central publication of Second Culture, Moscow art was constructed as both mystically sensitive and mythologically saturated, consisting of cultural images from different epochs and equating artistic endeavor and artistic topicality. Using the evaluation of Olga Sedakova’s work and the editions of Yury Tynyanov’s heritage, this paper demonstrates how the critique of the Moscow concept of culture as neo-mythological, partly anachronistic, and capricious-individualistic was transformed into the recognition of the merits of Moscow independent authors who, above all, more accurately and more diversely specified the modes of symbolic production.

The Sublime Divinity: Erotic Affectivity in Renaissance Religious Art

In the context of the Catholic Reformation serious concerns were expressed about the affective potency of naturalistic depictions of beautiful, sensuous figures in religious art. In theological discourse similar anxieties had long been articulated about potential contiguities between elevating, licit desire for an extraordinarily beautiful divinity and base, illicit feeling. In the later fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, in the decades preceding the Council of Trent, a handful of writers, thinkers and artists asserted a positive connection between spirituality and sexuality. Leonardo da Vinci, and a group of painters working under his aegis in Lombardy, were keenly aware of painting’s capacity to evoke feeling in a viewer. Pictures they produced for domestic devotion featured knowingly sensuous and unusually epicene beauties. This article suggests that this iconography daringly advocated the value of pleasurable sensation to religiosity. Its popularity allows us to envisage beholders who were neither mired in sin, nor seeking to divorce themselves from the physical realm, but engaging afresh with age-old dialectics of body and soul, sexuality and spirituality.

MIKHAIL AND IVAN MOROZOV AS СOLLECTORS OF RUSSIAN ART

In the art history literature dealing with collectors Mikhail (1870– 1903) and Ivan (1871–1921) Morozov, researchers are primarily interested in the artistic stratum connected with European, mainly French, art. The issues of collecting Russian painting, the choice of certain Russian artists, refl ecting the tastes of collectors, the change of artistic preferences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, almost never attracted the attention of scholars. This article attempts at determining the approach developed by brothers M.A. and I.A. Morozov in collecting Russian art. In this context, it seems logical to analyze some features of their collections: what names and works the Moscow collectors chose, whether it was conscious and deliberate or spontaneous (as the literature characterized the formation of the Russian part of the Morozovs’ collection). Unfortunately, researchers have not always found arguments in favor of the collectors’ choice of certain Russian masters. At the same time, experts convincingly prove that with regard to works by iconic figures of European art, the choice and purchases were carefully thought out, right down to “booking” in advance a place in the hall for a particular masterpiece. Another question is far from idle: can we talk about the common ground for the Morozovs’ aesthetic views and, accordingly, about a certain continuity in their collections? The analysis of their Russian part allows us to conclude that the collections broadly and voluminously represent the panorama of the main Russian art currents from early Plein Air to Impressionism, from the first World of Art works to Symbolism, from imitations of Cézanne and Gauguin to independent avant-garde experiments of Russian painting in the 1910s. One of the characteristic features of the collection of the younger brother, Ivan Morozov, was fi gurative (object) art, as he was not attracted to objectless painting.

THE EVOLUTION OF CHRISTIAN ICONOGRAPHY IN THE VI-VII CENTURIES

The II-III centuries represented the period of the birth of Christian sacred art through Christians imitating the custom of pagans, from whose ranks most of them came, to decorate their graves, sarcophagi or mausoleums with images and even by borrowing some pagan symbols and themes, to which they obviously gave a new, Christian meaning, to which, of course, exclusively Christian themes were added, most often of biblical origin, most of them having a narrative-historical character. In the 4th-5th centuries, under the careful supervision of the Church, a synthesis was made regarding the themes addressed, by abandoning some, by taking over others from the imperial imaginary, prevalence acquiring a dogmatic character, from the desire to express and through the mediation of figurative art, not only through the poetic, transposed into songs, the truths of faith formulated at the first four ecumenical synods, but also in terms of styles. In this second stage of the history of Christian sacred art, especially in the 5th century, as a result of the synthesis achieved in the capital of the empire between the two great artistic currents that manifested themselves in painting, the Hellenistic-Alexandrian and the SyroPalestinian, was formed the Constantinopolitan painting school and the stylistic features specific to this school crystallized . The present study aims to point out the main characteristics and developments of Christian sacred art in the Byzantine Empire starting from the time of Emperor Justinian I until the outbreak of Byzantine iconoclasm.

