Physiognomic representations as a rhetorical instrument: ‘portraits’ in San Vittore in Ciel d’Oro, the Galla Placidia ‘Mausoleum’ and San Paolo Fuori le Mura
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Article in Proceedings |
| Conference | The Face of the Dead and the Early Christian World |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Field | Art, architecture, cultural heritage |
| Keywords | San Vittore in Ciel d'Oro; Ambrose; Christian Rhetoric |
| Description | This Article is intended as a reflection – based on one particular case – on the role of the mimetic portrait in the fifth century, and on the notion of "original" versus "copy". Given the theme of this conference, I will obviously concentrate on portraits with a mnemonic function. Inevitably, however, the debate will also touch on the question of the portrait in general. Through the examples studied here, I will also try to respond to a question which, to me, seems to be one of the central questions surrounding the portrait in late antiquity: to what extent are the formal choices determined by rhetorical considerations? And more generally, what is the impact of oratory on figurative style? |
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