Modern Iconography Research Articles

The Spirituality of Christian Suffering

The essay offers a contribution to understand the paradox of Christian suffering in seventeenth-century Transalpine devotional texts and their illustrations. Outlining the basic components of a transdenominational ‘Spirituality of Christian sufferance’, expressed in both Catholic and Lutheran ascetic literature, it provides a hermeneutic approach to the early modern iconography of carrying one’s own cross in imitation of Christ. To imitate Christ was to align one’s suffering with his. While Catholics and Lutherans had somewhat different practices to obtain such alignment, it originated in the same basic will to suffer, to receive adversity and pain from God. The spirituality of Christian suffering was an attitude of patience by which the Christian dealt with the fact that earthly life was a valley of tears, for most people misery a given. To endure suffering in faith became an important spiritual devotion for all Christians, regardless of denominational differences. Based on Luke 9:23 and Matthew 10:38, suffering should be embraced as a gift, rejection of the world as a salvific act. The model of the suffering Christ should move the faithful to take up their own crosses willingly, and devoutly endure trials and tribulations in this short life to achieve everlasting glory. The spirituality had to be acquired, internalized, and for this both Catholic and Lutheran literature presented literary ‘Schools of the Cross’. Flowing from this spirituality, simultaneously expressing and shaping it, an iconography grew forth rendering the cross-bearing as the path to salvation, a spirituality whose fulfilment was, indeed, the “Patientia Victrix”.

TRADITION AND MODERNISM IN THE SACRED ART OF IGOR ZILINKO

The article explores the directions of contemporary Ukrainian sacral art in the work of the painter I. Zilinkо, his contribution to the development of sacred art of the temples of Ternopil region. The main directions of stylistic orientation in the formation of modern sacral art, the evolution of paintings from realistic tendencies of Ukrainian sacral painting of the seventeenth century to experiments with stylization of iconic figures in search of greater spirituality of the face, the introduction of our own modern iconography, based on tradition. The article explores the directions of contemporary Ukrainian sacral art in the work of the painter I. Zilinkо, his contribution to the development of sacred art of the temples of Ternopil region. Sacred art is the object of study of many scientists, historians, archivists, art historians, local historians, journalists. Among them, in particular, D. Stepovyk, M. Golubets, K. Moskalets, V. Sventsitska. However, the issue of the development of the modern sacred art of Ternopil region (1990–2018) requires additional study. The purpose of the article is to highlight the main directions in the work of Igor Zilinka, to specify the formation of the sacral and artistic environment of the churches of the city of Ternopil, to study the temples with modern interiors, to analyze the observance of traditions in icon painting and the search for modern aesthetic forms. After the revival of the Ukrainian Church, the construction of new temples began. The construction of churches led to the search for masters who could carry out their interior decoration. Famous Ternopil painter Igor Zilinko has become a “sacred” artist who has been successfully working in this field for many years. One of the first works of Igor Ivanovich was the decoration of the church of the Sacred Heart of Christ in the village of Veluky Gai, Ternopil district (1920). The murals of the church are classic paintings that date back to the works of the famous master of Ukrainian icon painting of the seventeenth century Ivan Rutkovych. It is the only church that reflects the realistic trends of Ukrainian sacral painting of the seventeenth century. Here the traditions of folk art are combined with creative bold search for new content and form. Next was the work on painting the temples in the villages of Petrykiv, Pronyatin, Kupchintsy, in the Ternopil region. On the initiative of Fr. Pavel Repely, the parish priest of the church of the village of Petrykiv, the painter was oriented to the heritage of Byzantine-Ukrainian icon painting. It is the first church in the Ternopil region that depicts the Eastern traditions of icon painting. Igor Zilіnko later managed to form his own style in the contemporary Ukrainian icon, following the Byzantine iconographic tradition. Particularly noteworthy is the iconostasis created by Igor Ivanovich for the Cathedral of the Archangel Michael in Ternopil in 2007. The artist very responsibly approached the choice of plots, taking as a basis the traditional composition of Ukrainian iconostases. The author has preserved the foundations of Ukrainian church traditions and has reflected the saints of the Ukrainian Church. An interesting development in the decoration of the spatial environment of the temple is the Church of St. Sophia of the Wisdom of God in Ternopil. For the decoration of the church, the parish priest Fr. dr. Vitaliy Kozak invited the already known master of sacral painting Igor Ivanovich Zilinko, who at that time developed his own iconographic style. The figures of the saints are exaggerated, unnatural in height, reflecting the idea of an invisible celestial world, without a realistic image. Creativity of Igor Zilinko is one of the most striking pages of contemporary Ukrainian art culture, evokes joyful aesthetic experiences, encourages contemporaries to creative pursuits to create monumental images that combine tradition with the actual spiritual needs of modern society.

