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Abbot Suger and Saint-Denis : a symposium / edited by Paula Lieber Gerson.

Contributor(s): Publication details: New York : Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986.Description: xv, 303 pages, 1 unnumbered page : illustrations ; 29 cmISBN:
  • 9780810915176
Subject(s):
Contents:
Foreword / Philippe de Montebello -- Preface / Paula Lieber Gerson -- Introduction : Suger's life and personality / John F. Benton -- I. Monastic life. Suger's monastic administration / Giles Constable -- Suger, theology, and the pseudo-dionysian tradition / Grover A. Zinn, Jr. -- The liturgy at Saint-Denis : a preliminary study / Niels Krogh Rasmussen -- II. Political and social history. Suger's views on kingship / Andrew W. Lewis -- Suger and the Capetians / Eric Bournazel -- A note on Suger's understanding of political power / Michel Bur -- Good words, social ties, and the hope for salvation : Abbot Suger and Saint-Denis / Clark Maines -- Suger and the symbolism of royal power : the seal of Louis VII / Brigitte Bedos Rezak -- III. Architecture. Suger's church at Saint-Denis : the state of research / William W. Clark -- What possible sources for the Chevet of Saint-Denis? / Jean Bony -- IV. Library and literature. Suger's literary style and vision / Robert W. Hanning -- History as enlightenment : Suger and the ''Mos anagogicus' / Gabrielle M. Spiegel -- Some new readings of Suger's writings / Philippe Verdier -- The problem of manuscript painting at Saint-Denis during the abbacy of Suger / Harvey Stahl -- V. Sculpture and mosaics. Suger as iconographer : the central portal of the west facade of Saint-Denis / Paula Lieber Gerson -- The lateral portals of the west facade of the abbey church of Saint-Denis : archaeological and iconographic considerations / Pamela Z. Blum -- Did Suger build the cloister at Saint-Denis? / Léon Pressouyre -- The mosaic pavement of the Saint Firmin chapel at Saint-Denis : Alberic and Suger / Xavier Barral i Altet -- VI. Stained glass and metalwork. Suger's glass at Saint-Denis : the state of research / Madeline Harrison Caviness -- The style of the stained-glass windows of Saint-Denis / Louis Grodecki -- Suger's liturgical vessels / Danielle Gaborit-Chopin -- Traditional forms in Suger's contributions to the treasury of Saint-Denis / William D. Wixom.
Summary: Suger, abbot of the French abbey of Saint-Denis, lived from 1081 to 1151. This book of essays about his life and achievements grew out of a symposium sponsored by the International Center of Medieval Art and by Columbia University ... For the symposium, twenty-three medieval scholars from all parts of the world, representing a wide range of humanistic disciplines, were brought together to discuss the varied nature of Suger's activities. Suger has been best known for his contributions as a patron of art and architecture ... As the essays in this volume devoted to Suger's political activities and historical writings demonstrate, he was, in addition to being a brilliantly innovative patron of architecture, an important architect of the French state. Only by bringing together differing humanistic perspectives on Suger and Saint-Denis has it been possible to achieve, for the first time, a fully rounded appreciation of a man who was, at the same time, a patron of the arts and literature, a politician who adroitly used his ecclesiastical position to enhance the growth and power of the monarchy, and a churchman consistently devoted to the promotion of the cult of Saint-Denis, the patron saint of his abbey and of France.

Based on papers presented at a symposium held in 1981 at the Cloisters (in conjunction with an exhibition entitled The Royal Abbey of Saint-Denis in the time of Abbot Suger (1122-1151) and at Columbia University, sponsored by the International Center for Medieval Art and the Medieval and Renaissance Interdisciplinary Studies Committee of Columbia University.

Includes bibliographical references.

Foreword / Philippe de Montebello -- Preface / Paula Lieber Gerson -- Introduction : Suger's life and personality / John F. Benton -- I. Monastic life. Suger's monastic administration / Giles Constable -- Suger, theology, and the pseudo-dionysian tradition / Grover A. Zinn, Jr. -- The liturgy at Saint-Denis : a preliminary study / Niels Krogh Rasmussen -- II. Political and social history. Suger's views on kingship / Andrew W. Lewis -- Suger and the Capetians / Eric Bournazel -- A note on Suger's understanding of political power / Michel Bur -- Good words, social ties, and the hope for salvation : Abbot Suger and Saint-Denis / Clark Maines -- Suger and the symbolism of royal power : the seal of Louis VII / Brigitte Bedos Rezak -- III. Architecture. Suger's church at Saint-Denis : the state of research / William W. Clark -- What possible sources for the Chevet of Saint-Denis? / Jean Bony -- IV. Library and literature. Suger's literary style and vision / Robert W. Hanning -- History as enlightenment : Suger and the ''Mos anagogicus' / Gabrielle M. Spiegel -- Some new readings of Suger's writings / Philippe Verdier -- The problem of manuscript painting at Saint-Denis during the abbacy of Suger / Harvey Stahl -- V. Sculpture and mosaics. Suger as iconographer : the central portal of the west facade of Saint-Denis / Paula Lieber Gerson -- The lateral portals of the west facade of the abbey church of Saint-Denis : archaeological and iconographic considerations / Pamela Z. Blum -- Did Suger build the cloister at Saint-Denis? / Léon Pressouyre -- The mosaic pavement of the Saint Firmin chapel at Saint-Denis : Alberic and Suger / Xavier Barral i Altet -- VI. Stained glass and metalwork. Suger's glass at Saint-Denis : the state of research / Madeline Harrison Caviness -- The style of the stained-glass windows of Saint-Denis / Louis Grodecki -- Suger's liturgical vessels / Danielle Gaborit-Chopin -- Traditional forms in Suger's contributions to the treasury of Saint-Denis / William D. Wixom.

Suger, abbot of the French abbey of Saint-Denis, lived from 1081 to 1151. This book of essays about his life and achievements grew out of a symposium sponsored by the International Center of Medieval Art and by Columbia University ... For the symposium, twenty-three medieval scholars from all parts of the world, representing a wide range of humanistic disciplines, were brought together to discuss the varied nature of Suger's activities. Suger has been best known for his contributions as a patron of art and architecture ... As the essays in this volume devoted to Suger's political activities and historical writings demonstrate, he was, in addition to being a brilliantly innovative patron of architecture, an important architect of the French state. Only by bringing together differing humanistic perspectives on Suger and Saint-Denis has it been possible to achieve, for the first time, a fully rounded appreciation of a man who was, at the same time, a patron of the arts and literature, a politician who adroitly used his ecclesiastical position to enhance the growth and power of the monarchy, and a churchman consistently devoted to the promotion of the cult of Saint-Denis, the patron saint of his abbey and of France.