Adam and Eve in the western and Byzantine art of the Middle Ages [Elektronische Ressource] / vorgelegt von Vasiliki V. Mavroska

ADAM AND EVE IN THE WESTERN AND BYZANTINE ART OF THE MIDDLE AGES Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung eines Doktors der Philosophie im Fachbereich Sprach- und Kulturwissenschaften der Johann- Wolfgang- Goethe Universität zu Frankfurt am Main vorgelegt von Vasiliki V. Mavroska 2009 To our Mum PREFACE The pictorial art of the Church, as a spiritual product of the Christian civilisation, has continually received great influences from its ecclesiastical tradition and it was defined by its formal aesthetical standards and its iconographic preferences. A more nuanced reading of the parallels can be attained by placing the images in their visual context, which would allow a better appreciation of the meanings within. The biblical story of Adam and Eve, which is the theme of the following thesis, reflects the differentiation between the Eastern and the Western understanding of the events of the history of the holy Oikonomia, a point, which is the major ground for the development of the relative pictorial motifs. The protoplasts are the protagonists from their creation and life in paradise, the fall and expulsion until their resurrection through Christ. Their story is visualised in a number of scenes and episodes, having thus their original sin and resurrection for specific reasons centralised.