Act and Portrait:

an idiom used by Spengler, refers to Apollonian & Faustian symbols in polar opposition: Act is existence showing itself in the composition of the exterior structure; it is body, the instant, the foreground, Euclidean number (geometry), proportion.  Portrait is the human interior, the Soul, speaking thru its façade, or face; it is space, history, background & analytic number.  The Apollonian symbol, the STATUE, is rooted on ground; the Faustian symbol, MUSIC (and portrait), invades and pervades limitless space.

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iconoclasm (Moslem):

see Chapter VI, page 188 and 216

 

iconoclasm (Paulicians):

Christian heretical sect, in Armenia, origins obscure; first mentioned in 550 AD, associated with Nestorianism.  Their teachings reflect gnostic influence, Marcion or Paul of Samosata, many leaned toward adoptionism.  They accepted the NT except the First Epistle of Peter; they rejected the entire OT & the Orthodox-Catholic title Theotokos ("Mother of God") & refused the veneration of Mary.  As iconoclasts they rejected the cross, rites, sacraments, worship & hierarchy of the established Church. They believed that Christ came down from heaven to emancipate humans from the body & the world. Their places of worship were small rooms in modest houses.  Although they had ascetic tendencies, they made no distinction in foods & practiced marriage. They called themselves "Good Christians" and called other Christians "Romanists.  By the 7th century they spread to the eastern Byzantine Empire, where it was persecuted.  The Council of Dvin (719) brought new persecutions in Armenia, but the permissive Isaurian emperors allowed it to flourish & used them as allies in Thrace.  Renewed persecution caused them to side with the Muslims against Byzantium.   A Paulician state at Tephrike (present-day Turkey) was established 844.  In 871 emperor Basil I destroyed this state, the survivors fled to Syria and Armenia.  In 970 Paulicians in Syria were deported to the Balkans, where they combined with the Bogomils.  Those left in Armenia became identified with the Tondrakeci.  They became increasingly obscure after the 11th century.  

 

Leo III : * see EndNote<A>

aka the Syrian or the Isaurian; 685- 741, Byzantine Emperor 717-741,  founder of the Isaurian dynasty. Ended the 20 Years' Anarchy, a period of great instability in the Byzantine Empire (695-717) marked by the rapid succession of several emperors to the throne; he successfully defended the Empire against the invading Umayyads.  He also initiated the "First Iconoclasm" which ran from 726 to 787.

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Egyptain (portrait):

Egyptian art is formulaic & conservative.  Modifications would have moved art away from the initial state of perfection present at the time of the creation of the universe.  It was vital the deceased advertised his adherence to Ma'at (the goddess of truth, justice, harmony & balance) & choose the perfect way to represent himself, excluding imperfect qualities.  The statue was the permanent abode for the spirit & guaranteed eternal life.  An idealized version of the dead made him eternally beautiful & reflected a sinless life.  The artist worked to portray the totality of the dead’s personality, not just the physical image, consequently there was a reluctance to show individual features as these conflicted with the representation of the perfect person.  The artist worked within a strict framework dictated by ethical, religious, social & magical considerations.  They were not free to express their personal likes & dislikes, nor to produce what they actually saw.  They expressed the patron's wishes, which meant the statue had to conform to a set of highly developed ethical principles.  The artist's task was to show the model as a loyal adherent, but still say something of both the physical appearance & personality.  King Amenemhat III's sculptures are frequently difficult to distinguish from Senwosret III's; the facial features of both were popular among private sculptures.  This shows the artist was a propagandist for certain dictated ideologies or personal agenda.  This is also evident in the depiction of female pharaoh Hatshepsut as a male king.  Also during the Amarna Period, the change in style reflected a major change in theology and religion.  In both cases, the artists were forced to portray what they are told not what they saw.

 

pylon: * see EndNote<B>

the pylon mirrored the hieroglyph for 'horizon' or akhet, a depiction of 2 hills between which the sun rose and set; it played a critical role in the symbolic architecture of a cult building which was associated with the place of recreation and rebirth; often decorated with scenes emphasizing a king's authority since it was the public face of a cult building.

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"Hyksos Sphinx" of Tanis: * see EndNote<C>

a group of royal sphinxes depicting the pharaoh Amenemhat III (12th dynasty) with some unusual traits compared to conventional statuary, for example prominent cheekbones & a thick mane instead of the traditional nemes headcloth.

 

Amenemhet Ill (portrait): * see endnote<D>

12th dynasty pharaoh, ruled 1860-1814 BC, the Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom.  Possibly long co-regency (of 20 years) with his father, Senusret III; late in his reign he began a co-regency with his successor Amenemhet IV.  He was one of the most active rulers of the Middle Kingdom; during his reign a number of unique temples were erected. He built his first pyramid at Dahshur (the "Black Pyramid"), there were construction problems & it was abandoned.  Around Year 15 of his reign the king decided to build a new pyramid at Hawara, near the Faiyum oasis.  This grandiose memorial temple complex was the embodiment of his might, power & wealth, and was called the Labyrinth by the Greeks (Herodotus).

 

China (portrait): * see EndNote <E>

Artists from the Han (202 BC) to the Tang (618–906 AD) dynasties mainly painted the human figure.  Most art critics consider landscape to be the highest form of Chinese painting.  Portraiture never achieved a similar status.  Most Chinese portraits used a formal full-length frontal view, and were employed by the family in ancestor veneration.  Imperial portraits were more flexible, but were generally not seen outside the court.  Portraiture formed no part of Imperial propaganda, as in other cultures.  Landscape painting was regarded as the highest form of Chinese painting.  The time from the Five Dynasties period to the Northern Song period (907–1127) is known as the "Great age of Chinese landscape".  The painting of portraits and closely viewed objects like birds on branches were held in high esteem, but landscape painting was paramount.

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Merovingian times:

The Merovingian dynasty was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751.

 

sum:

Latin, I am

 

Gothic im:

an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths; known primarily from the Codex Argenteus, a 6th-century copy of a 4th-century Bible translation, the only East Germanic language with a sizable text corpus.  The word “im” in Gothic  means “in the”

 

ich bin:

German, I am

 

jes suis:

French, I am

 

fecisti:

Latin, you have done

 

tu habes factum:

Latin, you have done

 

tu as fait:

French, you did

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du habes getan:

German, you have done

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daz wîp:

High German, that woman

 

un homme:

French- a man

 

man hat:

German- one has

 

provenance:

place or source of origin: