Russian Icons

[Matthew Herrington]

Prof. Laferriere,

I would like to express my interest in joining your Russian Icon panel at
next year's AAASS conference.  The topic I have been working on is the
evolution of the narrative cycles on East Slavic vita icons of St. Nicholas.
Specifically, I address the initial reliance of the cycles on Byzantine
models and the subsequent growth of highly original cycles originating in
Carpathian icons and spreading throughout Rus'.

I am currently a senior at Florida State University majoring in Slavic
Languages and Art History.  I have discussed the idea of presenting this
paper with my advisor Dr. Robert Romanchuk and he has expressed concern that
my paper may "stick out". Your interest in psychoanalysis may set the tone of
the panel, in which case a medievalist/technical analysis might not be most
appropriate.  However, if the goal is to present a broad spectrum of
approaches this may not so problematic.

I would like to ease any concerns you may have regarding my undergraduate
status.  To date, I have taken graduate seminars in Romanesque Sculpture, St.
Denis Cathedral and Early Medieval Devotional Art.  I presented two papers at
a regional conference (Southeastern Medieval Association) this past
September: "Reading Images in De Laudibus Sanctae Crucis" and "Baroque
Woodcuts in the Printed Paterik of the Kievan Caves Monastery: Medieval
Narratives and their Modern Reception."  Both were well recieved.  I am
hoping to enter a graduate program in Slavic languages to pursue a Ph.D.  I
intend to specialize in medieval Slavic philology.

Dr. Romanchuk did not make any suggestion that he contact you first, but if
you would like to speak to him he can be reached at rromanch at sas.upenn.edu
(he is a visiting prof. at UPenn this year on a Penn-Mellon Fellowship).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Matthew Herrington


================

Anybody can make history;
only a great man can write it.
                               -Oscar Wilde

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