Rico Franses' book explores donor portraits in Byzantine art, focusing on the supplicatory contact between ordinary figures and supernatural interlocutors. It challenges the term "donor portraits" and proposes an alternative title, contact portraits, emphasizing their active role in belief systems. It is essential for scholars and students of Byzantine art and religion.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 261 pages
Publication date: 23 March 2023
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Byzantine art is rich in a variety of images known as donor portraits, which depict the distinctive, supplicatory contact between ordinary, mortal figures and their holy, supernatural interlocutors. Rico Franses, in his book "Donor Portraits: A New Perspective on Byzantine Art," explores this category of images from various perspectives, including art history, theology, structuralist and post-structuralist anthropological theory, and contemporary symbol and metaphor theory. Franses argues that the term "donor portraits" is inappropriate for the category of images to which it conventionally refers and proposes an alternative title, "contact portraits." He contends that the most important feature of the scenes consists in the active role that they play within the belief systems of the supplicants. They are best conceived of not simply as passive expressions of stable, pre-existing ideas and concepts, but as dynamic proponents in a fraught, constantly shifting landscape. The book is important for all scholars and students of Byzantine art and religion, as it sheds light on the complex and multifaceted nature of these images and their significance in the cultural and religious context of Byzantine society.

Donor Portraits: A New Perspective on Byzantine Art

Byzantine art is renowned for its rich and diverse range of images, known as donor portraits. These images depict the distinctive and supplicatory contact between ordinary, mortal figures and their holy, supernatural interlocutors. Rico Franses, in his book "Donor Portraits: A New Perspective on Byzantine Art," explores this category of images from various perspectives, including art history, theology, structuralist and post-structuralist anthropological theory, and contemporary symbol and metaphor theory. Franses argues that the term "donor portraits" is inappropriate for the category of images to which it conventionally refers and proposes an alternative title, "contact portraits." He contends that the most important feature of the scenes consists in the active role that they play within the belief systems of the supplicants. They are best conceived of not simply as passive expressions of stable, pre-existing ideas and concepts, but as dynamic proponents in a fraught, constantly shifting landscape. The book is important for all scholars and students of Byzantine art and religion, as it sheds light on the complex and multifaceted nature of these images and their significance in the cultural and religious context of Byzantine society.

Weight: 464g
Dimension: 244 x 170 x 21 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781108407588