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The icon of architecture in
Byzantine art, the perception and
depiction of both real and
transcendental architectural space, are
revealed in the international exhibition
entitled "Architecture as Icon.
Perception and Representation of
Architecture in Byzantine Art",
presented at the Museum of Byzantine
Culture in Thessalonike from November 6th
2009 to 31st January 2010.
Thirty of the
most prominent museums and collections
in two continents, Europe and North
America, have contributed to the display
icons, manuscripts,
ivories, metal and stone objects as well
as models of both secular buildings and
churches. From the Tretyakov Gallery in
Moscow to the Procuratoria di San Marco
in Venice and from the History Museum of
Armenia in Yerevan to the Museum of Fine
Arts in Boston and the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York, 80 exhibits
offer
new ways of looking at Byzantine art and
architecture. The exhibits include
artifacts from the most important Greek
collections of Byzantine art, such as
the Museum of Byzantine Culture in
Thessalonike, the Byzantine and
Christian Museum and the Benaki Museum
in Athens, the Museum of Antivouniotissa
in Corfu, the Historical Museum of Crete
in Heraclion, and many others.
The first exhibition internationally
that explores this topic, it is the
crowning of a
joint
research program carried out by the
European Centre for Byzantine and
Post-Byzantine Monuments and
the
Department of Art and Archaeology of
Princeton University, with the
contribution of the Program in Hellenic
Studies (Stanley Seeger Fund) and the
Index of Christian Art of the same
University.
In an attempt to bring today’s beholder
closer to the spirit and transcendental
character of Byzantine art, the
exhibition showcases aspects such as the
spirituality that marks Byzantine
architecture; the richness in
interpretations of architectural forms
and space; the two-dimensional
representations of reality and the
emphasis on the imaginary; symbolic
notions such as the celestial hierarchy
and the relation between man and divine
power; and the role of Jerusalem as a
city both real and ideal that connects
earth and heaven. At the same time, it
reveals the diachronic value of several
particular elements in the conception
and representation of architecture in
Byzantine art, as well as the
differences with the Renaissance ideas
and principles.
The exhibition is accompanied by a major
catalogue that includes four
introductory essays, entries and
photographs for each exhibit, as well as
full bibliography. An edition addressed
not only to the expert but to every
art-loving reader, the catalogue offers
a panorama of architectural
representations in Byzantine art.
The exhibition is co-organized by the
Museum of Byzantine Culture, the
European Center for Byzantine and
Post-Byzantine Monuments and the
Princeton University Art Museum.
After
its presentation in Thessalonike, it
will be mounted at the Princeton
University Art Museum, from March 6th to
June 7th 2010.
The research program
The exhibition "Architecture as Icon.
Perception and Representation of
Architecture in Byzantine Art" is the
crowning of an ambitious research
program that attempts to open new paths
in the study of Byzantine art. The
program aimed at better understanding
the importance of architectural
depiction in Byzantine art, focusing on
research, the organization of an
exhibition initially at the Museum of
Byzantine Culture and later at the
Princeton University Art Museum, and the
publication of a catalogue.
Through the presentation of the
exhibition to a wider public in Europe
and North America, this original project
aspires to offer a contribution to the
approach and better understanding of
Byzantine culture, to the exchange of
new ideas and the encouragement of
further discussion among experts
internationally.
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