Eikón / Imago

Hagar, Bilhah, and Zilpah: Use, Misuse, and Abuse of Enslaved Reproductive Bodies in Seventeenth-Century Mediterranean Painting. From Visual Exegesis to Iconographical Absence

Begoña Alvarez Seijo — 2026-04-14

This paper investigates the visual representations—or the marked absence—of Hagar, Bilhah, and Zilpah, three enslaved women in the Book of Genesis, within seventeenth-century Mediterranean painting. Drawing on feminist biblical criticism, art historical analysis, and visual exegesis, it explores how artists in Catholic regions such as Italy and Spain engaged with the iconography of these biblical figures. The study considers how artworks either reproduce or challenge the patriarchal ideologies embedded in Scripture and reflected in early modern theology and culture. Through the analysis of selected paintings, it reveals how silence, abjection, and guilt were visually encoded into the stories of these women, shaping their reception across time. It also contrasts Catholic visual traditions with Dutch Protestant interpretations, illuminating the theological and cultural dynamics at play. The research shows how artistic strategies—such as composition, gesture, and emotion—contributed to the marginalization or subversion of these figures. Ultimately, the paper argues that early modern art participated in the ideological work of biblical interpretation, acting as both a mirror and a critique of patriarchal structures. In doing so, it contributes to broader debates at the intersection of gender, religion, and visual culture, and expands the discourse on how enslaved and silenced biblical women are negotiated through image.

“Death or Freedom”: Transformation of Household Plots into Political Ones. On the material of the hidden Ukrainian state coat of arms on embroidered Ukrainian towels (rushnyks)

Tetiana Brovarets — 2026-02-10

This article is devoted not only and not so much to the presence of national symbols (in particular, the trident which is the state coat of arms of Ukraine) on century-old Ukrainian rushnyks (embroidered towels). The main goal of this study is to show how closely the so-called political (patriotic) may be intertwined with household (everyday) embroidered plots, that we can sometimes easily confuse them. Since it was dangerous to embroider Ukrainian national symbols during the occupation and struggle for state independence, such signs often had to be masked. Thus, such usual embroidered scenes, as entertainment and fun or separation and meeting of a boy and a girl, could hide political undertones. And vice versa, using the ready-made printed cross-stitch papers containing the state coat of arms of Ukraine, girls sometimes could avoid embroidering this sign.

Visualizing Shared Power: The Heraldry of Archdukes Albert and Isabella Clara Eugenia

Luis Fernando Fernández Guisasola — 2026-02-10

This paper analyzes the evolution of Infanta Isabel Clara Eugenia and Archduke Albert in relation to their marital status and political position. It examines how, before their marriage, Albert used a coat of arms that emphasized his connection to the Hispanic Monarchy, reflecting his trajectory under the protection of Philip II. On the other hand, after Isabel Clara became the sovereign of the Netherlands, a coat of arms was established for her that highlighted her single status.

After the marriage, they adopted a joint coat of arms, where the Austro-Burgundian elements became prominent, reflecting their shared sovereignty in the Netherlands. However, the individual use of this emblem suggests that the title belonged more to Albert. This interpretation in the coat of arms of Isabel Clara Eugenia as a widow, where she places their former joint arms where her husband's should be, is explored.

Through the study, it is demonstrated how the archdukes used heraldry as a visual representation of political and dynastic legitimacy, adapting to changes in power and reinforcing their position as sovereigns.

The issues of Berenice II, an iconographic exception

Katharina Nothnagel Vivas — 2026-04-14

In 2016, the National Archaeological Museum (MAN) in Madrid acquired an octodrachm of Berenice II bearing the name of Arsinoe II at a public auction. The primary reason for this acquisition was the coexistence of iconographic and epigraphic references to two distinct personalities on the same coin. This peculiarity in Ptolemaic coinage, in addition to perpetuating an unprecedented iconographic model for representing Lagid queens, presupposes the need for numismatic research to examine its communicative function. Through iconographic analysis, this study seeks to unravel the message conveyed by this coinage. The motives that led Berenice II to portray herself in the manner of Arsinoe are not only related to issues of succession and consolidation of power but also to personal reasons stemming from family conflict. Berenice II preferred to associate herself with her paternal Ptolemaic lineage rather than her maternal Seleucid line— constituting clear evidence of the union of two kingdoms, the Ptolemaic realm and Cyrenaica, into a single state.

