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It has long been an accepted assumption that the abstracted mode of visual representation that emerged in late antiquity reflected a collective shift from the outer-directed and 'material' world-view of classical antiquity to an inner-directed, 'spiritual' mentality informed by Christianity: the purpose of this volume is to offer a more nuanced and diverse image of the nature and meanings of abstraction and symbolism in late antique and early medieval art, beyond normative intepretation models, and from a number of different methodological and interpretative perspectives. In ten chapters, ten authors specialised in various fields of late-antique and Byzantine art explore the historiographical background of the 'spiritual' interpretation paradigm, neuroscientific and theological dimensions of Christian visual aesthetics, meanings and motive factors behind apparently wholly abstract and aniconic compositions, symbolic motifs and schemes for visualising cosmic order and the cosmic state of Christ, and the re-use of symbolic Greco-Roman themes in Christian contexts. The result is a multi-focal image of late antique abstraction and symbolism that illuminates the heterogeneity and complexity of the phenomena and of their study.

Christian art and symbolism

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Christian art and symbolism

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This study investigates the pictorial world of the medieval Vadstena Abbey church. The interior of the church was filled with altars and images that had the three separated groups of viewers in mind: the 60 nuns, the 25 conventual brothers and the numerous pilgrims coming to visit the shrine of Saint Birgitta. The pilgrims faced a pictorial message where the role of saint Birgitta was emphasized, but still one among all the other saints. The images directed to the nuns and the brothers accentuated the role of the Virgin Mary as the exemplarily follower of Christ. Furthermore, all the church interior was furnished to enhance the position of the nuns, i.e. that this monastic foundation was made primarily for women. Birgittinerna och deras bilder lägger fram resultat från flera forskningsprojekt om det senmedeltida klostret i Vadstena av konstvetaren Eva Lindqvist Sandgren. Det presenterade materialet grundar sig på studier om nunnornas boktillverkning och deras textilproduktion, samt en undersökning av de skilda bildsfärer som olika kyrkobesökare/brukare kunde ta del av (eller var utestängda från) genom kyrkorummets uppdelning i tre tydligt separerade rumsliga enheter: nunnornas upphöjda och inhägnade korläktare, klosterbrödernas kor och läktargångar samt lekfolkets kringgärdade yta i mitten av det stora kyrkorummet. Författaren använder sig av ett material som spänner från stort till smått, från kyrkans kalkstensmurar och ända ned till stygnnivå i broderierna.

Christian art and symbolism

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Christian art and symbolism

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Christian art and symbolism