Pseudo-Dionysius and Christian Visual Culture, c.500-900

"This highly sophisticated collection of essays reveals the intricacies and relevance of (Pseudo-) Dionysius' thoughts for the church, understood both as a community of the faithful and a place of worship. Interdisciplinary but focused, these erudite essays confirm the semantic and visual complexities of Dionysius' concepts."- Jelena Bogdanovic, Associate Professor, Iowa State University, USA

"This important study of the writings of Pseudo-Dionysius demonstrates for the first time the visual thinking at the core of his theology and how it decisively shaped the art and architecture of Late Antiquity. By putting the visual dimension at the foreground, this compelling book builds a bridge that connects our present culture of the image to the past."

• Bissera V. Pentcheva, Professor of Art History, Stanford University, USA

"This book is a welcome addition to the study of the Areopagite's influence onChristian iconography and aesthetics. Across various media and discourses, Dionysius's unique contribution to the Byzantine theology of the image is presented in a series of richly perceptive and constructive readings."

• Fr Maximos Constas, Senior Research Scholar, Holy Cross School of Theology, USA

  This book uses Pseudo-Dionysius and his mystic theology to explore attitudes and beliefs about images in the early medieval West and Byzantium. Composed in the early sixth century, the Corpus Dionysiacum, the collection of texts transmitted under the name of Dionysius the Areopagite, developed a number of themes which have a predominantly visual and spatial dimension. Pseudo-Dionysius' contribution to the development of Christian visual culture, visual thinking and figural art-making are examined in this book to systematically investigate his long-lasting legacy and influence. The contributors embrace religious studies, philosophy, theology,art, and architectural history, to consider the depth of the interaction between the Corpus Dionysiacum and various aspects of contemporary Byzantine and western cultures, including ecclesiastical and lay power, politics, religion, and art.

Autorentext

Francesca Dell'Acqua is Assistant Professor of the History of Medieval Art at the University of Salerno, Italy, and holds the Habilitation to Associate Professorship in the History of Medieval Art (ASN 2012).

Ernesto Sergio Mainoldi is Senior Research Associate of the History of Philosophy at the University of Salerno, Italy, and holds the Habilitation to Associate Professorship in the History of Medieval Philosophy and Medieval Latin Literature and Philology (ASN 2018).

Zusammenfassung

This book uses Pseudo-Dionysius and his mystic theology to explore attitudes and beliefs about images in the early medieval West and Byzantium. Composed in the early sixth century, the Corpus Dionysiacum, the collection of texts transmitted under the name of Dionysius the Areopagite, developed a number of themes which have a predominantly visual and spatial dimension. Pseudo-Dionysius' contribution to the development of Christian visual culture, visual thinking and figural art-making are examined in this book to systematically investigate his long-lasting legacy and influence. The contributors embrace religious studies, philosophy, theology, art, and architectural history, to c*onsider the depth of the interaction between the *Corpus Dionysiacum and various aspects of contemporary Byzantine and western cultures, including ecclesiastical and lay power, politics, religion, and art.

Inhalt
Chapter One Introduction, Francesca Dell'Acqua and Ernesto Sergio Mainoldi.- Chapter Two Reassessing the HistoricoDoctrinal Background of Pseudo-Dionysius' Image Theory, Ernesto Sergio Mainoldi.- Chapter Three Eikon and Symbolon in the Corpus Dionysiacum: Scriptures and Sacraments as Aesthetic Categories, Angelo Tavolaro.- Chapter Four Pseudo-Dionysius and the Importance of Sensible Things, Filip Ivanovi.- Chapter Five The Relation of Monks to Clergy in the Dionysian Hierarchy and its Byzantine Reception, Monk Evgenios Iverites.- Chapter Six Images of Holy Men in Late Antiquity in Light of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite: Framing Spiritual Ascent and Visualising Spiritual Hierarchy, Katherine Marsengill.- Chapter Seven Pseudo-Dionysius and the Staging of Divine Order in Sixth-Century Architecture, Vladimir Ivanovici.- Chapter Eight 'Visual Thinking' and the Influence of Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite in the Homilies and Hymns of Andrew of Crete, Mary B. Cunningham.-* *Chapter Nine Pseudo-Dionysius and the Dormition of the Virgin Platytéra ('Wider than Heaven'), Francesca Dell'Acqua.- Chapter Ten Pseudo-Dionysius and the Post-Iconoclastic Mosaic Programme of Hagia Sophia, Natalia Teteriatnikov.