¿Cómo mirar una estampita? Propuesta metodológica para el estudio de imágenes religiosas impresas

Lily Estefanía Jiménez Osorio — 2026-04-14

This article puts forward a methodological study of holy cards from an interdisciplinary perspective that combines visual and material studies, and popular religion. Based on a corpus drawn from the Historical Provincial Archive of the Society of Jesus in Chile, the study proposes a methodological framework built on four dimensions: iconographic, material, scriptural, and positional. These categories explore how these images mediate the sacred in everyday life, articulating devotional, affective, and bodily practices within Catholic communities from the mid-19th onwards. Through the proposed methodology, it is revealed how these images configure symbolic and social universes that connect beliefs, collective memories, and cultural practices, opening up a broader reflection on the role of material objects in constructing religious experience and their persistence in contemporary visual culture.

“I was going to see a painting by Ribera”: Nineteenth-century interpretations of lo Spagnoleto and his Pietà (1637) from the Charterhouse of San Martino (Naples)

Guillermo Juberías Gracia — 2026-04-09

Unlike other Spanish masters, art historiography has devoted limited attention to the contemporary critical reception of José de Ribera (1591-1652). This study examines nineteenth-century testimonies —primarily Spanish— regarding his most esteemed work during this period: the Pietà (1637) of the Charterhouse of San Martino (Naples). First, we explore how, within the European and American context prior to the 1908 publication of August L. Mayer's monograph on lo Spagnoletto, a “black legend” surrounding the painter was established, based on artistic literature from preceding centuries, particularly Bernardo de Dominici’s account (1742). Subsequently, we analyze nineteenth-century travel guides that focused on Ribera’s paintings preserved in that charterhouse and contributed to their dissemination. Finally, we present a collection of testimonies —mostly unpublished— related to the Pietà of San Martino, highlighting the qualities that made this painting Ribera’s most admired work during the nineteenth century and examining how the oeuvre of this Naples-based artist was interpreted from Spain through a nationalist lens, affirming the painter as a fundamental figure in the Spanish pictorial tradition and refuting certain myths about his life.

Burying Pope Ludovisi. The Funereal Apparato of Gregory XV in the Political Context of the Rome of the Barberini

Eneko Ortega Mentxaka — 2026-02-10

This article analyses the funeral ceremony held in 1624 on the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of Pope Gregory XV in the cathedral of Bologna. The ceremony and the allegorical apparato displayed in the church were promoted by Cardinal-nephew Ludovico Ludovisi, nephew of the late pope and one of the greatest art collectors of his time. This ephemeral apparato, with a sensitive and emotive strategy, focused on exalting the virtues and work carried out by the pontiff and also on trying to promote the imagen of the cardinal in the circles of power in the Rome of Urban VIII. In doing so, the cardinal wanted to establish a visual marker of his uncle’s cultural memory, creating an artistic project of great material splendour, an authentic example of the Baroque rhetoric of the time. The article reconstructs the iconographic programme of the funeral apparato, understood as an instrument of propaganda, relating it to contemporary literary and graphic sources, as well as to the atmosphere of nepotism prevailing at the papal court, in order to understand the political and religious significance of this ceremony.

Per oculos ad loculos? – what can we learn from eye tracking about emblem art perception?

Artur Pilacinski — 2026-02-10

Emblems are depictions of concepts, composed of texts and images. Scholars dispute whether the emblematic image or the text contributes more to making the viewer appreciate the emblem and better understand its message. Are images and texts of equal importance? Which element - image or text- attracts attention in the first place? What are the dynamics of attentional processing of the text-image structure of emblems? We have applied eye-tracking techniques to study where and how people look when presented with emblems. We mapped participants’ eye gaze locations and dynamics (order) of their scan paths to uncover the relationship between the text and the image aspects of emblems. Moreover, we also used internet ‘meme’ images containing a similar text-image structure to emblems to test for similarities between these two classes of bimedial compositions. We present and discuss the preliminary findings of the study, showing that in the perception of such multi-modal messages like emblems, the text and the picture are both critical for a dynamic process of understanding. We will further suggest an experimental framework aiming to explore the cognitive processing underlying the perception and interpretation of emblems.

