Index of Christian Art Occasional Papers – serie

Established in 1917, the Index of Christian Art, located at Princeton University, is now the largest archive of medieval art in existence and the most specialized resource for the iconographer. Throughout its eighty-five years, it has justly been recognized as one of the most learned institutions for the study of the art and culture of the medieval world. The essays in this book, all by staff or scholars of the archive, highlight some of the current research in the archive and the scholarship for which it has been widely renowned. The studies cover art from the Late Antique period to the end of the fifteenth century and include most of the media represented in the archive, from manuscripts to sculpture to glass. From reinterpreting previous scholarship to making new insights into the medieval mind, they explore such themes as Jephtha's Daughter; Mary Magdalene; Saints Blaise, Paul, Joseph, and Elisabeth of Hungary; and topics including women in the Bibles moralisees, Late German sermons, the iconographic program at Bourges Cathedral, Franciscan devotional art, and a late medieval Islamic manuscript.This volume presents some of the most exciting and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of these subjects, from the home of medieval iconography in Princeton. The contributors are Adelaide Bennett, Lois Drewer, Ivan Great, Judith Golden, Gerald Guest, Margaret Jennings, Margaret Lindsey, Mika Natif, Lynn Ransom, Pamela Sheingorn, and A. E. Wright.

The Index of Christian Art, founded in 1917, is today recognized as the premier resource for Christian and medieval iconography up to 1400. To mark its eightieth anniversary, seventeen scholars contributed papers to this volume, which focuses on the Index's twin strengths: iconography and methodology. From the heterogeneous imagery of the Crusaders to the repellent iconography of social rejection, from the significance of gruesome torture scenes to the moral precepts that shaped the enigmatic Ashburnham Pentateuch, the studies in the first part of Image and Belief provide stimulating examples of recent research in iconography. With the growing application of computer databases and the Internet to the field of art history, the process of describing and classifying the subjects of art has become even more important and controversial. The papers in the second part of this volume deal with this critical area, giving analytical proposals for improving art-historical standards through computerization. They also provide case histories of specific applications, including the use of a database of Dutch printers' devices to reveal the long-hidden meaning of a major painting by Rubens.Particular attention is given to the use of ICONCLASS in iconographic description and to demonstrations of the improved capabilities of the new Iconclass2000 browser.The contributors are Adelaide Bennett, Hans Brandhorst, James D'Emilio, Gerda Duifjes-Vellekoop, John Fleming, Jaroslav Folda, Giovanni Freni, Cynthia Hahn, Debra Hassig, Avril Henry, Lutz Heusinger, Andreas Petzold, Helene Roberts, Alison Stones, Carol Togneri, Peter van Huisstede, Jorgen van den Berg, and Dorothy Hoogland Verkerk.