“For He has comforted my grief with His sweetness”: Painted Tears, Spirituality and the Art of Medieval Northern Europe
Stevens, Elaine
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Cite this item:
Stevens, E. (2016). ‘For He has comforted my grief with His sweetness’: Painted Tears, Spirituality and the Art of Medieval Northern Europe (Thesis, Master of Arts). University of Otago. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/6904
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http://hdl.handle.net/10523/6904
Abstract:
From the late Middle Ages, over the long fifteenth century, the appearance ofgrief shown through tears, gesticulation and bodily postures was a subtle and nuancedelement in religious art. This thesis explores the depiction of tears in artworks relatingto the Crucifixion of Christ during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in northernEurope. By drawing on a scope of panel paintings (both public altarpieces and privatediptychs), print media, and illuminations I shall firstly explore, in greater depth than hasbeen previously acknowledged by scholars, the presence of tears as a signifier ofemotion, particularly grief, in the visual art of northern Europe in the late medievalperiod. Second, I shall argue that this emotional part to medieval artworks was part of alarger conversation occurring during this time period. Such a conversation involved agreater-than-seen-before interface between medieval spirituality and medievalunderstandings of emotion. I ask whether there were there reasons for this in themedieval socio-cultural and religious context. I would argue that the presence of tears inmedieval religious art is part of a broader context in which weeping transcends thephysical signifier of tears into a personal response of a devotee.
Date:
2016
Advisor:
Collard, Judith
Degree Name:
Master of Arts
Degree Discipline:
History and Art History
Publisher:
University of Otago
Keywords:
art; tears; medieval; spirituality; christianity; emotion
Research Type:
Thesis
Languages:
English
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- Thesis - Masters [3378]
- History [253]