Feminine spirituality through an unknown catalan illuminated Book of Hours illuminated around 1500

Josefina Planas — 2026-02-10

Towards the last decade of the 15thcentury, was elaborated an exquisite book of hours for a lady. The manuscript, written in Latin with Catalan rubrics in the Roman use is kept in a private collection (Barcelona, Patrimoni artistic Fundació “La Caixa”). This book of hours was left unfinished and contains a good amount of decorated initials, accompanied by floral decoration or even a kind of marginal ornamentation with flowers, birds and human figures that acquire a more naturalistic dimension in some specific folios, in agreement with aesthetic proposals of the Wiener Master of Mary of Burgundy, aspect of which the last one was unknown in Catalonia. The full-page illustrations are seven in total and were made in grisaille with dashes of blue. The calendar includes celebrations typical of Barcelona. It has an office dedicated to the Guardian Angel (f. 211r) and amidst the Suffrages there is the prominent figure of Mary Magdalene (f. 235r), a model of contemplative woman for the theologians and moralists of the time. This study analyzes a manuscript that is practically unknown to researchers.

Medal Books and Emblem Books: A Face-to-Face Encounter between two Original Creations from the Humanistic World

María Teresa Rodríguez Bote — 2026-02-10

This paper aims to establish a connection between the genres of medal books, as visual and iconographic sources, and their parallels and divergences in relation to emblem books, both phenomena within the Renaissance. While both textual and visual genres have been widely and independently studied, never have they been drawn as close manifestations and put into comparison. Similarities include formal elements, as well as their educational purpose, their admiration for Antiquity and the use of mythological characters. Nevertheless, medal books focus on the life of exemplary historical or mythological figures, with illustrations imitating ancient coins, whereas emblems allow for greater thematic breadth and graphic creativity. On the other hand, a chronological comparison between both is explained; it is thus noted that interest in medals began in the 15^th century, as its key publication, the Illustrium imagines by Andrea Fulvio, was published at an early date, in 1517. This period slaps over time with the so-called “pre-emblematic” or “proto-emblematic” phase. During the first half of the 16th century, Medallistics was at its height and so precedes Alciato’s volume (1531); however, Emblematica ends up imposing its design and layout over medal books.

Fons signatus: a theological symbol in Christian doctrine and Marian iconography

José María Salvador-González — 2026-02-10

Among the many metaphors with which Christian doctrinal tradition has designated the Virgin Mary, this article focuses on analyzing the “sealed fountain” (Fons signatus) from the Song of Solomon, as attested by numerous theological texts and some Marian images. The author begins by analyzing many testimonies from Fathers and medieval theologians of the Latin Church on this subject; secondly, he analyzes a large set of fragments of medieval liturgical hymns that poetically reconfigure this metaphor; in a third section, he analyzes five 15th-century Marian paintings that depict a sealed fountain invested with a clear symbolic intent. Finally, the author summarizes the results of the analysis of the texts and images, highlighting the essential relationship between the two.

Altar Space in Late Antiquity: The Water Newton Treasure and the Construction of the Sacred Space

Nicolas Samaretz — 2026-02-10

Dated between the second half of the 4^th and the early 5^th centuries CE, the Water Newton treasure is the earliest material example of a liturgical and votive Christian hoard. Previous research has focused on determining the overall function and the treasure’s possible original context. This article presents an overview of the treasure’s components from the perspective of their relation to the Christian altar, mainly during the Eucharist. After examining the liturgical paraphernalia and furnishings in the 4^th and 5^th centuries, as documented by late antique church inventories, the individual objects are studied in their ritual application. This lets us appreciate the role of material culture in defining the sacred space. The continuity with ancient traditions emerges, such as certain vessels’ connection with some substances and properties or the adoption of ritual practices, reinterpreted through a new Christian meaning. Starting from the material analysis and the written evidence, the article aims to frame the treasure in the wider perspective of Christian altar space development. The treasure's relation to its lost setting of perishable materials and ritual actions emphasised how the objects ‘activated’ the altar space, highlighting its sacredness as a place for encountering the divine.