LiberIC: Iconography and iconology knowledge organization in book representations in Painting

This study introduces the preliminary design of LiberIC, which is a description and cataloging tool that collects, controls, contextualizes, classifies, and grants access to representations of books in painting. We worked with a research sample consisting of two thousand paintings via the application of an exploratory and descriptive methodology. Through direct observation of these art pieces, we detected characteristics and particularities that could provide meaning to the pictorial representations of books in them. The collected data was then organized into major categories of information. Taking the principles of description and organization of knowledge as a starting point, and according to the formal style of other widely consolidated international cataloging rules, these categories were, henceforth, refined and progressively adjusted. As a result, we developed a descriptive code that arranged the collected data in nine areas and nearly 100 description fields, ultimately allowing every record to be retrieved through different authorized access points. To delve deeper into the shapes and meanings of these representations, we designed three of these areas in accordance with the theoretical foundations of modern iconography and iconology, which establish three distinct phases in the description, analysis, and interpretation of objects in Art. This tool fills a gap in the scientific literature and opens new paths of study. The way data have been structured generates a description model that can be extrapolated to other subjects. Replacing book description fields with description fields related to other types of objects produces a system capable of describing and cataloging any type of iconography.

COORDONATE ALE BAROCULUI SÂRBESC DIN BANAT - TRADIȚII ȘI INFLUENȚE

This study proposes a reconceptualization of the so called “Serbijan Baroque” reflected in the creation of eighteenth-century imperial province of the Banat. The corpus of this investigation consists of written sources and works of art, structurally analysed and decoded as traditional versus modern Baroque additions. Aesthetic influences of Byzantine, Russian, Ukrainian, Wallachian and Moldavian tradition were surpassed by the dynamism of the Baroque. The change of ideas led to a synthesis in the province of the Banat where the promoters of Serbijan Baroque, were sometimes mentioned as post-Brancovan style promoters (Wallachian Baroque). Nikola Neșcovici and Nedelcu Popovici are two trend settlers in whose evolution one can identify tradition and the need for modern iconography invested with didactic and moralizing values inculcated by the formation workshops.These vagrant painters settled in the imperial Banat and adopted Western iconographic formulas for the Serbijan Orthodox churches. In the Orthodox tradition there is a close connection between the shape of the monument and its related iconography. Enriched since the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries with spaces of vaulting systems, the eighteenth century Serbijan architecture promoted throughout cultural transfer ideas coming from different centers evolving into a distinctive episode within the Habsburg monarchy. The profile of the synthesis achieved by architecture and its mural and iconostasis decoration, is demonstrated by these interpretations, a perfect illustration of the concept defining the evolution od Serbijan Baroque subsumed under the term of Gesamtkunstwerk.

Bookish Demons: Scriptural Temptations in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Iconography of St. Anthony

Bookish Demons: Scriptural Temptations in the Late Medieval and Early Modern Iconography of St. Anthony

IMAGINARY ICONOGRAPHY OF MYKHAILO DOROSHENKO (1991‒2021)

The article is an attempt to systematize and analyse most of the existing images of Hetman Mykhailo Doroshenko created during 1991-2021. A life portrait of the Cossack leader was not found. The probability of the existence of such a portrait is very low due to a number of specific historical reasons of objective and subjective nature, as described in the article. The formation of modern iconography of Mykhailo Doroshenko was due to the growing interest in the biography of this leader of the Zaporozhian Cossacks in the context of the revival of interest in national history during the first years of Ukraine's independence. Further interest in the formation of the iconography of Mykhailo Doroshenko was fostered by the needs of national-patriotic education, museum activities and educational process. Doroshenko's modern iconography is imaginary, it does not reflect the real appearance of the hetman. The vast majority of images of this leader of the Zaporozhian Cossacks are works of the portrait genre, two paintings are made in the battle genre. Doroshenko's fabulous image was also used on philatelic articles and commemorative coins. There have not yet been erected monuments or memorials dedicated to Mykhailo Doroshenko in which the existing imaginary iconographic types of this figure would be used

Images of women in the murals of Islamic society in the era of globalization challenges (for example, images of street art of Istanbul)

