My talk analyzes the visual compositions that were created using (post)Byzantine icons in the domestic spaces of Renaissance Venice. The display of icons together with other paintings and their exposure in specific areas of the house had a great impact on their meaning. The choice of a particular location in the house could project certain messages including personal piety, desired public perception or social status. By managing the display of icons, their owners were able to manipulate the meanings transmitted to the beholder according to their own sociological, religious and political needs.

Respondent: Teresa Shawcross, History and Hellenic Studies

All Princeton University staff, faculty and researchers are invited.