Vladimir Ivanovici
I study the various strategies late antique and Byzantine Christians designed to flesh out the divine and shape individual and collective identities, focusing on the mise-en-scène of religious experiences that integrated built space, iconographic programmes, and ritual actions.
Address: Villa Argentina, Via Largo Bernasconi 2, 6850 Mendrisio, Switzerland
Address: Villa Argentina, Via Largo Bernasconi 2, 6850 Mendrisio, Switzerland
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Research projects
This project proposes the full documentation of the newly restored Church of the Holy Cross at Patrauti Monastery - built in 1487 in the principality of Moldavia, modern Romania. The church contains key information about Byzantine and post-Byzantine church design, building, and decorating methods, the dynamics of knowledge transfer catalyzed by the fall of Constantinople, and how local princes used religious spaces and rituals to transform locally and claim the legacy of Byzantium.
The ultimate aim of the project is to develop an interdisciplinary model for the study of emotion manipulation in ritual contexts.
The project was offered funding by both the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and the European Commission (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship) and was granted a third year of funding by the University of Vienna.
https://craftingemotion.univie.ac.at
Monographs
in which the luminous effect was reached through a combination of constructive techniques and perceptual manipulation. One nocturnal and one diurnal, the two ceremonials represented different scenarios, testifying to the capacity of church builders and willingness of Late Antique bishops to stage the ritual experience in order to offer God to the senses.
Edited volumes
Themes covered include the interaction between patrons, advisors, architects, and artists, as well as local negotiations among competing traditions that yielded new visual and spatial constructs for which natural light served as a defining and unifying factor. The study of natural light in medieval churches reveals cultural relations, knowledge transfer patterns, processes of translation and adaptation, as well as experiential aspects of sacred spaces in the Middle Ages.
Contributors are: Anna Adashinskaya, Jelena Bogdanović, Debanjana Chatterjee, Ljiljana Čavić, Aleksandar Čučaković, Dušan Danilović, Magdalena Dragović, Natalia Figueiras Pimentel, Leslie Forehand, Jacob Gasper, Vera Henkelmann, Gabriel-Dinu Herea, Vladimir Ivanovici, Charles Kerton, Jorge López Quiroga, Anastasija Martinenko, Andrea Mattiello, Rubén G. Mendoza, Dimitris Minasidis, Maria Paschali, Marko Pejić, Iakovos Potamianos, Maria Shevelkina, Alice Isabella Sullivan, Travis Yeager, and Olga Yunak.
https://brill.com/display/title/63611
‘Christianisation’ of the Alpine regions to the multidimensional notion of ‘Christianness’. This adjustment of our lenses also covers systematic attempts at proselytising,
which loom particularly large in narratives of Christianisation, but it equally highlights the range of religious identities that prevailed in the area. Secondly, this volume draws attention to the cultural coherence of the area from Turin to Trent and from Milan to the Alpine passes. In the past, scholars tended to study the spread of Christianity by modern province – i.e., in Lombardy, Piedmont, Ticino – which significantly hampered the
ability to recognise recurring patterns that span the Alpine region. A more comprehensive view can provide clues to understanding these complex social and cultural processes.
The volume at hand takes a first step in this direction, providing the foundation for further exploration, particularly with regard to the region north of the Alpine passes, whose study along the same lines is crucial to an integrative approach.
Themes covered include the interaction between patrons, advisors, architects, and artists, as well as local negotiations among competing traditions that yielded new visual and spatial constructs for which natural light served as a defining and unifying factor. The study of natural light in medieval churches reveals cultural relations, knowledge transfer patterns, processes of translation and adaptation, as well as experiential aspects of sacred spaces in the Middle Ages.
from established and emerging scholars of diverse research fields and addressing
various aspects pertaining to the “economy of light”. Organised under the aegis
of the project From Ravenna to Vals, the international conference Manipulating
Light in Premodern Times held in Mendrisio on the 3rd and 4th of November 2011
was made possible by the generous support of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Due to the character of the extant sources but also to the large chronological
span, the present volume focuses on religious buildings and artefacts. The second
volume, however, will address the architecture of the 20th century in its many building
types and expressions.15 Both volumes are meant to contribute to a developing
topic in current academic scholarship, namely the historicisation of the employment
of light as a dynamic factor of built space before and after the introduction of
electrical illumination. In an era in which the advancing musealisation of historical
buildings reinforces their artificial illumination in order to maximise their visibility
for contemporary touristic needs (safety and photographability), the collected essays
intend to increase the awareness of the importance and relevance of historical
lighting conditions and sophisticated techniques in modulating darkness.16
Divided into four sections, the present volume covers both material and theoretical
aspects. Art historians, architects, historians, philologists, and restorers all attest
to the centrality of the theme despite their various approaches and cultural contexts.
Enriched with the contributions of scholars not present at the preceding conference, the volume nonetheless maintains the meeting’s structure.
Articles
around the person of the ruler, the consulate gained a special
importance in the new social order. From the fourth century
to the sixth, the consulate was held by emperors, high-ranking
members of the imperial family, caesars, as well as a number
of high-ranking officials who had either distinguished
themselves in the service of emperors or who came from
prominent aristocratic families. These individuals’ consular
responsibilities were limited mostly to the presentation of
games and distribution of largesse. At the same time, this
article argues, a further important aspect of the office for
non-imperial consuls was to reproduce, or evoke, the physical
presence of the ruling emperor, particularly his theophanic
dimension. The text explores the strategy used to promote the
living consul as iconic, in the sense of reproducing the imperial
presence qua image of the divine.
This project proposes the full documentation of the newly restored Church of the Holy Cross at Patrauti Monastery - built in 1487 in the principality of Moldavia, modern Romania. The church contains key information about Byzantine and post-Byzantine church design, building, and decorating methods, the dynamics of knowledge transfer catalyzed by the fall of Constantinople, and how local princes used religious spaces and rituals to transform locally and claim the legacy of Byzantium.
The ultimate aim of the project is to develop an interdisciplinary model for the study of emotion manipulation in ritual contexts.
The project was offered funding by both the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and the European Commission (Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship) and was granted a third year of funding by the University of Vienna.
https://craftingemotion.univie.ac.at
in which the luminous effect was reached through a combination of constructive techniques and perceptual manipulation. One nocturnal and one diurnal, the two ceremonials represented different scenarios, testifying to the capacity of church builders and willingness of Late Antique bishops to stage the ritual experience in order to offer God to the senses.
Themes covered include the interaction between patrons, advisors, architects, and artists, as well as local negotiations among competing traditions that yielded new visual and spatial constructs for which natural light served as a defining and unifying factor. The study of natural light in medieval churches reveals cultural relations, knowledge transfer patterns, processes of translation and adaptation, as well as experiential aspects of sacred spaces in the Middle Ages.
Contributors are: Anna Adashinskaya, Jelena Bogdanović, Debanjana Chatterjee, Ljiljana Čavić, Aleksandar Čučaković, Dušan Danilović, Magdalena Dragović, Natalia Figueiras Pimentel, Leslie Forehand, Jacob Gasper, Vera Henkelmann, Gabriel-Dinu Herea, Vladimir Ivanovici, Charles Kerton, Jorge López Quiroga, Anastasija Martinenko, Andrea Mattiello, Rubén G. Mendoza, Dimitris Minasidis, Maria Paschali, Marko Pejić, Iakovos Potamianos, Maria Shevelkina, Alice Isabella Sullivan, Travis Yeager, and Olga Yunak.
https://brill.com/display/title/63611
‘Christianisation’ of the Alpine regions to the multidimensional notion of ‘Christianness’. This adjustment of our lenses also covers systematic attempts at proselytising,
which loom particularly large in narratives of Christianisation, but it equally highlights the range of religious identities that prevailed in the area. Secondly, this volume draws attention to the cultural coherence of the area from Turin to Trent and from Milan to the Alpine passes. In the past, scholars tended to study the spread of Christianity by modern province – i.e., in Lombardy, Piedmont, Ticino – which significantly hampered the
ability to recognise recurring patterns that span the Alpine region. A more comprehensive view can provide clues to understanding these complex social and cultural processes.
