Papers by Rafca Nasr
Angeliki Katsioti Les déplacements d'artistes syriens en Méditerranée orientale à l'époque des Ch... more Angeliki Katsioti Les déplacements d'artistes syriens en Méditerranée orientale à l'époque des Chevaliers.
A study of the visual, material, and textual sources of elements shaping images of women in the L... more A study of the visual, material, and textual sources of elements shaping images of women in the Latin East provides a context for investigating how communicative strategies applied in the representation of women articulate and interact across artistic, social, historical, cultural, and spiritual dimensions. To what extent do these phenomena conform to gender norms? The case studies underlying this analysis come from present-day Lebanon as they relate to preserved twelfth- and thirteenth-century female depictions found in wall paintings from Mar Sharbel the Elder in Maad, Saydet el-Rih in Enfeh, and the National Museum of Beirut. These depictions situate these women dynamically in the region’s cultural and artistic landscape, as well as in the social fabric of their time.
Introduction 17 Scientific Advisory Board 19 Image and Language. Italian Art History in an Intern... more Introduction 17 Scientific Advisory Board 19 Image and Language. Italian Art History in an International Context Department Alessandro Nova 27 Object, Image, Site. Mediterranean / Transcultural Art Histories Department Gerhard Wolf 37 Transregional Art Histories. Actors, Spaces and Environments from the Thirteenth Century to the Present Research Group Hannah Baader 45 Ethico-Aesthetics of the Visual Research Group Hana Gründler 53 External Scientific Member Jaś Elsner 57 Director emeritus Max Seidel 61 Nomos der Bilder. Manifestation und Ikonologie des Rechts Minerva Research Group Carolin Behrmann 62 Materialgeschichten und Vertextungen Junior Professor Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz-Freie Universität Berlin Wolf-Dietrich Löhr 65 Research Collaborations 77 Individual Research 79 Doctoral Researchers 93 Postdoctoral Researchers 121 Researchers with External Funding 135 Visiting Scholars 139 Academic Staff 147 Guest Scholars Contents Research Report Projects The KHI 2020/2021: Working in the Time of Pandemic The political, ecological, cultural and humanitarian concerns in autumn 2019 were many, but nobody could have expected that a few weeks later Coronavirus would make its way into human bodies, giving rise to the Covid-19 pandemic, which nation states and regions tried to face in different ways, causing substantial change to lives and working conditions. Italy was hit strongly from February 2020 onwards and the government decided on a hard and long lockdown which forced the KHI as well as the Bibliotheca Hertziana and many other research institutions to close for months, not only to external Early Career Researchers at the KHI The formation and intellectual mentoring of early career scholars is one of the main goals of the KHI, as has been underlined in all research reports. Here, focus is placed on elucidating the challenges, problems and achievements of the last three years. According to their academic affiliation, the doctoral and postdoctoral researchers of and at the institute during this period came from
The apse of the old patriarchal church of Qannoubine shows an unprecedented scene of Theophany-De... more The apse of the old patriarchal church of Qannoubine shows an unprecedented scene of Theophany-Deisis. The originality of this scene lies in the presence of several iconographic motifs belonging to the repertoire of Western and Eastern iconography, but embellished with many elements depending on the local culture. This proves the dynamic of cultural and artistic exchange between the West and Lebanon, at a time when the Maronite Church was strongly attached to the Saint-Siege. The result is an unusual, local composition, where only the liturgical exegesis of the patriarch Etienne Douaihy makes it possible to apprehend his formation, especially since Douaihy lived in Rome where he could assimilate the models of Western iconography. Thus, the theophany-Déisis components, which are articulated in an unusual way in the Qannoubine apse, seem to draw their language not only from Western, Eastern and local iconography, but especially from the Eucharistic liturgy such as it was conceived by the savant patriarch. Indeed, all his liturgical prescriptions have been translated almost literally into the absidial image of his patriarchal church. In this perspective, the theophany-Deisis of Qannoubine appears as the pictorial incarnation of the liturgical exegesis of Douaihy or rather as the «legitimate child» of his instructions.
