"Through a review of the art of late antiquity and early Christianity, the study examines the nature of, and tension between, superstion and belief. It debates the implicit question 'is all religion superstition?' in an attempt to provide a sound basis for the presentation of reasons for my personal unwilingness to 'disallow belief' in the mysteries of the Faith, despite doubts on their content." / Master of Arts (Visual Arts)

This thesis considers the evolution of narrative art in Judaism and early Christianity, and deals in particular with narrative figure scenes in which Moses is the principal figure. Current theories, espoused by the late Kurt Weitzmann, posit the existence of a Jewish illustrated manuscript tradition dating back to the Hellenistic period, which could have been the source for Old Testament scenes in art. In the light of these proposals and taking into account more recent narrative theory, this study of early Moses scenes in art takes up the suggestion that a large range of visual narrative scenes, closely following a given text and with a tendency for these scenes to be arranged in narrative sequence, might indicate the presence of a lost illustrated manuscript which artists are using as their model. Stories about Moses originate from within Judaism, and are mentioned also in Christian texts for the first three centuries AD, when Moses is regarded as the forerunner of Christ. While earlier Jewish art largely conformed to the proscription against figural art, narrative figure scenes illustrating Old Testament stories are known from the late second century AD. In the synagogue at Dura Europos (AD c.250), the range of biblical imagery includes five or six scenes illustrating stories from Exodus and Numbers, although Weitzmann�s criteria are only partially fulfilled. During the third century AD, when the earliest Christian art is found, Christians use Old Testament imagery as well, including a cycle of scenes illustrating the story of Jonah. The decoration in the baptistery in the Christian house at Dura, like that in the synagogue there, shows some interest in visual narrative, although in this case no Moses scenes are involved. At this time there is only one Moses story certainly illustrated in Christian art, The miracle of the spring (based on Exodus 17), which occurs in funerary art in Rome. The iconography for this scene is used "emblematically" to promote ideas rather than stories about Moses. If at this time Christian artists know of a narrative cycle involving Moses, they show very little interest in reflecting this.

"Through a review of the art of late antiquity and early Christianity, the study examines the nature of, and tension between, superstion and belief. It debates the implicit question 'is all religion superstition?' in an attempt to provide a sound basis for the presentation of reasons for my personal unwilingness to 'disallow belief' in the mysteries of the Faith, despite doubts on their content." / Master of Arts (Visual Arts)

This thesis is a comprehensive assessment of the life and work of the Italian Renaissance artist Paolo Uccello (c. 1397- 1475). It employs an interdisciplinary methodology combining the examination of archival evidence of the artist’s personal, social and professional lives, the scientific examination of his artworks, the interpretation of his iconography based on the contexts his works were made for, and an approach to attributions based on documentary, stylistic and technical evidence rather than tradition. Unpublished documents presented here shed new light on Uccello’s family and early career, underlining the importance of his extended family as a point of contact between the artist and the networks of patronage in and around Florence. New scientific analyses of three works conducted for this study, including infrared reflectography, X-radiography and microsampling, reveal the sophistication of Uccello’s technique and help to clarify the chronology of his works. New interpretations of Uccello’s works proposed here, relating in particular to his use of perspective, address the significance of their contexts, highlighting the subtlety and specificity of Uccello’s imagery. / The catalogue raisonne is the most extensive survey of works attributed to Uccello to date, and presents unpublished documents for the provenances of two works attributed to Uccello. Contrary to the image of Uccello as an isolated and eccentric figure commonly encountered in the art historical literature since Vasari’s sixteenth-century biography of the artist, Uccello emerges from a detailed study of the documentary and physical evidence as an artist of his time, involved in Florentine society, religion and commerce, and an innovative artist, a creator of unforgettable images who was admired by his peers and subsequent generations of artists, ensuring his place as one of the protagonists in the field of early Renaissance art.

Thesis (B. Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1973. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 86-88).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1964. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 28-30).

Thesis (B.Div.)--St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, 1970. / Bibliography: leaf 31.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Princeton University, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 256-274).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, School of Art History, Cinema, Classics and Archaeology, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (p. [314]-369).

Thesis (M.F.A.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1993. / Typescript.