Byzantine Things in the World
Saint John the Baptist, Byzantium, by a painter trained in Constantinople,
Early to
mid 15th century The Menil Collection, Houston
Photo: A.C. Cooper, London
May 3, 2013–August 11, 2013
Focusing on Christian works from the fourth to fifteenth centuries, “Byzantine Things in the World” presents a new way of looking at Byzantine art. Contrary to the contemporary conception, in which works of art are considered inert and passive, Byzantine thinkers saw objects as dynamic and changeable, fully capable of affecting the world. This exhibition proposes that Byzantine objects are best understood as being “alive,” possessing the agency to work, act, and transform.
The materials used and the sensory impressions they created were an integral part of the Byzantine attitude toward a given object. Gold, for instance was thought of as a living element, and its luster exerted ethereal effects on a viewer’s field of vision. Many items incorporated substances from sites that were considered holy as well. Pilgrim tokens, for example, were sometimes made of earth gathered from locations associated with a saint’s physical life. In carrying such a token, the owner channeled the saint, extending the reach of his or her power into the world.
Presenting more than seventy works ranging from 1700 BC to the late twentieth century, this exhibition highlights the Menil Collection’s Byzantine holdings. The pilgrim tokens, icons, and reliquaries are carefully placed among a selection of works that span the breadth of the museum’s collection, from Egyptian funerary masks and modern abstract painting to African ironwork and minimalist sculpture. This unconventional presentation reveals unexpected facets of Byzantine “things” and reminds us of the agency these objects still possess.