J 2021

Color in Suger’s Saint-Denis : Matter and Light

VIRDIS, Alberto

Basic information

Original name

Color in Suger’s Saint-Denis : Matter and Light

Name in Czech

Barvy v Sugerově Saint-Denis : mezi hmotou a světlem

Authors

VIRDIS, Alberto

Edition

Convivium : Exchanges and Interactions in the Arts of Medieval Europe, Byzantium, and Mediterranean, Brno, Masarykova univerzita, 2021, 2336-3452

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Article in a journal

Country of publisher

Belgium

Confidentiality degree

is not subject to a state or trade secret

References:

Marked to be transferred to RIV

Yes

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14210/21:00123200

Organization

Filozofická fakulta – Repository – Repository

Keywords in English

Abbot Suger; color; gemstones; Heavenly Jerusalem; lapis lazuli; materia saphirorum; metaphysics of light; pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite; Saint-Denis; stained glass

Links

EF17_050/0008496, research and development project.
Changed: 27/4/2024 04:19, RNDr. Daniel Jakubík

Abstract

In the original language

The vast examination and analysis of Abbot Suger and the choir of Saint-Denis have mainly focused on the role and importance of the light coming through the stained-glass windows, neglecting the role of color in defining the cathedral’s interior space. The same can be said of the references in Suger’s writings to the colors of the stained-glass windows as well as of other early medieval goldsmithery objects once held in the basilica. This article analyzes mentions of color in Suger’s writings in connection with related works of art. Considerations include the different ways in which color was understood in medieval culture, possible interpretations of the expression materia saphirorum and the vexata quaestio of the links between Suger and the metaphysics of light in Dionysius the Areopagite. Altogether, these considerations show how a full understanding of color-related issues is necessary for a correct interpretation of both Suger’s writings and the stained-glass windows in the basilica’s choir.

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