For Immediate Release
February 22, 2021

CLARK ART INSTITUTE Research and Academic Program Fellow PRESENTs LECTURE on The mandylion, a Medieval Christian Artwork 

Williamstown, Massachusetts—On Friday, February 26, Beinecke Fellow and professor at Syracuse University Glenn Peers presents a talk through the Clark’s Research and Academic Program’s lecture series on “The Mandylion’s Marital and Martial Message Machines.” The pre-recorded lecture will be available on the Clark website from February 26 through June 15.

Byzantine precursor to the Veronica, the Mandylion was believed to be a self-portrait made by Jesus and sent to Abgar, King of Edessa, with the apostle Thaddaeus. This talk focuses on the tenth century, when the Mandylion was a symbol of earthly and divine power within the new Christian dispensation. The Mandylion was viewed as a wedding veil, battle mask, weapon of mass destruction, king maker, and more.

Glenn Peers is professor in the Department of Art and Music Histories at Syracuse University and emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin. He has been a fellow at the Hebrew University Institute for Advanced Study in Jerusalem, a Whitehead Professor at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and a member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton. His publications include Orthodox Magic in Trebizond and Beyond: A Fourteenth-Century Greco-Arabic Amulet Roll and Byzantine Things in the World, which accompanied an exhibition he guest-curated at the Menil Collection, Houston. During his fellowship at the Clark, Peers is working on a study of the post-human and media theory in Byzantine culture.

Visit clarkart.edu/Research-Academic/RAP-Events to view this lecture. 

ABOUT THE CLARK

The Clark Art Institute, located in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, is one of a small number of institutions globally that is both an art museum and a center for research, critical discussion, and higher education in the visual arts. Opened in 1955, the Clark houses exceptional European and American paintings and sculpture, extensive collections of master prints and drawings, English silver, and early photography. Acting as convener through its Research and Academic Program, the Clark gathers an international community of scholars to participate in a lively program of conferences, colloquia, and workshops on topics of vital importance to the visual arts. The Clark library, consisting of more than 275,000 volumes, is one of the nation’s premier art history libraries. The Clark also houses and co-sponsors the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art.  

The Clark, which has a three-star rating in the Michelin Green Guide, is located at 225 South Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Its 140-acre campus includes miles of hiking and walking trails through woodlands and meadows, providing an exceptional experience of art in nature. Galleries are open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm. Admission is $20; free year-round for Clark members, children 18 and younger, and students with valid ID. Free admission is available through several programs, including First Sundays Free; a local library pass program; and EBT Card to Culture. For more information on these programs and more, visit clarkart.edu or call 413 458 2303.  

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