A railway modernity. Izmalkovo train station in Ivan Bunin’s work

The article discusses the everyday life of Izmalkovo, a train station in Imperial Russia’s Oryol governate. Among its frequent visitors and commuters was Ivan Bunin. The writer often resided in the area and used the station’s postal and passenger services. Housed in a small and inconspicuous railway station building of the fourth rank, Izmalkovo gradually became an important logistical hub for the writer. Izmalkovo’s postmark grew increasingly familiar to prominent figures of Russian modern art and literature. Following the devastating events of 1917, life in the Russian provinces becomes perilous for those living there. The political crisis forced Bunin to move from Izmalkovo to Yelets, where he had to seek a secret sanctuary at the local notary’s house. Next, the writer was forced to flee the country. Nostalgic memories of the humble station’s chronotope haunted Bunin for the rest of his life. Using an extensive body of examples, the scholar traces the changing perception of the station in the Nobel Prize winner’s writings, from the romantic impressions of his youth to the agonizing reflections on the ‘cursed days.’

Byzantine wall paintings from San Marco d’Alunzio, Sicily: non-invasive diagnostics and microanalytical investigation of pigments and plasters

A diagnostic investigation was carried out on twelfth century Byzantine wall paintings preserved in the Museum of Byzantine and Norman Culture and Figurative Arts of San Marco d’Alunzio (Messina, Italy) on the occasion of recent restoration works. First, the wall paintings were analyzed using portable X-Ray Fluorescence (p-XRF) and Fiber Optics Reflectance Spectroscopy (FORS) to obtain a non-invasive preliminary identification of the original palette. Then, five fragments were sampled for a micro-stratigraphy study using Digital Optical Microscope (DOM), Polarizing Optical Microscope (POM), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) combined with Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDS) to characterize the mortars and the blue and black pigments non unequivocally identified through non-invasive techniques. The palette included mainly earthen pigments like red and yellow ochres, green earth, and more valuable lapis lazuli blue applied on a bone black layer; while the analysis of mortars found on the different apses showed the same manufacturing technique and constitutive materials: lime-based binder with the addition of quartz, and rare calcareous lithic fragments as aggregate. The obtained results shed light on the pictorial technique used for the wall paintings and allowed us to compare the Sicilian pictorial cycle with the coeval Byzantine wall paintings preserved in Sardinia and Southern Italy.

From Myths, Ci and Fu Works to Temple Worship: A New Inquiry into the Evolution of Fu Fei 宓妃, the Goddess of the Luo River

