Overview
How and why does vernacular art become foreign? What does ‘Greek manner’ mean in regions far beyond the Mediterranean? What stories do images need? How do narratives shape pictures? The study addresses these questions in Byzantine paintings from the former Grand Duchy of Lithuania, contextualized with evidence from Poland, Serbia, Russia, and Italy. The research follows developments in artistic practices and the reception of these images, as well as distinguishing between the Greek manner – based on visual qualities – and the style favoured by the devout, sustained by cults and altered through stories. Following the reception of Byzantine and pseudo-Byzantine art in Lithuania and Poland from the late fourteenth through the early eighteenth centuries, Maniera Greca in Europe’s Catholic East argues that tradition is repetitive order achieved through reduction and oblivion, and concludes that the sole persistent understanding of the Greek image has been stereotyped as the icon of the Mother of God.
Full Product Details
Author: Giedre Mickunaite
Publisher: Amsterdam University Press
Imprint: Amsterdam University Press
ISBN: 9789462982666
ISBN 10: 946298266
Pages: 238
Publication Date: 14 February 2023
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
''The book is an extended attempt to provide a new framework for understanding the presence and evolving meaning of these Greek images. At the same time, in a microhistorical way, the pieces of art under examination serve as a gateway to narrate broader processes: confessional disputes, ideologies of power, changing artistic tastes, or, finally, cultural transfers that were established beyond the stereotypical East-West or centerperipheries divisions.'' - Jan Blonski , 21: Inquiries into Art, History, and the Visual , July, 2024 ''As mentioned by Mick.nait., “this study is a kind of rescue expedition, which aspires to save fragmented as well as semantically mixed images from neglect” (p. 17). [...] It is praiseworthy that she draws attention to the overlooked, and yet very important, material presented in the book. [...] so hopefully, the publication will reach a broad audience and place those “small” pieces into a “big” narrative.'' - Dorota Zaprzalska, 21: Inquiries into Art, History, and the Visual , Vol.2, 2024
Author Information
Giedre Mickunaite focuses on temporal dimensions of pictorial and verbal imagery. She explores structures of cultural legacy and regards oblivion as a vehicle in production of late medieval and early modern culture. Since 2003, Mickunaite teaches and carries art historical research at the Vilnius Academy of Arts in Lithuania.
