In Search of the Patron: Late Antique Styles in Context (original) (raw)
2019, Acta ad archaeologiam et artium historiam pertinentia
The people who commissioned artworks and monumental decorations in late antiquity are for the most part unknown. Even when names are recorded, it is often difficult to tell to what extent the demands of the patron determined the visual characteristics of a given work. Since styles were tied to workshop traditions and contentions, it can be argued that in most instances, the patron had but limited influence on stylistic properties. Evidence actually suggests that the style of a work often came about independently of the one who commissioned or purchased it. The style was conditioned by function and context. The article, therefore, proposes a functional paradigm for evaluating visual expressions, defining three main domains of representation: public monuments, religious programmes, and artworks. In search of the late antique patron, the conclusion reached is that the patron had most impact in the religious domain.
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This thesis is the result of a little over 3 years of work, which resulted in the creation of a database of late antique and early medieval painted decor in churches of the former provinces of the Roman Empire, going from the 3rd to the 10th century A.D. The database contains over a hundred buildings, as well as many illustrations, and bibliographic references. This thesis analyses in-depth 5 of these buildings of the first half of the period (3rd century-6th century A.D.) in the Latin West, in order to illustrate the genesis of Christian late antique and early medieval painted iconographical programs, both in its origins, as well as the first phases in the creation of Christian iconography and iconographical programs. It is my intention to continue this project later on in life, and my next step will be a PhD thesis in order to better understand the decor of late antique shrines, through a trans-cultual analysis, in order to better comprehend the relation between the sacred, dogma, and the people during this period. Before moving further along the chronological evolution of iconography, further understanding of the prime development of Christian iconography is necessary, within its own cultural and cultual context, in order to grasp the organic evolution of Christian images from late antiquity up to the early Middle Ages.
Religions, 12, 98, 2021
Between Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages, lay and cleric alike felt the need to be remembered in the monuments they sponsored. Accordingly, specific elements of the décor were designed as means capable of bearing the patron’s memory. The late antique churches of Ravenna offer an extraordinary field to understand how patrons left their mark on decorative programs of ancient buildings. There, portraits, inscriptions, and monograms emerge as the primary instruments used in a complex strategy of visual communication. However, each had its own communicative power and peculiar use. Either separately or in connection, they were able to convey strong messages of patronship to the viewer. By focusing on each of these elements in its context and on the ways they all interacted with the surrounding architecture and church decoration, this paper will highlight their value as visual objects capable to immortalize the piety, power, or presence of the patron. Indeed, the silent dialogue enacted into the architectural space with the beholder will allow us to reconstruct the hidden messages that individuals or groups meant to communicate to posterity.
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