The study is devoted to the interpretation of the image of women in the modern murals of cities in Muslim countries. Taking into account the globalization processes, trends in the art of murals in Turkey are considered, the capital of which is located simultaneously on two continents — in Europe and Asia. Based on the multicultural space of the capital of the marked state, a city where over 15 million people currently live permanently, and together with numerous tourists from different parts of the world, up to 17 million, the de-velopment of the newest artistic landmarks here seems to be parallel in several planes.The iconography of the images of women, proposed in Istanbul by artists from Chile (under the pseudo ІNTI), is comprehended by the mural «Resistencia» on Rasimpasha Mahallesi Street in Macyt Еrbudak Sokak; Russia (Tatarstan) under the pseudo Qbic — Mural «Miracle»; USA (artists Levi Ponce and Kristi Sapndoval) — mural «Man» («Being a man») based on the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. A comparative analysis of their works was carried out with the masterpieces of contemporary English artist Jonathan Darby in Jordan (mural «Force» in the village of Kharjah), American Jewish writer Shepard Feyri (fresco depicting a Muslim woman, Cincinnati, USA) and Afghan spray art artist Hassani Shamcia (a fragment of an unnamed mural in Kabul with a provisional depiction of a woman without a veil).The specificity of the modern iconography of the image of women from Islamic society by artists of different ethnic and religious affiliation, which has developed precisely in urban art, has been clarified. The modern canons are outlined in their image without a face; with a face of flower petals, or a rose-shaped chairperson and in a hijab or veil; with a conditional face and closed eyes in the al-amira without burqa; with the present upper part of the face with the eyes open in the veil (with the closed lower part of the face).

Aesthetic traditions of Ukrainian baroque icon painting in modern sacral art

The purpose of the article is to determine the influence of the aesthetic traditions of Ukrainian Baroque on the development of modern icon painting. The research methodology is based on modern art criticism and cultural studies, which are based on interdisciplinary and integrated approaches. For the purpose of the study, the following were used: historical and cultural (to study the historical dynamics of the formation, formation and development of the Ukrainian Baroque style) and historical and comparative methods (to study the specifics of the evolution and transformation of the aesthetic traditions of Ukrainian Baroque in retrospect); the method of artistic analysis (to identify the specifics of the baroque iconography’s imaginative system); typological and system-structural methods (for the effective structuring of iconographic artworks, authorship, chronology and relationships with the aesthetic traditions of Ukrainian Baroque), as well as the method of stylistic art history and comparative analysis (to identify the specifics of pictorial style and technical and technological techniques characteristic of modern Ukrainian icon painters. Scientific novelty. The historical, political and socio-cultural factors that influenced the formation of bar features full-time icon painting on the territory of Ukrainian lands in the XVII – XVIII centuries, the characteristic features, aesthetic and stylistic specifics of the iconographic art of the Ukrainian Baroque era are defined, current trends, problems and prospects for the development of the aesthetic traditions of Ukrainian Baroque in the domestic icon painting are outlined. Conclusions. Socio-cultural space and the space of social art in Ukraine is characterized by extremely favorable conditions for the development of the modern iconography and creative experiments in the context of baroque styling, including the creation of icons inspired by the aesthetics of Ukrainian Baroque. The use of elements of Ukrainian icon painting XVII–XVIII centuries modern artists, the use of three-dimensional perspective, the image of Christ, the Virgin, archangels and apostles in national dress, with typical Ukrainian features – a symbolic hint of the need to search for holiness in real life.

Trinakirana mudra in Buddhist iconography of Myanmar and Thailand

It is considered to be that the iconography of Theravada embodies the real or legendary events of the life of the Buddha Gautama (Gotama). Using the episode of the Bodhisattva (Bodhisatta) meeting with Sotthiya as an example, the article analyzes the stability of the iconographic code that reflects the life of the founder of Buddhism. The development of the episode in Buddhist iconography is traced from the art of Gandhara through the samples of Dvaravati Mons, Burmese Pagan, temple wall paintings of Burma and Siam 17-18 th centuries up to the modern iconography of Myanmar and Thailand.

No Limits: Iconoclasm and Iconophilia in Contemporary Romania. The Attitudes towards Saint Christopher’s Modern Iconography

This study is focused on analyzing the perception of Saint Christopher’s religious and modern iconography (18th-19th century) in contemporary Romania. In the 21st century, the above mentioned icono...

