Astrological Theory and Elite Knowledge in Non-Elite Public Art: Order in the Zodiacal Archivolt at Vézelay (original) (raw)
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The Zodiac in Early Medieval Art: Migration of a Classical Motif Through Time and Space
Migrations in Visual Art, 2018
Zodiac signs could be seen all across the ancient Roman Empire. Following the fall of its Western part, their images became sparse, only to reappear at the beginning of the 9 th century. Due to its strong pagan connotations, Zodiac was not depicted in Christian art of the earlier periods; thus its emergence in visual cultures of Christian societies in the latter part of the Early Middle Ages seems perplexing. Considering that representations of the zodiac appear in both Byzantine and Caro-lingian cultures almost concurrently, this paper will explore possible ways that cross-cultural exchange affected their distinctive processes of appropriation of this Classical motif into ecclesiastical art.
5. The Romanesque Zodiac: Its Symbolic Function on the Church Facade
Transformations of Time and Temporality in Medieval and Renaissance Art, 2014
…no two cultures live conceptually in the same kind of time and space. Space and time, like language itself, are works of art, and like language they help condition and direct practical action." Lewis Mumford 1 Changes in the conception of time have been perceived by historians to be one of the important expressions of Renaissance in the twelfth century. Jacques Le Goff, Father Chenu and others have shown that these changes emanated form the new learning in the monastic and cathedral schools as well as from technological and social developments in the urban milieu. 2 Whether or not these changes are reflected in the art of the twelfth century has not been examined. It is my contention that the depiction of the zodiac on Romanesque church facades constitutes a visual expression of current conceptions of time. My first objective will be to explicate between the monumental image of the zodiac and theories of time set forth in contemporary exegetical and philosophical texts. Upon this basis I propose the specific iconographic function of the façade zodiacs.
KEY TO THE INTERPRETATION OF EUROPEAN ARTWORKS: THE TRIPLE ANIMAL CIRCLE
KEY TO THE INTERPRETATION OF EUROPEAN ARTWORKS: THE TRIPLE ANIMAL CIRCLE, 2024
The article describes the integration of the Eastern and Western zodiacs and the 28-element Chinese lunar mansion cycle, without knowledge of which the "secret layer" of most European visual or oral works from the Christian era is uninterpretable.
Archaeology and Science, 2017
Although the zodiac as a concept was invented in Babylonia, during the time of the Achaemenid Empire, its earliest visual representations are found in the Hellenistic period. However, the majority of surviving examples of images of the twelve signs date from the Roman Imperial Age. In this paper, we will analyse correlations between important phases in the history of astrology and the appearances of the zodiac motif in different visual forms and periods throughout Antiquity. It is our contention that the increased production of objects and monuments with zodiacal decoration corresponds to periods of increased astrological activity, its presence among the highest echelons of power, their positive attitude towards it, as well as the accessibility of the lower strata of society to the knowledge and practice of astrological theory.
Decoding European Palaeolithic Art: Extremely Ancient knowledge of Precession of the Equinoxes
Athens Journal of History
A consistent interpretation is provided for Neolithic Göbekli Tepe and Çatalhöyük as well as European Palaeolithic cave art. It appears they all display the same method for recording dates based on precession of the equinoxes, with animal symbols representing an ancient zodiac. The same constellations are used today in the West, although some of the zodiacal symbols are different. In particular, the Shaft Scene at Lascaux is found to have a similar meaning to the Vulture Stone at Göbekli Tepe. Both can be viewed as memorials of catastrophic encounters with the Taurid meteor stream, consistent with Clube and Napier's theory of coherent catastrophism. The date of the likely comet strike recorded at Lascaux is 15,150 ± 200 BC, corresponding closely to the onset of a climate event recorded in a Greenland ice core. A survey of radiocarbon dates from Chauvet and other Palaeolithic caves is consistent with this zodiacal interpretation, with a very high level of statistical significance. Finally, the Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel, circa 38,000 BC, is also consistent with this interpretation, indicating this knowledge is extremely ancient and was widespread.
THE ZODIAC AS A HIDDEN ABC OF PAINTING... DEMONSTRATION OF THE "EDM" CODING SYSTEM ON THE PAINTING "THE NATIVITY" FROM THE BELVEDERE GALLERY IN VIENNA, 2023
The Western European sacral mainstream painting coding, the so-called EDM system, is very impressive, and is thus very well presentable on the nativity painting from the Belvedere Gallery dated around 1400. The EDM system, which I have discussed in several works since 2021 [e. g. 1], is probably present in Western European sacral painting from the 6th century (St Catherine Monastery, Sinai - Icon of the Enthroned Virgin and Child with Saints and Angels), but certainly from 800-810 (Book of Kells) as the "secret" main line of visual art coding.