Book Discussion: The Routledge Handbook of Byzantine Visual Culture in the Danube Regions, 1300-1600, by eds. Maria Alessia Rossi and Alice Isabella Sullivan

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

This roundtable discussion focuses on the recently published Routledge Handbook of Byzantine Visual Culture in the Danube Regions, 1300–1600 (2024), which aims to broaden knowledge about the history, art, and heritage of Eastern Europe relative to Byzantium. The interdisciplinary framework of this handbook, covering history, literature, art history, architecture, philology, material culture, and theology, offers an in depth examination of the visual culture of regions of modern Greece, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia, among others, in between local traditions, the Byzantine heritage, and cultural forms adopted from other models in the medieval and early modern periods.

By gathering five of the authors that contributed to various sections of the volume, we aim to spark a discussion about the interconnectedness of this broad geographical area too often either studied in parts or neglected altogether, emphasizing its shared history and heritage. In addition, we aim to offer a fresh and original approach to the history, literature, and art history of the Danube regions.

The roundtable participants reflect the international nature of the volume, including diverse speakers from Romania, Italy, and USA at different scholarly levels, ranging from senior researchers and tenure-track professors to graduate students. The discussion will cover the rich material culture of the Danube, from Wallachian and Moldavian monumental art, to icon painting and metalwork, and the reach of the Danubian lands to Greece and Egypt.

Sub Unit

• Arts I: Visual Culture, Material Culture, Applied and Fine Arts

Chair

• Maria Alessia Rossi

Roundtable Members

• Andrei Dumitrescu, Stanford U

• Elisabeta Negrau, George Oprescu Institute of Art History (Romania)

• Anita Paolicchi, U of Pisa (Italy)

• Alice Isabella Sullivan, Tufts U

Session Manager

• Jelena Dureinovic, U of Vienna (Austria)