A Sacred Art: The Origins and Development of the Byzantine Icon

Course Times & Enrolment

This course is currently unavailable.

Course Summary

This course will introduce Byzantine icons, exploring their origins and development and explaining the icons’ distinctive visual language and symbolism. There will be a special emphasis on portrait-icons of Christ, the Virgin and saints and their role in prayer.

Course Details

Pre-requisites for enrolment

No prior knowledge is required.

Content of Course

Origins (I): Sources of the Portrait Icon
Origins (II): Catacomb Paintings, Sarcophagus Releifs and Mosaics
Early Portraits of Martyrs and other Saints
The Iconoclastic Controversy (I)
The Iconoclastic Controversy (II)
The Fully-Developed Icon (I): The Experience of Viewing.
The Fully-Developed Icon (II): Meaning and Tradition.
The Icon in Crete and Russia.
The Iconostasis and the Liturgy.
The Decline and Renewal of the Icon Tradition.

Teaching method(s)

Powerpoint lectures and discussion for the most part.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

Understand how an icon is made and used in the context of Orthodox religion;
Identify and read the symbolism inherent in the icon’s visual language;
Appreciate the complexities of the visual culture of Late Antiquity out of which Christian iconography emerged;
Assess critically the evolution of the icon through a succession of theological, historical and geographical influences.

Sources

Core Readings

Recommended:

Cormack, Robin, 2008. Icons. London: British Museum.
Cormack, Robin, 2000. Byzantine Art. Oxford: Oxford History of Art.
Cormack, Robin, 1997. Painting the Soul: Icons, Death Masks and Shrouds. London: Reaktion.
Doxiadis, Euphrosyne, 1995. The Mysterious Fayum Portraits: Faces from Ancient Egypt. London: Thames and Hudson.
Kitzinger, Ernst, 1977. Byzantine Art in the Making, 3rd to 7th Centuries. London: Faber.
Mango, Cyril, 1986. The Art of the Byzantine Empire 312-1453. Toronto: Toronto University Press.
Mathews, Thomas, 1998. The Art of Byzantium.London: Everyman Art Library.
Archimandrite Zacchaeus (ed.) (trans. K. Cooke), 2000. A History of Icon Painting. Moscow: Orthodox Logos.
Belting, Hans, 1994. Likeness and Presence: A History of the Image before the Era of Art. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Evdokimov, P., 2011. The Art of the Icon: A Theology of Beauty. Torrance CA: Oakwood Publications.
Lossky, V. and Ouspensky, L., 1969. The Meaning of Icons. Yonkers NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
Mathews, Thomas, 1999. The Clash of Gods. Princeton NJ: Princeton Paperbacks.
Sendler, E., 1988. The Icon: Image of the Invisible. Torrance CA: Oakwood Publications.
Temple, Richard, 2001. Icons and the Mystical Origins of Christianity. Luzac Oriental.
Tregubov, Fr Andrew, 1990. The Light of Christ: Iconography of Gregory Kroug. Yonkers NY: St Vladimir’s Seminary Press.

Class Handouts

Course schedule, list of recommended further reading and weekly lecture notes, including excerpts from reading

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.