forschungsbericht november 2008 – juli 2012 - Kunsthistorisches ...

POSTDOKTORANDINNEN UND POSTDOKTORANDEN | 111
natural light. Doing so, they also challenge another polarity. Light is understood by medieval
thought as the (physical) medium of visual perception (lumen), as well as the manifestation
of the divine, the only true light (lux). The interplay between physical and metaphysical
light, actively investigated by medieval thinkers, constitutes an intriguing element
in the functioning of rock-crystal crosses, and represents the focus of this research, which
ultimately enquires into the relationship between artistic practice and scientific and theological
knowledge in the later middle ages.
Art, Space and Mobility in the Early Christian and Islamic World:
The Georgian Perspective
Irene Giviashvili | Art, Space and Mobility
Ishkhani (9th–11th cc), looking east,
Ishan, North-eastern Turkey. Photo:
David Winfield, Courtesy of Convey
Library, Courtauld Institute, London
Georgia, located between the Black and Caspian Seas, developed its culture at a crossroad.
The political clashes between Byzantine and Muslim powers that regularly alternated control
of the region transformed Georgian art and architecture between the eighth and the
eleventh centuries, the chronological focus of this project. This study aims at highlighting
such synergies produced by successive political transformations, focusing on artistic
developments in Tao-Klarjeti, a mediaeval province in north-eastern Turkey. Tao-Klarjeti
houses hundreds of abandoned churches and barely
documented castles. By comparing the region's numerous
artworks, from buildings to mural paintings
and metalwork, the study aims at recuperating the
ebullient artistic production of an area that has been
obliterated by modern historiography. Given the lack
of documented evidence and materials, the first stage
of this project started with a trip to Tao-Klarjet in
order to investigate some of Georgia's antique landmarks
(Oshki, Khakhuli, Ishkhani, Parkhali, Othta
Eklesia, Parnaki, Oltu, Bana). This trip established the
basis for a reinvestigation of how medieval art moved
in space and time across cultures and religions and
made it possible to identify Georgia's contributions to
the formation of eastern Christian and early Islamic
artistic cultures.
Churches and Mosques in Medieval Syria
Mattia Guidetti | Art, Space and Mobility
6 th century Christian column and capital
reused in the medieval madrasa
al-Hallawiyya in Aleppo, Syria. Photo:
Mattia Guidetti
The project investigates the roles played by Christian art and
architecture in the formation of early Islamic visual culture in
Syria. The manifold cultural connections between Christians
and Muslims are explored through documents that show how
eighth-century mosques were often built in proximity to churches,
as for example in Rusafa. Indeed, the relationship went beyond
mere spatial proximity as evidenced by the decorations of
the mosques, which shared the rather opulent vocabulary of the
churches nearby. Furthermore, extensive evidence shows that
the Muslims tried to obtained materials such as marble columns
and panels directly from the Christians. This intense exchange
of refined construction material responded to both an aesthetic
and ideological need. In other words, long before mosques came
to replace churches at the center of cities, it seems that Christian churches were important
poles of attraction for early Muslims inhabiting former Byzantine territories.