Right and Left in Early Christian and Medieval Art

Robert Couzin, Ph.D. (University of Toronto, 2013), is a second-career scholar of early Christian and medieval art history. He has published on a wide range of topics, from sarcophagi to the historiography of Latin neologisms.

"Dans cet ouvrage, Robert Couzin s’interroge sur les relations entre la gauche et la droite et leur capacité à sous-tendre la compositionde l’image médiévale. Le corpus iconographique rassemblé par l’auteur est varié, réunissant différentes techniques et divers supports, autant en Orient qu’en Occident, le tout sur une période d’environ mille ans. [...] R. Couzin propose une étude originale qui éclaire différemment des aspects compositionnels et sémantiques de l’image paléochrétienne et médiévale en s’attachant aux relations entre la gauche et la droite. Au-delà d’une réflexion sur les enjeux de la prééminence du côté droit dans l’art médiéval, l’auteur met en lumière tout un jeu de relations, jusqu’ici peu examiné sous cet angle, entre les figures, les gestes, les objets et les inscriptions dans l’image." Raphaël Demes, in Francia 2022 (1)."In this fascinating, well detailed, and richly illustrated study, Robert Couzin examines the significance of right- or left-handedness in eastern and western Christian visual art from the fourth through the fourteenth century.[...] The closing pages of the book strongly advocate the value of the study and criticize art historians who are inattentive to the significance of right and left. Couzin equates that inattention with failing to notice such other features as use of materials, application of color,or differences in style or technique. Couzin further laments that the matters he discusses have "gonelargely unnoticed" and are "underappreciated" when they are noticed (242). His case is well made, even if it makes a somewhat contentious final statement. Thankfully,with the publication of this erudite and detailed volume, that nolonger can be said.Robin M. Jensen, University of Notre Dame, in The Medieval Review 22.01.2022

• List of IllustrationsAbbreviationsIntroduction: The Pre-Eminence of the Right1 On Human Handedness2 The Sublimation of Right and Left3 Historiography4 Plan of the WorkPart 1: The Right Hand1 Picturing Handedness2 The Hand of God1 The Great Right Hand2 The Other Hand of God3 God in the Image of Man3 Fighting and Writing1 Handedness and Violence2 Handedness and the Scribe3 The Pen and the Sword4 A Digression on Feet1 Stepping Up to the Altar2 Figures in Motion3 Footwashing4 The Three-Nail CrucifixionPart 2: The Right Side5 Picturing Position6 Peter and Paul in Early Christian Art1 Double Portraits of the Chief Apostles2 Peter, Paul, and Jesus3 The Politics of Apostolic Precedence7 Spouses: The Place of Gender1 Early Christian Men on the Left2 Medieval Men on the Right3 Transgression: Medieval Women on the Right4 The Coronation of the Virgin: Sponsa on the RightPart 3: The Right Way8 The Pythagorean Y1 The Two Ways: Pythagoras and Matthew2 Erlangen Universitätsbibliothek, Ms. 8, fol. 130v3 The Pilgrim’s Choice4 A Matter of Mentality9 Sacred Movement1 Depicted Motion in Latin- and Greek-Language Cultures2 The Syriac and Hebrew Evidence3 Conclusions10 Narrative Sequence1 Script Direction and Pictorial Programming2 Linear Programs and the Puzzle of Bernward’s ColumnEpilogue1 Misapprehension2 Inattention3 Disinterest4 Future DirectionsBibliographyIndex