Epistemología de la imagen generativa: plausibilidad, estética y representación del pasado en imágenes producidas por inteligencia artificial

Alberto Venegas — 2026-04-14

This article examines the epistemological implications of artificial intelligence-generated images without empirical referents, focusing on their credibility, historical plausibility, and impact on collective memory. Drawing on visual culture and the philosophy of history, it argues that their plausibility stems not from documentary evidence but from the recognition of shared aesthetic codes. Methodologically, the study adopts a hermeneutic and critical approach, based on the analysis of selected cases of synthetic medieval representations disseminated on social media. Although entirely fictional, these images reproduce stylistic attributes established in historical painting and iconography, activating a collective aesthetic memory that renders them seemingly credible. The study concludes that their epistemic authority lies not in referential fidelity but in their capacity to mobilize culturally validated visual repertoires. This poses challenges for historiography, heritage transmission, and the uses of the past in the digital era, within a qualitative framework centered on image theory, philosophy of history, and software studies.

Perkinson, Stephen and Noa Turel (2021). Picturing Death 1200-1600. Brill.

Herbert González Zymla — 2026-02-10

Taylor, Paul. (2025). How Images Mean. Iconography and meta-iconography. Paul Holberton Publishing.

Agustín Martínez Peláez — 2026-02-10

Junquera Rubio, Carlos, Ángela Franco Mata y Letizia Arbeteta Mira (2025). Reliquias y Relicarios a lo largo de la Historia: Cultura, Patrimonio e Identidad. Editorial ACCI.

Benito Rodríguez Arbeteta — 2026-02-10

Mellén, I. (2024). El Sexo en tiempos del Románico. Editorial Crítica.

Ana María Sánchez Saz — 2026-02-10

The Altarpiece-Prints of Saint Diego of Alcalá Metamorphosis and Expansion of the Devotional Ecosystem in the Counter-Reformation

Gerardo Rappazzo Amura — 2026-04-07

The article analyzes, based on the premises of anthropological iconology and visual studies, three prints dedicated to Saint Didacus of Alcalá, produced between the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, with the aim of reconsidering their function within the devotional ecosystem of post-Tridentine Europe. The "vicarious visibility" of these images, together with their portable condition, contributed to multiplying the praesentia of the saint beyond the chapel where his relics rest, the epicenter of his miracles. The innovation of this study lies in the formal and typological analysis of these engraved images and in the formulation of a pertinent theoretical framework for their examination. The author proposes the category of "altarpiece-prints" to designate this formal model of narrating the Wunderviten. Their fragmentary and sequential structure—evocative of Gothic hagiographic altarpieces and Byzantine vita icons—offers an adaptation of the altarpiece language to the printed medium. The study concludes that the emergence of this format may have responded to the need to articulate new devotional practices —effective both in Reformed Europe and in Catholic territories, in Europe as well as the Americas— through images capable of maintaining, extending, or renewing the experience of sacred presence beyond the institutional framework of worship.

La musique, la danse et le vin : Festivités et rituels à Nishapur aux IXe–Xe siècles

Sheila Samavaki — 2026-04-07

This article examines the rich visual culture of ninth- and tenth-century Nishapur through its polychrome ceramics, in which music, dance, and wine function as intertwined ritual languages. After reconstructing the historical and musical context, the study offers a detailed iconographic analysis of the “dancer” motif. It explores the dancer’s frontal posture, ambiguous attributes (drinking vessel versus horn of abundance), and associated symbols such as crested birds and fish. Close attention to costume details and the gender-fluid representation of the figure reveals a performative art that transcends rigid social categories. A second series of variants introduces masked performers, while the rare branch-bearing figure evokes themes of regeneration and cosmic renewal. Comparative readings alongside Sassanian metalwork and al-Sufi’s manuscript miniatures demonstrate that these ceramics formed an active visual archive, conveying collective memory and negotiating cultural exchange across pre-Islamic and early Islamic traditions. The article concludes by reflecting on the dynamic interplay between art, ritual, and identity in medieval northeastern Iran, and suggests avenues for future research into transregional iconographic networks.