Light as a visual source domain for the divine in the 17th century painting

Scientific paper - Original scientific paper

• Title (croatian): Svjetlo kao vizualna izvorna domena za božansko u slikarstvu 17. stoljeća
• Author: Janja Čulig
• Author's institution: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; (Department of English language and literature)
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: HUMANISTIC SCIENCES; History of Art

Abstract (english)

The aim of this paper is to explain the motivation behind the creation of religious visual art in which light plays the role of the signifier of divine presence. We will endeavor to show that representations of light in paintings from a particular socio-cultural period and context are based on metaphorization. The meaning that arises from this metaphorization establishes a connection between depicted light and the basic conceptual metaphor KNOWING IS SEEING. Our aim is to show that the understanding of these kinds of representations by the viewer as the presence of the divine is based on the fundamental human capacity to conceptualize abstract notions through concrete ones. We propose that a visual representation of light would not be completely understandable if the viewer did not possess an inherent knowledge of basic conceptual metaphors of light. The visual material selected for this article comprises samples of 17th century religious paintings of the Western artistic tradition, in which light serves as the primary carrier of divine meaning and the central element of the composition. Our proposition is based on the conjoining of two disciplines into an interdisciplinary approach to analyzing paintings from the Baroque period. The selected theoretical framework includes Conceptual Metaphor Theory and the conceptualization of abstract notions (Lakoff & Johnson 1980; Gibbs 1994, 2008; Kövecses 2005; Forceville & Urios-Aparisi 2009; Sharifian 2011; Raffaelli 2012; Forceville 2017), as well as art-historical insights into the utilization of pictorial elements of light in the formal visual language of the Baroque (Haskell 1963; Lambert 2007; Toman 2007; Cvetnić 2007). The significance of this kind of research lies in the prospects of interdisciplinary approaches to concepts in general. This combination of scientific perspectives could enable us to approach the concept of light from a wider perspective, which could lead to a deeper understanding of the concept, its use in human communication, and its significance for the structuring of the knowledge of the world by an individual, but also by the wider socio-cultural collective to which they belong.

Abstract (croatian)

Cilj je ovoga rada ukazati na motivaciju iza likovne umjetnosti vjerske tematike u kojoj svjetlost igra ulogu označitelja božanske prisutnosti. Pokušat ćemo pokazati da se prikazi svjetlosti u slikama nastalima unutar specifičnoga društveno-kulturnoga vremena i konteksta temelje na metaforizaciji. Značenje koje proizlazi iz takve metaforizacije povezuje prikazanu svjetlost i temeljnu pojmovnu metaforu ZNATI JE VIDJETI. Ovaj rad pokazuje da promatrač može razumjeti ovakve prikaze svjetlosti kao božansku prisutnost zahvaljujući temeljnoj ljudskoj sposobnosti da apstraktne pojavnosti opojmljuje putem konkretnih. Predlažemo da ovakvi prikazi svjetlosti ne bi bili u potpunosti razumljivi promatraču kada ne bi posjedovao znanje o temeljnim pojmovnim metaforama svjetlosti. Vizualni materijal odabran za ovaj rad obuhvaća primjere vjerskih slika iz sedamnaestoga stoljeća nastale u zapadnoeuropskoj umjetničkoj tradiciji. U njima prikazana svjetlost služi kao temeljni nositelj značenja božanske prisutnosti te kao središnji element kompozicije. Rad se temelji na spajanju dviju znanstvenih disciplina u interdisciplinarni pristup analizi slikovnoga materijala nastaloga u vrijeme baroka. Odabrani teorijski okvir uključuje Teoriju pojmovne metafore i opojmljivanje apstraktnih pojavnosti (Lakoff i Johnson 1980; Gibbs 1994, 2008; Kövecses 2005; Forceville i Urios-Aparisi 2009; Sharifian 2011; Raffaelli 2012; Forceville 2017), te povijesno-umjetničke uvide u uporabu slikovnih elemenata svjetlosti u formalnome slikovnome jeziku baroka (Haskell 1963; Lambert 2007; Toman 2007; Cvetnić 2007). Značaj ovakvoga pristupa ogleda se u mogućnostima interdisciplinarnih istraživanja pojmova, a spajanje znanstveno-istraživačkih perspektiva moglo bi omogućiti nove uvide u pojam svjetlosti. Takvi novi uvidi mogli bi dovesti do dubljega razumijevanja samoga pojma svjetlosti, njegove uporabe u ljudskoj komunikaciji svih vrsta, te njegova značaja za gradbu znanja pojedinca unutar širokoga društveno-kulturnoga kolektiva kojemu pripada.

• Keywords (croatian): svjetlost; teorija pojmovne metafore; opojmljivanje; društveno-kulturni kontekst; znanje
• Keywords (english): light; conceptual metaphor theory; conceptualization; socio-cultural context; collective memory.
• Language: english
• Publication type: Scientific paper - Original scientific paper
• Publication status: Published
• Peer review: Peer review
• Publication version: Published version
• Journal title: Jezikoslovlje
• Numbering: vol. 20., no. 2., pp. 303-324
• p-ISSN: 1331-7202
• e-ISSN: 1848-9001
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.29162/jez.2019.11
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:131:781393
• Publication: 2019
• Document URL: https://hrcak.srce.hr/229449
• Type of resource: Text
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2020-01-21 09:59:11