The volume at hand takes a first step in this direction, providing the foundation for further exploration, particularly with regard to the region north of the Alpine passes, whose study along the same lines is crucial to an integrative approach.
Themes covered include the interaction between patrons, advisors, architects, and artists, as well as local negotiations among competing traditions that yielded new visual and spatial constructs for which natural light served as a defining and unifying factor. The study of natural light in medieval churches reveals cultural relations, knowledge transfer patterns, processes of translation and adaptation, as well as experiential aspects of sacred spaces in the Middle Ages.
from established and emerging scholars of diverse research fields and addressing
various aspects pertaining to the “economy of light”. Organised under the aegis
of the project From Ravenna to Vals, the international conference Manipulating
Light in Premodern Times held in Mendrisio on the 3rd and 4th of November 2011
was made possible by the generous support of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
Due to the character of the extant sources but also to the large chronological
span, the present volume focuses on religious buildings and artefacts. The second
volume, however, will address the architecture of the 20th century in its many building
types and expressions.15 Both volumes are meant to contribute to a developing
topic in current academic scholarship, namely the historicisation of the employment
of light as a dynamic factor of built space before and after the introduction of
electrical illumination. In an era in which the advancing musealisation of historical
buildings reinforces their artificial illumination in order to maximise their visibility
for contemporary touristic needs (safety and photographability), the collected essays
intend to increase the awareness of the importance and relevance of historical
lighting conditions and sophisticated techniques in modulating darkness.16
Divided into four sections, the present volume covers both material and theoretical
aspects. Art historians, architects, historians, philologists, and restorers all attest
to the centrality of the theme despite their various approaches and cultural contexts.
Enriched with the contributions of scholars not present at the preceding conference, the volume nonetheless maintains the meeting’s structure.
around the person of the ruler, the consulate gained a special
importance in the new social order. From the fourth century
to the sixth, the consulate was held by emperors, high-ranking
members of the imperial family, caesars, as well as a number
of high-ranking officials who had either distinguished
themselves in the service of emperors or who came from
prominent aristocratic families. These individuals’ consular
responsibilities were limited mostly to the presentation of
games and distribution of largesse. At the same time, this
article argues, a further important aspect of the office for
non-imperial consuls was to reproduce, or evoke, the physical
presence of the ruling emperor, particularly his theophanic
dimension. The text explores the strategy used to promote the
living consul as iconic, in the sense of reproducing the imperial
presence qua image of the divine.
Pătrăuți, provincia di Suceava, Romania. Concepita secondo i principi della geometria impiegati sin
dall'Antichità nel bacino del Mediterraneo e successivamente sviluppati dal gotico europeo, la chiesa ha
conservato la sua forma originale del 1487.
A partire dalla primavera del 2004, ho notato all'interno della chiesa certe proiezioni solari che
suggerivano la loro possibile generazione dall'orientamento deliberato della luce. Dopo parecchi anni di
osservazioni e in seguito a una documentazione fotografica durata tre anni, ho deciso di pubblicare gli
allineamenti solari osservati.
Data l'unicità dello stile moldavo di architettura, il fatto che Pătrăuți è ritenuto il prototipo di questo stile
e che si tratta di oltre 10 allineamenti solari simbolici e persino di serie di allineamenti simbolici, oso dire che
dal punto di vista architettonico, l'edificio di Pătrăuți è stato costruito come un „meccanismo” che dirige
simbolicamente la luce del Sole connessa alle feste cristiane durante i solstizi e gli equinozi.
