Strange beauty : issues in the making and meaning of reliquaries, 400-circa 1204

Resource Information

The work Strange beauty : issues in the making and meaning of reliquaries, 400-circa 1204 represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in University of San Diego Libraries. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

Strange beauty : issues in the making and meaning of reliquaries, 400-circa 1204

Title remainder

issues in the making and meaning of reliquaries, 400-circa 1204

Statement of responsibility

Cynthia Hahn

Title variation

Issues in the making and meaning of reliquaries, 400-circa 1204

Creator

• Hahn, Cynthia J., (Cynthia Jean)

Subject

• Christian art and symbolism -- Medieval
• Christian art and symbolism -- Medieval, 500-1500
• Christian art and symbolism -- To 500
• Christian art and symbolism
• Reliquaries
• Representation (Philosophy)
• Representation (Philosophy)
• Reliquaries

Language

eng

Summary

• "A study of reliquaries as a form of representation in medieval art. Explores how reliquaries stage the importance and meaning of relics using a wide range of artistic means from material and ornament to metaphor and symbolism"--Provided by publisher
• "Reliquaries, one of the central art forms of the Middle Ages, have recently been the object of much interest among historians and artists. Until now, however, they have had no treatment in English that considers their history, origins, and place within religious practice, or, above all, their beauty and aesthetic value. In Strange Beauty, Cynthia Hahn treats issues that cut across the class of medieval reliquaries as a whole. She is particularly concerned with portable reliquaries that often contained tiny relic fragments, which purportedly allowed saints to actively exercise power in the world. Above all, Hahn argues, reliquaries are a form of representation. They rarely simply depict what they contain; rather, they prepare the viewer for the appropriate reception of their precious contents and establish the 'story' of the relics. They are based on forms originating in the Bible, especially the cross and the Ark of the Covenant, but find ways to renew the vision of such forms. They engage the viewer in many ways that are perhaps best described as persuasive or 'rhetorical,' and Hahn uses literary terminology--sign, metaphor, and simile--to discuss their operation. At the same time, they make use of unexpected shapes--the purse, the arm or foot, or disembodied heads--to create striking effects and emphatically suggest the presence of the saint." -- Publisher's description

Cataloging source

DLC

Government publication

government publication of a state province territory dependency etc

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

LC call number

NK1652.2

LC item number

.H34 2012

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography