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I became interested in Marcel Duchamp's work at an early stage of my art history studies. His then most important piece, The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even, particularly fascinated me and I wished to understand the complexity of the work itself. I also wanted to learn more about the personality and psyche of this artist.For several years I lived in Philadelphia, and spent many Sunday afternoons in the Philadelphia Museum of Art studying, evaluating and appreciating Duchamp's works which can be found in the Arensberg Collection. I obtained Richard Hamilton's translation of the Green Box1 and used it as Duchamp wished--reading it along with a visual study of The Bride Stripped Bare.During my residence in Philadelphia and, shortly after his death, Duchamp's final work was unveiled. Upon further study of his total work and the writings about him, I experienced in several dimensions the message of his art and felt that this new writing, this thesis, needed to be done. I could not accept the frustration, castration, negation, and non-aesthetic that was read into his work by many critics. Duchamp was a revolutionary in art, yes--but there was an erotic joy, a sensuous aesthetic sensitivity to his form, be it created or found, and a continuous desire on his part to extend man's aesthetic awareness to new areas of life experience.This thesis presents a critical re-evaluation of Marcel Duchamp's two works: first, The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even; and secondly, Etant Donnés: 1° la chute d'eau, 2° le gaz d'éclairage, which is the concern of chapter two.Because of the nature of these two works of art, it was necessary to discuss and analyse iconographically, in chapter one, various other works -- following their development and recurrences as symbolic images. Several statements by writers and critics are also re-evaluated, mainly those referring to an erotic pessimism reflected in Duchamp's work.An important guide line for this study has been the Green Box. It, along with other writings and staements, revels Duchamp as a sensitive, highly intellectual artist ready for constant changes. From the material within the Green Box is woven the thread for the final content -- the positive, erotic message and the aesthetic experience.1 Duchamp saved all of the notes, sketches, and drawings related to The Bride Stripped Bare in a green box, which he later published, titled the Green Box. A typographic version of the notes, translated by George Heard Hamilton, was prepared by Richard Hamilton, titled The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even (London: Percy Lund, Humphries and Co. Ltd., 1960).

In Western Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, collections were created as repositories of art, technology, ethnographic curiosities and natural wonders. Collecting first became a widespread practice among Italian humanists of the late Renaissance who, influenced by the work of Pliny, were driven by the desire to understand the world through the acquisition of universal knowledge. The physical configuration of such encyclopedic projects could be found in the museums created to organize and assimilate the explosion of knowledge experienced during this period.This thesis addresses the social significance of accumulating an encyclopedic collection in the form of a large, public art museum at the turn of the twentieth century, discusses the Rudolfine Kunstkammer contextualized in a broad history of collecting prior to and including the Renaissance and compares the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Kunstkammer in terms of how similarly or differently the collections communicated a combination of political, social, economic and cultural power.

This thesis focuses on an African-American female artist, Valerie Maynard, examining how she synthesizes African and American elements in her works. It provides detailed formal and iconographical analyses, revealing concealed meanings and paying special attention to those works with which the artist mirrors the Black experience in the United States and Africa on the other side of the Atlantic. In the process, the thesis sheds new light on the significance of Valerie Maynard's work and how she has used some of them to embody the Black quest for freedom and social justice during the Civil Rights struggle of the 1960s and 1970s and beyond.

The Flemish painter Anthony Van Dyck extended his preoccupation with portraiture into the printed medium by designing a body of portrait prints, posthumously compiled into a book entitled, the Iconography. This suite of images, organized and designed by Van Dyck and printed by workshop assistants between 1632 and 1644, is comprised of engraved and etched half-length portraits of contemporary European men and women of various professions and backgrounds, including artists, scholars, diplomats, and religious leaders. This thesis examines the artistic and literary context for Van Dyck’s Iconography, with a focus on the changing social and intellectual status of artists in northern Europe during the seventeenth century. It seeks to provide the scholarship on the Iconography with an understanding of how the portraits function as a collective group that enhanced the prestige of artists in the seventeenth century.

This thesis analyzes the structure, technique and iconography of an embroidered burial mantle from Wari Kayan Necropolis on the Paracas Peninsula, Peru, which dates between approximately 100 B.C. and A.D. 100. The mantle is currently in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City (Accession no. 41.2/632), and will be referred to subsequently as the AMNH mantle. This study will consist of a structural analysis of the burial mantle, addressing the design of the textile and the iconography. In addition to examining the origin and iconography of the double-headed bird motif which appears throughout the mantle, this study analyzes technical and design considerations involved in the creation of the mantle, including style of embroidery, structure, and color repeats. Ethnographic studies of Andean cultures will also be considered in the analysis of the symbolic and ritual aspects of textiles, and how they relate to the symbolic function of the mantle in its burial context.

The function of a ceramic vessel is often evaluated in relation to its form. Vessels with complex forms can be challenging to analyze from this perspective and require a different approach. One such example is an overlooked yet long-lived specialized vessel type in the form of conjoined lúcuma fruits found throughout the ancient Andes. The main object of this study is a Nasca version of this vessel type in the Virginia Museum of Fine Art. This study explores the relationship between form and iconography, rather than function. It examines how Nasca potters adopted the conjoined lúcuma form vessel and adapted it to into their fertility iconography.