In questo contesto, l'iscrizione del libro aperto del Pantocratore dipinto nel pronao della chiesa è una
testimonianza esplicita della vita culturale e cristiana alla corte di Giovanni Stefano il Grande della
Moldavia: ΕΙΠΕΝ Ο Κ(ΥΡΙΟ)Σ ΕΓΟ ΗΜΗ ΤΩ ΦΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ Ο ΑΚΟΛΟΘΟΝ [ΕΜΟΥ] ΟΥ ΜΗ
ΠΕΡ[ΙΠΑΤΗΣΗ] –„Gesù parlò loro di nuovo, dicendo: „Io sono la Luce del mondo; chi mi segue non
camminerà nelle tenebre, ma avrà la luce della vita”. (Giovanni, 8, 12)
bald annehmen ließen, dass es sich hierbei um gewollte Lichtausrichtungen handeln könnte. Nach
mehreren Jahren der Beobachtung und einer fotografischen Dokumentation über drei Jahre habe ich mich
entschlossen, die beobachteten Sonnenlichtausrichtungen zu publizieren.
Angesichts der Einmaligkeit des moldauischen Architekturstils und der Tatsache, dass die Kirche von
Pătrăuţi als Prototyp dieses Stils gilt, und dass wir über mehr als zehn symbolisch aufgeladene
Sonnenprojektionen, ja sogar über symbolische Projektionsserien, sprechen können, wage ich die
Behauptung, dass aus architektonischer Sicht der Bau von Pătrăuţi als eine Art „Mechanismus” errichtet
wurde, der das Sonnenlicht, in Verbindung mit den christlichen Feiertagen der Sonnenwenden und der
Tagundnachtgleichen, symbolisch leitet.
In diesem Zusammenahng ist die Inschrift auf dem aufgeschlagenen Buch des Christus Pantokrator im
Vorschiff der Kirche ein beredtes Zeugnis für das christlich-kulturelle Leben am Hofe Stefans des Großen,
des Fürsten der Moldau: ΕΙΠΕΝ Ο Κ(ΥΡΙΟ)Σ ΕΓΟ ΗΜΗ ΤΩ ΦΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ Ο ΑΚΟΛΟΘΟΝ
[ΕΜΟΥ] ΟΥ ΜΗ ΠΕΡ[ΙΠΑΤΗΣΗ] – und der Herr sprach: Ich bin das Licht der Welt. Wer mir nachfolgt,
der wird nicht wandeln in der Finsternis … (Joh 8:12)
Suceava county, Romania. Designed according to geometric principles employed since ancient times in the
Mediterranean basin and further developed during the Gothic era in Europe, the church is preserved in its
original form from 1487.
Beginning in the spring of 2004, I began noticing several solar projections inside the church that
suggested to me that they might be generated by a deliberate directing of sunlight. After several years of
observations and a photographic documentation of the phenomena that lasted three years, I decided to
publish the observed solar alignments.
Due to the uniqueness of the Moldavian style of architecture, the fact that Pătrăuţi is considered a
prototype of this style, and the fact that we are discussing more than 10 symbolic solar alignments and even a
series of symbolic alignments that occur on the same day, from the same window or even from two windows
and the entrance doorway, I dare to note that from an architectural standpoint the church at Pătrăuți was
built as a “mechanism” that symbolically directs sunlight during the solstices and equinoxes.
In this context, the inscription in the Patokrator's open book painted in the dome of the pronaos of the
church is an explicit testimony to the cultural and Christian life that existed at the court of John Stephen the
Great of Moldavia: ΕΙΠΕΝ Ο Κ(ΥΡΙΟ)Σ ΕΓΟ ΗΜΗ ΤΩ ΦΟΣ ΤΟΥ ΚΟΣΜΟΥ Ο ΑΚΟΛΟΘΟΝ [ΕΜΟΥ] ΟΥ
ΜΗ ΠΕΡ[ΙΠΑΤΗΣΗ] – “The Lord said: I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in
darkness.” (John 8:12)
Examines the legacy of Pseudo-Dionysius and his impact on the development of Christian visual culture
Explores the relation of the Dionysian philosophical system to the materiality and visualization of the world
Crosses perceived disciplinary boundaries in a constructive and fruitful way, bringing together theologians, art historians, and literary scholars
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.
Endorsements from the back cover:
“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 Bogdanović, 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 on Christian 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