Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

The representation of orthodox icons in the poetry of ingemar leckius

Stenström, Johan LU (2002) International Conference on Cultural Functions of Interart Poetics and Practice, 2002 62. p.203-214
Abstract
The aim of this study is to demonstrate how the cultural functions of a sacred motif have changed over the years by means of intermedial transformation. The object of study is an ekphrastic poem, "Theotokos", by the Swedish poet Ingemar Leckius. A couple of medieval Orthodox icon paintings - The Vladimir Madonna and The Virgin of the Sign - have served as sources of inspiration for the poet. A mythical or historical event was interpreted by the apostolic fathers, then reinterpreted by the anonymous icon painters, and eventually transformed into a modernist poem. The aesthetic perspective applied by the modem poet to the icon as to other works of art is far removed from the perspective of the icon painter in the Middle Ages and the... (More)
The aim of this study is to demonstrate how the cultural functions of a sacred motif have changed over the years by means of intermedial transformation. The object of study is an ekphrastic poem, "Theotokos", by the Swedish poet Ingemar Leckius. A couple of medieval Orthodox icon paintings - The Vladimir Madonna and The Virgin of the Sign - have served as sources of inspiration for the poet. A mythical or historical event was interpreted by the apostolic fathers, then reinterpreted by the anonymous icon painters, and eventually transformed into a modernist poem. The aesthetic perspective applied by the modem poet to the icon as to other works of art is far removed from the perspective of the icon painter in the Middle Ages and the apostolic fathers of the early Church. For them, the function was merely religious. Poetry today is created, distributed, read, and evaluated within a secular system where emphasis is put on the aesthetic rather than on the religious functions. In spite of these differences in emphasis, "Theotokos" conveys a deep religious emotion which still seems to be its basic cultural function. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
host publication
Cultural functions of intermedial exploration
volume
62
pages
203 - 214
publisher
Rodopi
conference name
International Conference on Cultural Functions of Interart Poetics and Practice, 2002
conference location
Lund, Sweden
conference dates
2002-05-12 - 2002-05-14
external identifiers
  • wos:000188969000015
  • scopus:79954857004
ISSN
0929-6999
ISBN
9789042014305
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
670d7aab-0fcd-4f2f-bb86-0e4c5793812f (old id 1406597)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:06:03
date last changed
2023-12-25 04:28:46
@inproceedings{670d7aab-0fcd-4f2f-bb86-0e4c5793812f,
  abstract     = {{The aim of this study is to demonstrate how the cultural functions of a sacred motif have changed over the years by means of intermedial transformation. The object of study is an ekphrastic poem, "Theotokos", by the Swedish poet Ingemar Leckius. A couple of medieval Orthodox icon paintings - The Vladimir Madonna and The Virgin of the Sign - have served as sources of inspiration for the poet. A mythical or historical event was interpreted by the apostolic fathers, then reinterpreted by the anonymous icon painters, and eventually transformed into a modernist poem. The aesthetic perspective applied by the modem poet to the icon as to other works of art is far removed from the perspective of the icon painter in the Middle Ages and the apostolic fathers of the early Church. For them, the function was merely religious. Poetry today is created, distributed, read, and evaluated within a secular system where emphasis is put on the aesthetic rather than on the religious functions. In spite of these differences in emphasis, "Theotokos" conveys a deep religious emotion which still seems to be its basic cultural function.}},
  author       = {{Stenström, Johan}},
  booktitle    = {{Cultural functions of intermedial exploration}},
  isbn         = {{9789042014305}},
  issn         = {{0929-6999}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{203--214}},
  publisher    = {{Rodopi}},
  title        = {{The representation of orthodox icons in the poetry of ingemar leckius}},
  volume       = {{62}},
  year         = {{2002}},
}