On the Wrong Side of Christ: Sinful Women in Byzantine Texts & Paintings

Tuesday, Dec. 3, 7-8 p.m. | Keller Hall Art Gallery

Join the Department of Art & Art History for a talk by Marina Mandrikova, Ph.D candidate at Case Western Reserve University and Junior Fellow in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, a Harvard University research institute that supports and advances Byzantine studies. 

This presentation investigates images of female damned in Byzantine, Post-Byzantine, and Slavic monumental paintings between the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries and explores their complex and surprising relationships to written sources that describe the punishment of women at the end of time. After a general survey on the topic, this talk considers the most critical apocalyptic and educational Christian texts that describe sinful women and their torments in Hell and discusses how Early Christian and medieval Byzantine writers perceived and described sinful women. By exploring the surviving visual evidence, primarily from modern-day Greece and the Slavic-speaking countries of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Kosovo, this study then examines the inconsistencies between textual descriptions of the damned and their dramatic representations on the walls of churches. This presentation also intends to raise awareness about the current issues of their preservation. Parts of this talk have been previously presented elsewhere.

Art History

The art history program at the University of Richmond offers students the chance to explore the historical, social, and philosophical contexts of art, with courses covering both Western and non-Western traditions, as well as museum studies. Students are encouraged to study abroad, gaining firsthand experience with the cultures behind the art they study, while also developing a broader understanding of how different societies value art. A distinctive feature of the program is the opportunity to work on University Museums-sponsored exhibitions and complete a year-long senior thesis, culminating in a public presentation at the annual A&S Student Symposium.

Graduates of the program have gone on to diverse careers, from academia and museum work to positions in non-profit art organizations, auction houses, and galleries. Some have used their cross-cultural skills in roles with organizations like the Peace Corps, while others have pursued advanced degrees in fields such as international relations or law, demonstrating the versatility of the critical thinking skills gained through the study of art history.

Equipment, Resources & Studio Spaces

Renovated and expanded in 2018 and 2019, the Department of Art & Art History has one of the best-equipped spaces in the country for a University and program of its size. The area spaces for drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, film, sound, video, and animation are state of the art, as is the new art history seminar room and auditorium. Combined with the facilities of the University Museums, the department provides a fantastic environment for education in the visual arts.. 

The Visual Resource Center offers guidance on image searching, copyright, and usage, alongside access to global image collections, art-related news, reference books, and a DVD collection. Students also have access to ARTstor, a vast image database with over a million images, including 15,000 locally digitized collections, accessible both on and off-campus for study and presentations.