Luo Shen 洛神 (The Goddess of the Luo River), also known as Fu Fei 宓妃 (Consort Fu), governed the Luo River and was a deity with distinctive representativeness and influence in the Luoyang area of China. To date, research has been centered around literary works and paintings, particularly Luoshen Fu 洛神賦, with little exploration into the belief of the Goddess of the Luo River. In this paper, specific and detailed textual research is made on the origins and historical transformations, as well as functional shifts, of the Goddess of the Luo River from the perspective of belief in the deity. Based on extant ancient documents and stele inscriptions and combined with anthropological field research, five new ideas are described. First, rituals honoring the Luo River were present in ancient times, yet the deity of the Luo River was initially a male entity called Luo Bo 洛伯, not the goddess Consort Fu. Second, Consort Fu first appears in Li Sao 離騷 as a goddess from the Kunlun Mountains. Third, during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220), driven by the political and cultural needs of rulers to maintain regime stability, the Goddess of Kunlun, Consort Fu, became the Goddess of the Luo River. Fourth, in the medieval period, the image of the Goddess of the Luo River underwent a historic transformation, evolving from a deity governing the Luo River to a beauty yearning for secular love, merging with the historical figure of Zhen Fei 甄妃 (Consort Zhen) from the Cao Wei dynasty (220–266), forming a unified literary and artistic figure that significantly broadened the social influence of the Goddess of the Luo River. Fifth, the state-sponsored worship of the Goddess of the Luo River reached its peak during the Tang (618–907) and Song (960–1279) dynasties, and afterward, it gradually declined to a local folk belief due to a shift in the political center. The transition of the belief in the Goddess of the Luo River from official to folk realms, deeply intertwining with people’s lives, is a historical reflection of the eastward shift in the imperial center after the Tang dynasty. It also signifies a transformation of the function of the belief in the Goddess of the Luo River, from a political guardian deity ensuring the nation’s peace and the government’s stability to a protective deity for ordinary people’s family stability and prosperity of descendants.

Symbolist Androgyny: On the Origins of a Proto-Queer Vision

This article focuses on artistic and aesthetic practices within the idealist and symbolist movements of the late 19th century in France. It investigates how artists and art critics embraced androgynous imaginaries derived from Greco-Roman antiquity and the Platonic myth, transforming them into tools for social and sexual emancipation and giving rise to a proto-queer vision. An analysis of the art of Alexandre Séon, Odilon Redon, Jeanne Jacquemin, and Léonard Sarluis, in conjunction with the symbolist theories of Joséphin Péladan, Gabriel-Albert Aurier, and Émile Verhaeren, reveals an idealistic pursuit grounded in the union of the masculine and the feminine through the act of creation. Through the examination of artworks, contemporary critical discourse, and the personal correspondence of these art figures, this study posits that the androgyne serves as a heuristic model for a queer art history. The ideal androgyne, as theorized in Freud’s psychoanalytic writings, can function as a methodological paradigm in art studies as a tool for visualizing and conceptualizing homosexuality in art.

STUDY OF ARTISTIC FOLK EDUCATION AS A CONDITION FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF PEDAGOGICAL TEACHING

The article is devoted to the problem of inconsistencies in the implementation of art education in the State Standard of General Secondary Education of Ukraine. To achieve this goal, the task was set to demonstrate the importance of public art education as the basis for the education of young people. The study was conducted using the methods of theoretical, empirical research and general methods of scientific research.The article analyzes the forms of non-formal art education introduced by cultural and artistic figures in 2004. Restoring the experience of ethnic festivals and preserving the traditions of artistic families becomes the basis for the implementation of the state standard of general secondary education. The comparative analysis demonstrates the importance of combining different approaches in the formation of public education in the country, preserving the spiritual, moral and ideological positions of young people. The experience of leading artistic families in popularizing art education in the region is analyzed. The influence of prominent artists on the formation of interest in Ukrainian culture among international partners is studied. An example of the assimilation of individual experience of artists to the challenges of life is given.The conclusions summarize the importance of combining art and public education for the formation of key competencies, harmonious personal development, and the reproduction of the sacred meaning of art education. It has been shown that the art education sector has a number of gaps in its implementation and future development. The task of the teacher is to develop the spiritual and psychological spheres of the individual; actualization of historical, cultural, artistic or ethnographic influence; formation of skills to look for hidden meaning in the language of art: understanding the non-verbal dialogue with the author, learning to decipher the composition code and learning to understand the principle of the universe, the laws of the world continuum through art; creating parallels during lessons, trying to fill the entire educational space with art (musical minutes during breaks, musical accompaniment during intellectual tasks, the use of stimulating visual content in the space of the educational institution, visiting the workshops of artists and sculptors, holding master classes in museums), which enhances informal education.It is assumed that the creation of an artistic educational product should have a gender aspect in the popularization of influence, the economic background that always surrounds the student and determines his or her artistic and aesthetic preferences. A successful combination of didactic tools of influence and the achievements of Ukrainian folk art can become a source for implementing a comprehensive process of psychotherapy for young people in the context of war and postwar.

A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE WORK OF TWO ROCOCO MASTERS JEAN-HONORÉ FRAGONARD AND GIOVANNI BATTISTA TIEPOLO

Jean Honore Fragonard and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo were the central figures of 18th century art, who established creative freedom in their inventive compositions and open criticism of conventional art centres.

Otkriti nâs nama samima – Josef Strzygowski i Ljubo Babić

Ljubo Babić (1890-1974) - one of the pivotal figures in twentieth-century Croatian art and culture - frequently addressed the research and theses of Josef Strzygowski (1862-1941) in his writings on various topics, directly or indirectly. Babić’s interest in the work of the renowned Austrian art historian and theorist primarily revolved around formulating ideas that emphasized the significant role of art in shaping national identity. In essence, Babić’s complex views on the role of art in moulding a distinct artistic expression - as a central and constitutive part of cultural identity - can be traced, among other things, to his contemplation of Josef Strzygowski’s though-provoking yet contentious theories on Croatian preRomanesque art and national cultural heritage in general. This paper investigates Strzygowski’s impact on the comprehension and appreciation of Croatian cultural heritage during the interwar period, i.e. on the overall atmosphere in which a broader discourse emerged on the relationship between artistic centres and peripheries, while the pursuit of national artistic expression began to dominate a major part of the Croatian cultural landscape. Consequently, the paper examines connections between Strzygowski and the Croatian cultural milieu between the two world wars. Finally, Strzygowski’s importance to Babić is highlighted, delineating the aspects of his theoretical work that the Croatian artist, critic, and art historian used to support his own viewpoints. Josef Strzygowski’s influence on Croatian culture was undoubtedly profound. Besides positioning himself as a connoisseur and advocate of Ivan Meštrović’s art, this Viennese scholar centred his interest on art-historical material from Croatia. Despite often eliciting direct counterreactions from the professional community - exemplified by Ljubo Karaman’s early theoretical writings on “ancient Croatian monuments” as a critique of Strzygowski - his focus on “our” material secured him an important place within the national cultural milieu of the time. Ljubo Babić, who was at the peak of his creative prowess in the late 1920s, approached Strzygowski’s work without critical detachment, integrating certain segments of the latter’s assumptions into his own theoretical framework. While direct influence cannot be unequivocally asserted, it is apparent that Babić found substantial support for his formulation of the “our expression” strategy in Strzygowski’s views. Both scholars believed that the characteristics of a specific body of art were crucially determined by the geographical area of its creation, with the national component being a pivotal aspect. Consequently, they embraced the concepts of soil, race, and blood, which makes them apologists of cultural nationalism. The relevant ideas of the distinguished Viennese art historian lent Babić additional confidence in presenting his own thoughts as indisputable and firmly established, thus framing the hypothesis that the Croatian people had inherited distinctive features of artistic production from their ancestral homeland - regarding them as a form of “our expression” in the past. Moreover, Babić endorsed Strzygowski’s call for further scholarly research into the history of Croatian cultural heritage, viewing adherence to the principles of geographical and national predisposition of artistic production as facilitating the consensus on “our expression” in contemporary times. Additionally, he concurred with the suggestion to investigate folk art, incorporating the interpretation of colours on folk costumes into his strategic framework. Through his writings and artistic oeuvre, Ljubo Babić strove to help us “reveal ourselves to ourselves,” and the work of Josef Strzygowski provided significant support in this endeavour. The prominent position of the renowned Viennese art theorist within Croatian culture certainly lent credibility to this support. Therefore, the relationship between Strzygowski and Croatian culture should not be solely construed as a kind of rivalry with Ljubo Karaman or as merely stimulating the formulation and development of a significant theoretical scope within Croatian art history, even if devoid of scholarly foundations. Rather, it can also be understood within the context of cultural nationalism during the Croatian interwar period. Such a perspective reveals that Josef Strzygowski and Ljubo Babić inhabited the same intellectual universe, which played a vital role in shaping modern European culture.

