Quaderni di Venezia Arti

The Power of Statues in Byzantium

The Wooden Effigy of Saint George in Omorfokklisia as a Talismanic Device

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Abstract

Sculpture in Byzantium was viewed with suspicion. However, in Omorfokklisia, near Kastoria, is preserved a thirteenth-century wooden effigy of Saint George that defies this assumption. The colossal dimensions – the height reaches almost three meters – and the all-relief technique, typical of ancient statuary, detach it from all the rest of the Byzantine production. It is thus argued that this object was specifically manufactured following the model of classical monumental sculpture to enhance the power already indwelling in the depiction of a saint.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Presentato: 17 Settembre 2023 | Accettato: 30 Ottobre 2023 | Pubblicato 22 Dicembre 2023 | Lingua: en

Keywords Macedonia • Byzantine sculpture • Palaiologan Renaissance • Wood • Saint George

Copyright © 2023 Elena De Zordi. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-771-5/014


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