The Past Is Evolutionary, the Future Is Byzantine: Kurt Weitzmann’s Contribution to the Research on Pictorial Narration
In the <i>Illustrations in Roll and Codex</i> (1947), Kurt Weitzmann developed a methodological apparatus for studying Byzantine and medieval narrative book illumination. His approach had two important features: an evolutionary narrative typology that paid attention to the narrative stra...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Arts |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/3/86 |
| _version_ | 1797596200966291456 |
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| author | Gyöngyvér Horváth |
| author_facet | Gyöngyvér Horváth |
| author_sort | Gyöngyvér Horváth |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the <i>Illustrations in Roll and Codex</i> (1947), Kurt Weitzmann developed a methodological apparatus for studying Byzantine and medieval narrative book illumination. His approach had two important features: an evolutionary narrative typology that paid attention to the narrative strategies the painter chose for presenting a story and a comparative narrative analysis that observed stories in illustrations in relation to their textual source. The focus of this paper is the personal and institutional background of this method, its context, dissemination, and legacy. Weitzmann advanced the study of pictorial storytelling through his pedagogical work and introduced it into the academic curriculum. Alongside stylistic analysis and iconography, it soon became an essential methodological tool in art history that constituted a link between the art of the Byzantine East and the Latin West. This approach also had a key influence on the style of his autobiographical writings. Weitzmann propagated the study of visual narratives through his extremely productive oeuvre and effective personal influence. In the dissemination of Weitzmann’s ideas, three institutions played a key role: Princeton University, Dumbarton Oaks, and the University of Chicago. Weitzmann’s circle made Byzantine studies the leading field for research into visual narratives over the period from around 1940 to 1980. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:48:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e78c1856f41742018638140e5f6cc9d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0752 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T02:48:12Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arts |
| spelling | doaj.art-e78c1856f41742018638140e5f6cc9d22023-11-18T09:12:53ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522023-04-011238610.3390/arts12030086The Past Is Evolutionary, the Future Is Byzantine: Kurt Weitzmann’s Contribution to the Research on Pictorial NarrationGyöngyvér Horváth0Independent Researcher, 2023 Budapest, HungaryIn the <i>Illustrations in Roll and Codex</i> (1947), Kurt Weitzmann developed a methodological apparatus for studying Byzantine and medieval narrative book illumination. His approach had two important features: an evolutionary narrative typology that paid attention to the narrative strategies the painter chose for presenting a story and a comparative narrative analysis that observed stories in illustrations in relation to their textual source. The focus of this paper is the personal and institutional background of this method, its context, dissemination, and legacy. Weitzmann advanced the study of pictorial storytelling through his pedagogical work and introduced it into the academic curriculum. Alongside stylistic analysis and iconography, it soon became an essential methodological tool in art history that constituted a link between the art of the Byzantine East and the Latin West. This approach also had a key influence on the style of his autobiographical writings. Weitzmann propagated the study of visual narratives through his extremely productive oeuvre and effective personal influence. In the dissemination of Weitzmann’s ideas, three institutions played a key role: Princeton University, Dumbarton Oaks, and the University of Chicago. Weitzmann’s circle made Byzantine studies the leading field for research into visual narratives over the period from around 1940 to 1980.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/3/86Kurt Weitzmannvisual narrationvisual narrativepictorial storytellingiconologynarratology |
| spellingShingle | Gyöngyvér Horváth The Past Is Evolutionary, the Future Is Byzantine: Kurt Weitzmann’s Contribution to the Research on Pictorial Narration Arts Kurt Weitzmann visual narration visual narrative pictorial storytelling iconology narratology |
| title | The Past Is Evolutionary, the Future Is Byzantine: Kurt Weitzmann’s Contribution to the Research on Pictorial Narration |
| title_full | The Past Is Evolutionary, the Future Is Byzantine: Kurt Weitzmann’s Contribution to the Research on Pictorial Narration |
| title_fullStr | The Past Is Evolutionary, the Future Is Byzantine: Kurt Weitzmann’s Contribution to the Research on Pictorial Narration |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Past Is Evolutionary, the Future Is Byzantine: Kurt Weitzmann’s Contribution to the Research on Pictorial Narration |
| title_short | The Past Is Evolutionary, the Future Is Byzantine: Kurt Weitzmann’s Contribution to the Research on Pictorial Narration |
| title_sort | past is evolutionary the future is byzantine kurt weitzmann s contribution to the research on pictorial narration |
| topic | Kurt Weitzmann visual narration visual narrative pictorial storytelling iconology narratology |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/12/3/86 |
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