Ana Marija Marović, slikarica na glasu svetosti

Anna Maria Marovich (Venice, 1815 - Venice, 1887), a Venetian born into a family of Boka origins, achieved a reputation for sanctity during her lifetime due to her religious zeal and charitable work. With the initiation of her beatification process, she was formally recognized as an honourable servant of God (It. venerabile). However, she was also highly esteemed for her accomplishments in poetry and painting. Her inclusion in Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski’s Slovnik umjetnikah jugoslavenskih (Lexicon of Yugoslav Artists) secured her a place in the Croatian gallery of prominent artistic figures. Although information about Anna Maria Marovich’s paintings is often relayed within the context of cultural historiography, relatively little has been said about her oeuvre from an art-historical perspective. Therefore, this paper reconstructs the historical context of her artistic endeavours, tracing her interest in artistic expression within the educational framework typical of an upper-middle-class girl of her era, and examining the support she received from two influential clerics - Abbot Daniele Canal (1791-1884) and Cardinal Jacopo Monico (1778-1851), the Venetian patriarch, with whom she also cooperated in converting monasteries into charitable institutions. Both figures were instrumental in fostering Marovich’s artistic career and played a significant role in promoting her figure and work within the Catholic Church and the Habsburg court. The paper also critically assesses certain assertions regarding Marovich’s painting oeuvre prevalent in scholarly literature, identifying her extant artworks that can be located and those known only through printed sources. Some limited conclusions are drawn about lost pieces that brought fame to the artist and gave rise to stories about them. Notable among these are a painting of Our Lady of Carmel commissioned by the Austrian empress Maria Anna in 1845, and an early piece depicting the Saviour made for Cardinal J. Monico around 1843, which indirectly influenced the imperial commission. Hypotheses concerning lost artworks are largely based on Marovich’s poetry, or rather her poetic exchange with various persons, in which frequent references are made to her paintings. The central part of the article analyses her most significant achievement - the Addolorata altarpiece created for the church of Santa Maria del Pianto o dei Sette Dolori in Venice. This altarpiece, reconsecrated in 1851 at the behest of Don Daniele Canal, was an integral part of the renovated monastic complex repurposed as an educational institution for girls. Surviving studies and drawings, which are here analysed in detail, confirm that Anna Maria Marovich received professional instruction, probably from the painter Maria Tagliapietra, who was active in Venice at the time. Iconographic analysis of the painting suggests that it belongs to the contemplative type of the sorrowful Mother of God, standing in the foreground at Christ’s tomb and praying with folded hands and a slightly lowered head. In previous centuries, such iconography was typically reserved for devotional images and uncommon on church altars dedicated to this cult, especially in pastoral centres. Consequently, it is inferred that Marovich’s altarpiece reflected a more recent or modern development of this form of piety, emphasizing its penitential aspect in alignment with the new purpose of the monastic complex as an institution for the resocialization of girls. The Addolorata altarpiece is also analysed from a stylistic point of view, establishing the painter’s departure from baroque conventions in depicting the subject and opting for classicist elements, consistent with prevailing trends of her time. However, claims that Marovich adhered to the Nazarene school are refuted; her eclectic approach, drawing from various artistic models ranging from the Raphaelesque to the Seicentoist, lacks a discernible preference indicative of a Nazarene influence. Nevertheless, her work resonated with the romantic sensibility of her era, which valued sincerity of motivation over formal properties. In the concluding part of the article, it is established that the figure and oeuvre of Anna Maria Marovich epitomize the European culture of restoration and the policy of the Catholic Church in social modernization, reflected in religious art. In this context, Marovich’s paintings, both thematically and iconographically, reflect the modern evolution of specific devotions popularized during the 19th century, which she actively promoted through her pious, charitable, and monastic activities. While her artistic style may not have been highly innovative, it should be evaluated within the context of the evolving societal role of art in bourgeois culture, where laywomen’s participation in artistic practice gained acceptance and acknowledgment.