Музейная коллекция икон как база развития современного иконописания (из опыта Ярославского художественного музея)

Музейная коллекция икон как база развития современного иконописания (из опыта Ярославского художественного музея)

An ‘Anti-Sectarian’ Act? Examining the Importance of National Identity to the ‘Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act’

The 2010-11 football season in Scotland was affected by many incidents of violence and threatening behaviour. Fans of the two Glasgow clubs, Celtic and Rangers, were involved in the majority of these incidents. Players and officials of Celtic were targeted by Loyalist terrorists and sent bullets through the post. The Scottish government felt that many of the incidents were motivated by religious, ethnic, and national hatred, and introduced an Act of Parliament in order to tackle the problems that had arisen. The ‘Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act’ came into law on 1 March 2012, representing a governmental judgement that Scottish football is negatively affected by inter-communal tension. The Act criminalises violent incidents and threatening behaviour related to the expression of religious hatred towards football fans, players, and officials. It also explicitly targets expressions of hatred on ethnic and national grounds. This is significant because in the contemporary era, much of what is termed ‘sectarianism’ in Scotland is directly related to national identity, particularly British and Irish identities. The modern iconography of Celtic and Rangers has comparatively little to do with religion, and relates to differing visions of Scotland, the United Kingdom, and the island of Ireland. Incidents that are termed ‘sectarian’ are often best examined through the prism of nationalism, for in contemporary Scotland it is national identity that is most significant to those who perpetrate the actions that the Act seeks to tackle.

Didron and the Hand Maidens of Iconography in Nineteenth Century Britain

This paper re-visits the seminal iconographic text, Iconographie Chretienne by Adolphe Napoleon Didron (1806-1867), the first part of which was published in France in 1843 but left unfinished at the time of his death in 1867. It was translated into English and completed by two British women between 1851 and 1886. The first part of the paper examines Didron’s iconographic aims and methods and how he applied them in the essays on Christian imagery that constitute the main body of his book. The second provides an account of the work of Ellen Millington and Margaret Stokes, in completing and translating Iconographie into English - the only language in which the full work has been available for more than a century - and its legacy in the iconographic studies of Louisa Twining and Eliza Gutch which were influenced by Didron’s work. The paper argues that Didron’s work and that of his translators and associates in the nineteenth century, anticipated the main assumptions and principles of modern iconography, but have been marginalised in the dominant historiography of iconography which asserts the twentieth century invention of the subject.

Contemporary Iconography for Rich Picture Construction

There are many tools available to elicit knowledge and provide understanding of organizational concerns. This paper focuses on the rich picture (RP) used within the soft system methodology. The RP is a diagrammatic means of identifying differing world views with the aim of creating shared understanding of the organization. The RP has predominately been used as a freeform, unstructured tool with no commonly agreed syntax.Our research suggests that the RP requires structure to become a contemporary knowledge elicitation device. We claim that there has been a change to icons that are renowned as being synonymous within previous RP construction. Our research has investigated the modern iconography to be incorporated within a symbol legend for future RP construction. We conclude that a contemporary icon legend key could offer considerable benefits to the creator and interpreter of the RP ensuring greater appreciation of the problem situation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Bamboo Blues (review)