Depuis la fin de l’Antiquité, les mythes liés aux religions polythéistes ont peu à peu été relégués au domaine du folklore, bien que la mémoire des grands mythes soit restée vivace dans notre culture. Mais pour comprendre les religions et les sociétés anciennes, il est impératif de revenir aux mythes. De nombreux ouvrages, parfois de vulgarisation, sont consacrés à ce sujet. Cependant, les études contemporaines, suivant en cela la voie déjà tracée par les Anciens, ne se concentrent presque exclusivement que sur la vie des héros grecs. Contrairement à cette tendance générale, notre étude, elle, porte sur le destin de ces oubliés que sont les êtres fabuleux qui peuplent les récits mythologiques et sans qui la renommée des héros mythiques serait amoindrie. La plupart de ces redoutables créatures sont issues de la même lignée dont Phorkys et Kétô sont les lointains aïeux. Parmi leur abondante descendance, nous avons choisi d’étudier ceux que l’on qualifie couramment de monstres. Nous avons procédé à une sélection parmi tous ces membres afin de pouvoir dégager un thème qui soit commun à tous. Nous nous intéresserons exclusivement aux créatures uniques, monstrueuses de naissance et à la morphologie fabuleuse telles que l’Hydre ou Cerbère. A travers un travail d’exploration à la fois littéraire et iconographique, nous tentons de retracer l’histoire des traditions concernant les membres de cette lignée. Des comparaisons avec des mythologies étrangères viennent parfois apporter un complément d’information sur la question. Dans cette entreprise nous devrons considérer des bornes chronologiques et géographiques relativement vastes. En effet, la période s’étendra du IXème ou VIIIème siècle avant J.-C. jusqu’au IIIème siècle après J.-C. Quant au champ géographique, il recouvrira toute la Grèce continentale et insulaire, ainsi que l’Asie Mineure et la Grande Grèce. / Since the end of Antiquity the myths which were related to polytheist religions have gradually been pushed aside towards the grounds of lore, although our culture keeps quite vivid the memory of great myths. Nevertheless, in order to be able to understand both ancient religions and societies, turning back to myths is an absolute necessity. Numerous works, some of which vulgarise, are devoted to the subject. However, contemporary studies - thus following the ways of the ancient themselves – mainly dwell on the lives of Greek heroes. As opposed to this general tendency, our study will be dealing with those forgotten creatures, beings of fantasy that are so often encountered in mythological tales and without whom the fame of these mythic heroes would be lessened. Most of these fearful creatures are issued from Phorkys and Keto’s long lineage. Among their numerous offsprings, we have chosen to study those generally known as “monsters”. We have set up a selection among these monsters in order to underline common characteristics. Thus, we intend to consider only creatures that are unique, monstrous by birth, having fabulous morphologies, such as for instance the Hydra and Cerberos. Based on both literary and iconographic sources we will attempt to draw a history of the traditions linked to these lineage members. Some more information on the topic will at times be provided by a few comparisons with foreign mythologies. The geographical and chronological boundaries of our study have to be quite large. The period will span from the 9th or 8th centuries BC up to the 3rd century AD. As for geography, the whole of Greece, both continental and insular, is concerned, as well as Asia Minor and Magna Graecia.

This thesis examines the Temptation of Saint Anthony in the last quarter of the 19th century in France and Belgium. By analysis of particular art works it shows the variability of iconography and complexity of the Temptation theme which reflects the contemporary relation to religion, history, science, exotism, eroticism and other areas, which man living in the era of greate changes was confronted with. The importance of "The Temptation of Saint Anthony" by Gustave Flaubert is emphasized as an inspirational source for fine arts and on the general level the relation of text and visual presentation is discussed. The final part of the thesis dealing with "fin de siècle" art references the metamorphosis of the Temptation of st. Anthony in literature and fine arts as well as historical, social and religious relations in the context of which the character of Saint Anthony gradually became a permanent part of French culture.

5A Abstract This work gives the analysis of iconographic elements which are found on five gold foils. These foils depict two figures which look at each other from their profile. Foils were found in the foundations of the chieftain house in Lofot's islands in Northern Norway, which is from the Migration to the Viking period. For the reason of analysis the author demonstrates three main groups of gold objects - gold bracteates, gold foils and one medallion. On these objects we can find a pair of two figures and these objects were found in Scandinavia. The author presents here the context of such finds, iconographic elements and academic interpretations of the depiction. Author compares the elements such as type of foil, appearance of eyes, posture of man and woman, their dress and haidress with 91 foils from Scandinavia, and also with bracteates and other objects. She notices the partial concordance among these elements and the other objects and she seeks the iconographic essence and function of each foil from Borg which is later confronted with the theories of the influence of religion. Because of lack of attributes on the foils, the author's assumption is that there is no general depiction of gods on the foil. On the other hand, each foil has its own story showing people from their common life. According to...