Publication details
Text–Image Interplay in Early Christian Imagery: The Decorative Schemes of the Churches of Rome (4th–7th Centuries)
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Citation | |
| Description | In the monumental decorations of such churches as Santa Pudenziana (402–417), Saints Cosmas and Damian (526–530), and Sant’Agnese fuori le mura (625–638), a true revolution in visual communication is documented in Rome. Based (in the wake of pre-Christian traditions) on text–image interaction, this revolution is linked to the emergence of a transmedia (meta)discourse. In both apsidal mosaics and monumental cycles, the new Christianising language combines narrative and iconic images with visually appealing and figuratively rich inscriptions. Such a multimedia spectacle became instrumental in communicating the new religion to the masses, within both specific liturgical performances and daily life practices. The aim of the paper is to shed new, interdisciplinary light on this pioneering phenomenon of early Christian culture in the context of the changing principles of late antique aesthetics toward greater conceptualisation, self-referentiality, and meta-discursivity in both the visual arts and contemporary literature. Using insights combined from classical philology and art history, the authors provide a complex picture of this development, including parallels with modern conceptual art and its preoccupation with signifying systems and the principle of tautology. |
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