Lecture: Murray Seminar at Birkbeck: ‘Not Quite 3D: Representing Architecture in the Early Middle Ages’ with Karl Kinsella (Wed 20 March 2024, 5pm-6.30pm GMT)

In this lecture, Dr Karl Kinsella relates how, in 1971 in Bordeaux, a mosaic showing a plan and elevation was uncovered during a flurry of archaeological excavation. The mosaic was likely made in the fifth century and shows the Holy Sepulchre’s rotunda and basilica in stark black tiles set against plain white plaster. We are left with the impression of a diagram writ large (2m in height). The early date of the mosaic is surprising, and suggests that diagrams of the Holy Sepulchre were transmitted around Europe not long after the buildings were completed in the fourth century. This talk considers what the mosaic can tell us about the early development of architectural representation and the strategies needed to understand the complex figures they present to the modern reader. These strategies can offer insights into the evolution of architectural representation over the course of the early Middle Ages.

In-person and live-streamed versions are posted separately on Eventbrite. Please book for one only.

Eventbrite link to Karl Kinsella’s Murray Seminar at Birkbeck

Eventbrite link to LIVESTREAM of Karl Kinsella’s Murray Seminar at Birkbeck