ARTH 310 - Word and Image in Medieval Art

FC ARHU WADV

4 credits
The relationship of word and image is central to art history, which paradoxically uses words to address images. Medieval art provides a useful arena in which to scrutinize this relationship, as the church equated word and image by defining pictures as the “Bible for the illiterate.” What does this imply? Can it be true? What are the art historical consequences if images can not be reduced to words? Topics considered include narrative, icons, and ekphrasis.