HumanitiesArt HistoryMedieval StudiesAestheticsIconographyMedieval ArtByzantine ArtByzantine IconographyClassical IconographyCult ImagesMedieval IconographyReligious ArtByzantine IconsImage TheoryImperial IconsLampsReflective Materials
AbstractThe medieval icon was experienced not simply through sight, as in visual studies and museums today, but also through touch, sound, smell, and taste. Nor was it static: the icon became animated in its interaction with the faithful. Its rich, highly reflective materials and surface textures, combined with its setting—flickering candles and oil lamps, sounds of music and prayer, the fragrance of incense, and the approach and breath of the faithful—saturated the material and sensorial to excess. It led to a vision that transcended this materiality and gave access to the intangible: a taste of the divine. Additional informationNotes on contributorsBissera V. PentchevaBissera V. Pentcheva is assistant professor at Stanford University. Her work focuses on medieval image theory and Byzantine icons. Her book Icons and Power: The Mother of God in Byzantium (Pennsylvania State University Press, 2006) explores the interaction between imperial power and the cult of Mary [Department of Art and Art History, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif. 94305, bissera@stanford.edu].