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Questions for study or discussion

Dr. Anne McClanan and Dr. Evan Freeman

https://smarthistory.org/a-byzantine-vision-of-paradise-the-harbaville-triptych/

Thinking about context

  • How was this triptych used?

Thinking about this object

  • What materials and techniques were used to create this triptych?
  • What role do materials and techniques play in the triptych’s appearance?
  • What role do materials and techniques play in the viewer’s experience of the triptych?

Thinking about iconography

  • What does the Deësis scene depict?
  • How do the figures in the Deësis scene relate to each other with their body language?
Harbaville Triptych, mid-10th century, Constantinople, ivory with traces of polychromy, 28.2 x 24.2 x 1.2 cm (Musée du Louvre) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) <https://flic.kr/p/2kjp6u8>
  • What else is depicted on this triptych?
  • What does this imagery suggest about the triptych’s owner and broader social setting?
  • What role does nature play in the imagery on this triptych?

 

Thinking about art history

  • How can we understand this triptych against the background of the Iconoclastic Controversy and the broader history of art?

Watch the video. <https://youtu.be/jpO3PiXrTZ4>

 

Harbaville Triptych, mid-10th century, Constantinople, ivory with traces of polychromy, 28.2 x 24.2 x 1.2 cm (Musée du Louvre) (photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) <https://flic.kr/p/2kjpBCf>

License

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Smarthistory Guide to Byzantine Art Copyright © 2021 by Dr. Anne McClanan and Dr. Evan Freeman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.