Reviewed by: Bamboo Blues David Pellegrini Bamboo Blues. By Pina Bausch. Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. Brooklyn Academy of Music, Howard Gilman Opera House, Brooklyn. 11 December 2008. As a relative newcomer to Pina Bausch’s work, I find it difficult to understand why her earlier oeuvre provoked such negative reactions from audiences and critics alike. I have often left a Tanztheater Wuppertal performance nostalgic for a radicalism experienced only through legend, the odd video clip, or critical scholarship (such as Royd Climenhaga’s Pina Bausch—a recent entry in Routledge’s superb Performance Practitioners series). Interestingly, this is not unlike my longing for the exotic and eroticized locales Bausch conjured in her choreographic travelogues of the past decade. Although not her final creation, Bamboo Blues was the most recent of her works to be presented in the United States prior to her death last June. An exploration of Indian culture and dance, Bamboo Blues, as with Nefes, Ten Chi, Nur Du, Masurca Fogo, and Der Fensterputzer, resulted from an international residency. Altogether, this body of work constitutes a definitive phase in Bausch’s long career, a break from the propensity to shock through disturbing and often violent imagery. Considering that the exhaustion of modern dance was always a major thematic concern, it seems logical that Bausch would seek inspiration from the performance traditions of other cultures. Since she remained interested in exposing the dynamics of social constructs such as the tyranny of gender relations and the oppressiveness of cultural mores, it also makes sense that she would tread more lightly (and less radically) when engaging cultures she could not claim as her own. Admittedly, part of the pleasure to be derived from Bamboo Blues relies upon indulging what may be described as a flaneur’s eye-view of India. Bausch’s attraction to Indian dance dates back to her company’s tour of Rite of Spring to Calcutta in 1979. She also maintained a friendship with Chandralekha— a pioneer in the hybridization of traditional and modern Indian dance—with whom she collaborated during a tour in 1994 that also included a field research component. As a result, Bamboo Blues distills a range of traditional and modern iconography through Bausch’s trademark amalgam of dance, gesture, mise en scène, and theatrical vignettes. The choreographer conveyed the juxtaposition of past and present, first and foremost, through movement, punctuating even the most fluidly modern of the dance sequences with mudrās reminiscent of kathakali and bharatanatyam, the ever-evolving bases of classical Indian dance. Clad in a defiantly nontraditional shocking-pink evening gown, Shan-tala [End Page 474] Click for larger view View full resolution Clèmentine Deluy in Bamboo Blues. (Photo: Richard Termine.) [End Page 475] Shivalingappa, a leading figure in kuchipudi, a southeastern variant combining intricate footwork and illustrative gesture, performed the most authentic solo. In such contexts, Bauschian motifs and gestural patterns registered as extensions of classical dance codes, while placing into relief the cultural specificity of their ritual origins. When dancers arranged and rearranged their costumes and accessories, for example, it was at once “classic Pina Bausch” and a revelation of the intricacies of Indian garb. As always, her striking tableaux vivants raised the specter of exhibitionism and voyeurism at the base of live performance and, by extension, cultural tourism. Even when tensions between the sexes erupted—such as one sequence in which a woman kept pouncing on her lover’s back to prevent his departure, and another in which a woman repeatedly vaulted off a chair to escape a circle of intoxicated men—they seemed to emanate from a near-compulsive adherence to mating rites deeply rooted in Indian culture. Click for larger view View full resolution Bamboo Blues. (Photo: Richard Termine.) The company presented Bamboo Blues in two parts, repeating many sequences from the first half in the second, with scenic and aural variations supporting the contrast between the two parts (and between tradition and modernity) in compelling ways. Peter Pabst’s design initially relied solely on white drapes, which billowed in response to the dancers, and framed Marion Cito’s vibrant loincloths and formalwear. A white dance carpet, unfurled during intermission, accentuated the saturated curtains...

Malformations vésicales rares

Ultrasonography has radically changed the approach of these rare malformations, still diagnosed with difficulties in spite of modern iconography. Bladder anomalies may easily be discovered when associated with otherwise obvious malformations of genitalia. The rest must be suspected for non-specific signs as micturition troubles, multiple urinary tract infections, chronic renal failure. The abnormal bladder is the only common feature of a polymorphic spectrum of diseases including complete or partial duplication or septum, congenital diverticula, vesicovaginal fistula, agenesis and urachal anomalies. Treatment must be accorded to each case and it needs perfect knowledge of open and endoscopic bladder surgery.

Note sur Kumbhakarṇa dans l'iconographie khmère

Among the representations of the Ramayana in Cambodia, the battle of raksasa Kumbhakarna, Ravana's brother, against Rama's army appears in both the Angkorian and modern arts. Angkor iconography follows Valmiki text (Baphuon, Thammanon, Khao Phanom Rung temples), favouring two episods : Kumbhakarna's awakening and his struggle with a host of monkeys. Modern iconography follows the Ramakerti which is the Khmer version of the Ramayana (S. Pou, Ramakerti (XVIe-XVIIe siècles) Paris 1977) as well as an early twentieth century text written by a high ranking Khmer official, Oknha Veang Thiounn. In these texts, Kumbhakarna's struggle is, together with that of Indrajit, one of the great battles which precede the final mêlée. This series of episods has been depicted in the paintings in the cloister of the Silver Pagoda in Phnom Penh, and those of Vat Bho sanctuary in Siemreap, as well as on the cement reliefs of Vat Kdol surrounding wall, in Battambang. In the most original paintings in Vat Bho, scenes displayed one on top of the other recall the pictures which appear on the screen of the Shadow theatre in Siempreap. The paintor showed in the sequence of scenes Ravana's call to Kumbhakarna, Kumbhakarna's act to deprive Rama's army of water, his asceticism to obtain a magic weapon, and finally his last battle. In this ultimate episod, Oknha Veang Thiounn's text introduces a buddhist note : dying Kumbhakarna is depicted sitting in meditation; as a matter of fact, having acknowledged the sacred nature of Rama, he will be able to be reborn in the Tusita heavens.