Rafca Youssef Nasr, Les images presbytérales des églises du Liban à la lumière de la liturgie euc... more Rafca Youssef Nasr, Les images presbytérales des églises du Liban à la lumière de la liturgie eucharistique: les théophanies aux xiie-xiiie siècles, Ph.D. dissertation, Université de Poitiers, 2016; Nada Hélou, "La représentation de la Déisis-vision dans deux églises du Liban", Parole de l'Orient, xxiii (1998), pp. 33-59; Catherine Jolivet-Lévy, Les églises byzantines de Cappadoce: le programme iconographique de l'abside et de ses abords, Paris 1991; Tania Velmans, "L'Image de la Déisis dans les églises de Géorgie et dans celles d'autres régions du monde byzantin", Cahiers archéologiques, xxix (1981), pp. 47-102.
rafca youssEf nasr 1 Résumé L'objet de cet article est d'étudier les peintures absidales de Mar-É... more rafca youssEf nasr 1 Résumé L'objet de cet article est d'étudier les peintures absidales de Mar-Élias-en-Nahr à Kfar Qahel au Liban, et de les corréler avec le lieu et les circonstances dans lesquels elles ont été insérées et visualisées. Il s'agit de placer ces images sacrées dans leur contexte initial d'utilisation, en clarifiant leur valeur liturgique et en évaluant leur rattachement au sacrement de l'église, autrement dit, à la fonction première du lieu.
The aim of this paper is to interpret the paintings of Deir es-Salib in their initial context of ... more The aim of this paper is to interpret the paintings of Deir es-Salib in their initial context of use as a visual strategy to present "the sacred" within the liturgical space and time, and their involvement in the mass. The analysis shows that the assembly of apostles, bishops, a deacon and a prophet in the prothesis program, is intended to represent the local community gathered in its place of worship to concelebrate the liturgy. As for the program that develops around the high altar, it responds to its primary function: the Eucharistic celebration. The theme of sacrifice, to which the image of the saint martyr and her child refers, echoes the sacrifice of the altar. As for the Annunciation, it could refer, because of its location above the main altar, to the same symbolism. This sacrificial dimension was completed by the image of Christ's self-immolation on the cross in the spandrel of the arcade, to the left of the main apse. This essential dimension of the sacred space is, however, enriched by other levels of meaning. These are particularly emphasized by inscriptions bearing an apotropaic value, but also by the Crucifixion which, besides its sacrificial significance, has a devotional meaning, related to the dedication of the monastery of Deir es-Salib to the Cross.
The Virgin Blachernitissa of Barghoun (Lebanon). Image of the Altar or the Priest Exposing the Ho... more The Virgin Blachernitissa of Barghoun (Lebanon). Image of the Altar or the Priest Exposing the Host-The thirteenth-century Blachernitissa of Barghoun, symbolizing the Incarnation and the Church, has often been interpreted as a privileged mediator and, by extension, as Ecclesia interceding in behalf of the people. The image could have both devotional and cultural dimensions, or even liturgical implications, as well as other functions. The standing Virgin with the medallion of the Child on her maphorion making a gesture of prayer seems to have a liturgical meaning. The exegetical, liturgical, and hymnographic traditions give Mary a liturgical dimension, in which she is seen as representing the celebrating priest, the altar, or sacred objects. Dominating the high altar, the Virgin's praying gesture could evoke the gesture of the officiating priest presenting the great mystery. Moreover, the medallion of the Child seems to evoke the host. In numerous examples, deacon-angels incense the medallion just as they do the Eucharistic Species placed on the altar or held between the Virgin's hands in a gesture similar to that of the priest exposing the sacred Species. In these examples, the figure of the Virgin appears as an image of the altar or of the priest exposing the host during the consecration. At Barghoun, the gestures and postures of the angels approaching the Virgin recall those of the Communion, as prescribed by the Fathers. The angels seem to be preparing to take the Child-host as deacons of the Virgin altar-priest.
There are many exegetical and liturgical sources comparing the Virgin to the officiating priest. ... more There are many exegetical and liturgical sources comparing the Virgin to the officiating priest. During the mass, he raises the Eucharistic bread and wine whose purpose is to offer to the faithful the only Son of Mary. It is in this perspective that the Virgin displays, in certain number of examples, the attributes of the priest giving her a sacerdotal meaning. She presents herself as the eminent model of the priest. However, this idea can not be applied systematically to all Marian images. These must include specific indications going in this direction. PRIESTLY ORNAMENTS AND THE PRIESTHOOD OF THE MOTHER OF GOD Rafca Youssef NasR 120 the woman that holds him but the standing priest" 2. This idea, which is attributed to the Theotokos in patristic tradition, is transmitted in numerous liturgical formulas and hymns. But to be able to show that this very specific idea was conveyed in image, it must provide convincing visual elements. The priestly meaning of the images of the Theotokos seems to be understudied in historiography. In his study of the ministry of the Virgin, Alexei Lidov gave the Virgin a sacerdotal dimension, based on convincing textual and visual arguments. However, the author considers the priesthood of Mary evident in the Western world from the fifteenth century onwards, but less clear in the Byzantine world, where the idea was often represented in a symbolic or metaphorical way (Lidov 2009). Marcello Angheben's study of the images of the Virgin in Romanesque paintings in the Pyrenees and Maderuelo shows, in a particularly eloquent way, that the Mother of God was depicted as a priest well before the fifteenth century. In this Romanesque corpus, Mary, instead of holding the Child, displays the chalice in the image of the celebrant priest; this is especially important since she is wearing a priest's chasuble (Angheben 2012: 29-74). Analyzing paintings in Macedonia dating back to the 14th century, Sashka Bogevska-Capuano also points out, (Bogevska-Capuana 2011) 3 , that Mary is wearing a bishop's Sakkos, which is crucial to our study. For his part, Matthew Milliner supports the Eucharistic sense of the Virgin of the Passion (twelfth century), which would associate a priestly aspect to Mary (Milliner 2011). Likewise, I have been able to point out in two previous research studies that, in a number of examples, the image of the Virgin appears as the exemplary model of the altar or priest displaying the body of Christ. I have consolidated this hypothesis with textual, iconographic, epigraphic, syntactic and topographical arguments (Nasr 2018: 102-107; Nasr 2020). I did not however address the priestly ornaments that sometimes accompany the Marian figure. These sartorial details are among the most fitting clues to a liturgical and priestly reading of Theotokos.
