| My dissertation, "Portrait and Icon: Between Reality and Holiness in Byzantium," examines the parallel phenomena of portraits and icons, and spans from late antiquity through the end of the Byzantine period. Engaging a wide range of material, I address prevalent and persistent themes in the creation of a distinctly Christianized portraiture while analyzing the cultural and theological perceptions in place that guided its reception. Christian Rome inherited its traditions and beliefs regarding portraiture from antiquity, especially in terms of its ritual and religious functions. Though certainly altered for its new Christian context, these perceptions did not disappear altogether. Various texts and images survive that allow us to imagine a world where sacred and secular art intermingled, and portraits of Christ and the saints, emperors, bishops, and holy men existed side by side in visual messages of power and hierarchal authority. Thus, the purpose of this study is not to draw strict divisions between the terms 'icon' and 'portrait,' as has been the tendency of past scholars, but to establish that there existed a range of images in the spectrum between icon and portrait that eludes our attempts to classify them definitively. Indeed, certain individuals of high-ranking status, though not saints, were recognized and portrayed in ways that we associate with holy icons because their spiritual or divine authority ranked them closer to God. At the other end of the spectrum, the body of the Church understood these elevated members of their community to be efficacious intercessors since their positions further up the hierarchy enabled them to help others in their spiritual ascent and needs. |