Hybrid Idol in Virtual Idols: Constructing a New Perspective on Idol Studies in Film and Media

Hollywood science fiction movies from "Ready Player One" to "FREE GUY" have all scored good box office results, while Japan's Hatsune Miku has gained a huge global fan base. They all have one thing in common, or what can be called a common denominator: the presence of avatars in the main roles. Currently, both Venom, a hybrid art figure made of virtual and real people and GUY, a virtual art figure made of pure AI animation, are extremely popular, and both are in line with the current hot meta-universe concept, with natural similarity. If Venom, a combination of virtual and real people, can be a virtual idol, then this virtual image is synthesized by pure AI animation, both of them can be a new kind of virtual "idol", and this article aims to put this kind of pure virtual image into the category of film and media idol research, and explore their value under the concept of the metaverse and The purpose of this article is to investigate the value of these pure avatars in the context of the metaverse concept and the feasibility of their development.

Faith in the Stars and Architecture: Astrology as an Interpretation of Religious Permanence and the Birth of Modernity

In 1912, Aby Warburg presented his interpretation of the frescoes at the Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara at the 10th International Congress of Art History in Rome. The decision to expound his theory in an academic setting was no coincidence: Warburg’s work, and the subsequent studies of Fritz Saxl, sought to centre the attention of art history on the complex world of astrological studies. The history of astrology demonstrated—via iconological analysis—the migration of knowledge from East to West. Warburg’s innovation was to superimpose the trauma of historical-artistic paths on this network. Through the Schifanoia frescoes, he could reflect upon how an international comparison with the surviving figurative concepts of Eastern Mediterranean civilisations had generated the stylistic transformation of the human figure in Italian art. Warburg defined astrology as ancient religion’s most tenacious form of hidden survival. He traced a path of continuity through art and its relationship to the architectural space hosting it. Astrological illustrations not only enable us to reconstruct the warp and weft of religious permanence but serve as a tool to explain the procedures of iconographic change that led to the Renaissance. After the collapse of paganism, many astrological images survived into the Middle Ages as symbols associated with the essences appropriated by Christianity as its own. A complex store of astrological iconography that migrated from classical cultures and reappeared during the Renaissance's construction of a universal language. Some foretastes emerge in medieval buildings; after a long period in which Christianity and astrology were considered incompatible, astrological language completed and provided meaning to the architecture that welcomed it. Such is the case of the Palazzo della Ragione in Padua. This paper aims to retrace the most significant paths of this migration of symbols through the analysis of such examples of Renaissance architecture as Villa Farnesina in Rome and the aforementioned Palazzo Schifanoia. It will also reflect on the position and training of the architect during the Renaissance and on how astrology was considered both magical thought and a mathematical description that would lead to the discovery of infinity. It is notable that the Farnesina’s astrological contents were dictated by Baldassarre Peruzzi, the building’s architect.

From allegory to figure and back again

The aim of the article is to clarify the basic perspective that Immagini cristiane e cultura antica adopted to read the relationship between early Christian iconographic production – the main subject of the book – and the development of the forms of later figurative art, as well as the path leading to modern aesthetics.For this purpose, the article compares the positions of Auerbach – that had an explicit influence on the book – with those of Benjamin, regarding the different ways in which the two Berliner authors interpreted the meaning and the function of allegory. In Auerbach, allegory is understood as the past of the figura whose logic, according to Immagini cristiane e cultura antica, underlies not only the Christian literary production of the first centuries, but also the figurative one. In Benjamin, conversely, allegory is understood as the future of the figura, followed to the definitive crisis of Christian messianism.