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Taxation with Representation. Visual narrative and the political field of the Kariye Camii
Author(s) -
Nelson Robert S.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
art history
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.1
H-Index - 19
eISSN - 1467-8365
pISSN - 0141-6790
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8365.00139
Subject(s) - mural , narrative , politics , governor , representation (politics) , byzantine architecture , period (music) , field (mathematics) , relation (database) , history , art , visual arts , sociology , aesthetics , political science , law , literature , classics , engineering , painting , mathematics , database , computer science , pure mathematics , aerospace engineering
A visually prominent lunette mosaic at the fourteenth‐century Byzantine church of the Chora, also known as the Kariye Camii, is studied in relation to the large narrative programme of the church and to the economic and political contexts of its creation. The mural depicts Mary and Joseph registering to pay their taxes before the local governor in Bethlehem. Among the questions posed are the following: what and how did the scene represent; what did it mean to devote great resources to the church in a period of political decline and economic deprivation; in what contexts did viewers encounter the image, and what were the consequences of identifying with its messages? In sum, how did the creation and reception of this mural constitute a socially and politically symbolic act?