This article explores the possibility of testing hypotheses about art production in the past by collecting data in the present. We call this enterprise “experimental art history”. Why did medieval artists prefer to paint Christ with his face directed towards the beholder, while profane faces were noticeably more often painted in different degrees of profile? Is a preference for frontal faces motivated by deeper evolutionary and biological considerations? Head and gaze direction is a significant factor for detecting the intentions of others, and accurate detection of gaze direction depends on strong contrast between a dark iris and a bright sclera, a combination that is only found in humans among the primates. One uniquely human capacity is language acquisition, where the detection of shared or joint attention, for example through detection of gaze direction, contributes significantly to the ease of acquisition. The perceived face and gaze direction is also related to fundamental emotional reactions such as fear, aggression, empathy and sympathy. The fast-track modulator model presents a related fast and unconscious subcortical route that involves many central brain areas. Activity in this pathway mediates the affective valence of the stimulus. In particular, different sub-regions of the amygdala show specific activation as response to gaze direction, head orientation and the valence of facial expression. We present three experiments on the effects of face orientation and gaze direction on the judgments of social attributes. We observed that frontal faces with direct gaze were more highly associated with positive adjectives. Does this help to associate positive values to the Holy Face in a Western context? The formal result indicates that the Holy Face is perceived more positively than profiles with both direct and averted gaze. Two control studies, using a Brazilian and a Dutch database of photographs, showed a similar but weaker effect with a larger contrast between the gaze directions for profiles. Our findings indicate that many factors affect the impression of a face, and that eye contact in combination with face direction reinforce the general impression of portraits, rather than determine it.
As large cities claimed apostolic founding of their churches, the Roman church declared that it was constituted on the “double apostolate” of Peter and Paul. The concordia apostolorum which results from the final agreement between the “former rivals” in this city is also seen as the foundation of the Roman church. The term concordia apostolorum has been applied to at least two image types which show the two apostles together. I propose that this name is more appropriate as a title for the well known Roman apse image of Christ flanked by the apostle princes than the traditional traditio legis, since the concordia and the double apostolate are concepts which relate the church to the city of Rome. Hence, the scheme with the two apostles which decorates so many Roman apses from Late Antiquity until the age of Paschal I can be seen as an emblem precisely of the Roman church.
Many have argued that the mosaic that decorates the apsidal dome of Santa Maria in Trastevere is not a Coronation of the Virgin, but rather must be defined as a Triumph of the Virgin or Virgin in Glory. The reason for this is partly that the Virgin is not shown as she physically receives the crown from her son, Christ, and partly that the two are seated on a common throne, a synthronos. This chapter focuses on the meaning of Christ’s embrace gesture. Besides its typological significance as a reference to the bride and bridegroom from the Song of Songs, this gesture is important to understanding the picture as part of a cycle comprising several episodes, including the Virgin’s death and resurrection. The arm of Jesus and the hand he places on Mary’s shoulder must thus be read as an allusion to the soul’s reunion with God.
The article concentrates on the “Coronation of the Virgin” in medieval art. This image is based on the Bride and Groom theme from the Canticles. However, whereas this text from the Old Testament was examined already by the Church Fathers in their exegetical writings, a “canonical” representation of it was coined only in the 12th century. This “late introduction” reflects deeply rooted changes in religious life which profoundly changed church history. The turtle dove whichsings in the Canticles is, according to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, not only a symbol of faithfulness but also of chastity. This chastity must, in turn, be connected with the chastity of the clergy and the development of the idea of celibacy precisely in this period. Hence, the “Coronation”, besides being a symbol of the Church, is also an expression of a precise conception of the Church, namely a body constituted of men who maintain their virginity as brides awaiting the arrival of the Groom.
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