Con decreto del 20 aprile 1846, la Sacra Congregazione di Propaganda Fide creava una provincia ec... more Con decreto del 20 aprile 1846, la Sacra Congregazione di Propaganda Fide creava una provincia ecclesiastica etiopica, comprendente tutto il territorio a mezzogiorno della frattura geologica nella quale scorrono i fiumi Awāš e Omo Bottego e nella quale abitavano prevalentemente le tribù nomadi dei Gāllā-Oromo e dei Somali. Mentre la parte restante, la "Prefettura Apostolica di Abissinia, Alta Etiopia e regioni limitrofe", creata il 10 marzo 1839 e comprendente i quattro classici regni del Tegrāy, dell'Amhārā, del Gojjām e dello Šawā, restava ai lazzaristi di Giustino De Jacobis (1800-1860), la nuova circoscrizione, il "Vicariato apostolico dei Gāllā", fu affidata a un cappuccino italiano, il cui nome era destinato a diventare celebre nella storia del cristianesimo etiopico: mons. Guglielmo Massaja (1809-1889). Informato del suo arrivo, il De Jacobis si era recato sulla costa, a Emkullu, di fronte a Massawa, ad accogliere il nuovo venuto (26 novembre 1846). Nelle sue memorie, narrando dell'incontro con il De Jacobis, il Massaja ricorda l'omaggio che il missionario lazzarista gli rese, prostrandosi ai suoi piedi, felice perché dopo più di tre secoli un vescovo cattolico calpestava ancora quel "terreno abbandonato da Dio" 1. Con ciò, egli alludeva a sé stesso come il primo vescovo cattolico recatosi in Etiopia dopo l'espulsione dei missionari gesuiti a opera del neguś Fāsiladas nel 1632. In realtà, prima del Massaja un altro vescovo cattolico era arrivato in Etiopia, l'etiope Ṭobiyā Giyorgis Gabra Egzi'abeḥēr, alla fine del XVIII secolo. Il suo soggiorno in Etiopia era stato tuttavia breve (1789-1796) e inconcludente. Alla figura di questo quasi sconosciuto pioniere è dedicata questa breve nota 2 .
Conference Presentations by Rafca Nasr
THEMATIC SESSIONS OF FREE COMMUNICATIONS have 6-10 participants (with a few exceptions), and last... more THEMATIC SESSIONS OF FREE COMMUNICATIONS have 6-10 participants (with a few exceptions), and last 120 minutes. Sessions with conveners will begin with an introductory word by the convener. Other sessions will have two chairmen appointed by the organizer. Free communication speakers have been allotted 10 to 15 minutes each. The remaining time will be devoted to discussion. Since the time for discussion will be limited, the conveners and chairmen may extend a session for up to half an hour. SPECIAL SESSIONS have 8-10 participants and last 120 minutes. The sessions will be chaired by a convener or chairmen appointed by the organizer. The participants should present summaries of approximately 10 minutes, while the remaining time will be devoted to discussion. POSTERS will be on display throughout the Congress in the building of the Faculty of Philology. Their authors will be available for discussion at the times indicated. ALL ROOMS ARE EQUIPPED with a laptop and a projector. PUBLICATIONS. The Proceedings of the Plenary Sessions are included in the Congress pack. The abstracts of the Round Table Sessions, Special Sessions, and Thematic Sessions of Free Communications will be published as electronic edition (PDF) soon after the Congress and will be posted on the website of the Institute for Byzantine Studies for free download.
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Papers by Rafca Nasr
Conference Presentations by Rafca Nasr