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Topic Review
Laser-Induced Fluorescence Spectroscopy for Analysis of Cultural Goods
With the rapid scientific and technological changes that occur every day, a new kind of necessity, for real-time, rapid, and accurate detection methods, preferably also non- or minimally invasive and non-destructive, has emerged. One such method is laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIF), applied in various fields of activity, ranging from industry and biochemistry to medicine and even heritage sciences. Fluorescence-based spectroscopic methods have all of the above-mentioned characteristics, and their functionality has been proven in many studies.
  • 136
  • 14 Feb 2023
Topic Review
Paintings Generated by Text-to-Image System
Since the generative adversarial network (GAN) portrait painting titled “Edmond de Belamy” was constructed in 2018, AI art has already entered the public’s vision. One of the latest applications of AI is the generation of images based on natural language descriptions, which enhances the efficiency and effect of the transformation from creativity to visuality to a great extent. In the past, whether in traditional or digital painting creation, the author needed to be skilled in using tools and to have rich technical experience to accurately map the brain’s imagination to the visual layer. However, in co-creation with text-to-image AI generators, both artists and nonartists can input the text description to produce many high-quality images. During traditional painting creation, artists and nonartists in a painting task indicated quantitative and qualitative differences in some studies, such as artists spending more time on planning their painting, having more control over their creative processes, having more specific skills, and having more efficiency than nonartists. Whether such differences still exist in the new human–AI interaction mode and what new changes arise are worth discussing.
  • 168
  • 24 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Chimera (Mythology)
The Chimera (/kɪˈmɪərə/ or /kaɪˈmɪərə/, also Chimaera (Chimæra); Greek: Χίμαιρα, Chímaira "she-goat") was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of more than one animal. It is usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat arising from its back, and a tail that might end with a snake's head, and was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and a sibling of such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra. The term Chimera has come to describe any mythical or fictional animal with parts taken from various animals, or to describe anything composed of very disparate parts, or perceived as wildly imaginative, implausible, or dazzling. The sight of a Chimera was an omen for disaster.
  • 526
  • 16 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Authenticity in Art
Authenticity in art is the different ways in which a work of art or an artistic performance may be considered authentic. Denis Dutton distinguishes between nominal authenticity and expressive authenticity. The first refers to the correct identification of the author of a work of art, to how closely a performance of a play or piece of music conforms to the author's intention, or to how closely a work of art conforms to an artistic tradition. The second sense refers to how much the work possesses original or inherent authority, how much sincerity, genuineness of expression, and moral passion the artist or performer puts into the work. A quite different concern is the authenticity of the experience, which may be impossible to achieve. A modern visitor to a museum may not only see an object in a very different context from that which the artist intended, but may be unable to understand important aspects of the work. The authentic experience may be impossible to recapture. Authenticity is a requirement for inscription upon the UNESCO World Heritage List. According to the Nara Document on Authenticity, it can be expressed through 'form and design; materials and substance; use and function; traditions and techniques; location and setting; spirit and feeling; and other internal and external factors.'
  • 583
  • 09 Nov 2022
Topic Review
Australian Modernism
Australian Modernism, similar to European and American Modernism was a social, political and cultural movement that was a reaction to rampant Industrialisation, associated moral panic of modernity and the death and trauma of the World Wars. This movement was predominately a reaction of female artists towards the male dominated art style of naturalism. It is also important to note the presence of Indigenous Art during this time of modernity. Indigenous Modernism refers to the unique experience of modernity of Aboriginal people that is vastly different to the White Australians experience of Modernity. The mainstream movement began in Australia approximately in 1914 and continued until 1948. Throughout these years tensions continued between the conservative and the Avant-garde schools of thought. The years following the Second World War is when Australian Modernism gained notability in the art world of Australia. Nationalistic pastoral painting of the Australian landscape were superseded by abstracted, colourful distorted images of Modernist works. After the World Wars the dynamics of society in Australia and overseas changed dramatically causing increased acceptance and attraction towards Modernism. Social and political unrest continued due to the devastation of war and increased immigration occurred. This caused a subsequent amount of European artists to travel to Australia to live. This contributed to the introduction of further art styles to Australia such as Surrealism, social realism and expressionism. Additionally, continued technological progress in the later 20th century contributed to an increase in cubism and print making. The first Indigenous Modernist or Modern Artist is said to be the Artists Albert Namatjira. He created art that aligned with the styles and techniques of western Modernism in Australia and Europe. It was not until the 1960s and 1970s that scholars began to call Indigenous Art Modern as there was a distinction made between Modern and Contemporary art to traditional Indigenous art. However, it is argued that all types of Indigenous Art is Modernist as it is all an aesthetic expression of Indigenous experiences of modernity.
  • 207
  • 28 Sep 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
T’amar Bagrationi (1184–1210)
T’amar Bagrationi, Queen of Georgia (1184–1210). T’amar Bagrationi was the ninth monarch from the royal house of Bagrationis who ruled over the united Georgian Kingdom. She reigned as a co-monarch alongside her father, Giorgi III, from 1178, assuming full authority in 1184. During her reign, dynastic legitimacy necessitated the appearance of the monumental royal portraits displaying the monarch with immediate predecessors and heirs. T’amar’s gender required introduction of meticulous visual language that would re-gender her with all signs of a male ruler and justify her status and sole right to rule. This notion was embodied in her portraits that were carefully incorporated in the overall programmes of the churches. T’amar’s five monumental depictions survive where she is identified in inscriptions; two other monumental images are presumed to depict her. Of all the depictions, only one can be determined to have been commissioned directly by her. T’amar’s imagery relies on Byzantine elements and adheres to established Georgian models for the local royal portraiture; however, it also adopted sophisticated visual means that was aptly used for manifesting royal power and manipulating authority over the nobility. 
  • 401
  • 18 Aug 2022
Topic Review
The Modernity of Ancient Pigments
Naturally occurring and synthetic ancient pigments have a history of use spanning thousands of years. Curiously, some of their newly discovered properties make them excellent candidates for semiconductors, anticounterfeiting agents and so much more. 
  • 378
  • 21 Jul 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Louis XI of Valois (1461–1483)
Louis XI (1461–1483) was the sixth king of the Valois branch of the Capetian dynasty in France; he ruled from 1463 until his death in 1483. Louis was the son of Charles VII (1403–1461) and Marie of Anjou (1404–1463). While Dauphin, he married first Margaret of Scotland (1424–1445) and then Charlotte of Savoie (c.1441–1483), who bore him four surviving children: Anne de France, Jeanne de France, François de France, and the future Charles VIII. Louis’ key challenge as monarch was to pick up the pieces of a kingdom ravaged by the Hundred Years War between England and France (1337–1453). His legacy was to have repaired the kingdom’s depleted coffers through a combination of frugality and territorial expansion. His historiography paints him as a paranoid, manipulative, and obsessively pious ruler, a simplistic portrait that is undermined by a close examination of his artistic patronage. This entry will focus on the iconography he employed across a variety of media to promote the sacred legitimacy of his rule and to unify the peoples of France’s newly acquired territories. 
  • 1000
  • 07 Jun 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
Khosrow II (590–628 CE)
Khosrow II (r. 590–628 CE) was the last great Sasanian king who took the throne with the help of the Romans and broke with dynastic religious preferences as he became married to a Christian empress. It was under his rule that the Sasanian Empire reached its greatest expansion. From the standpoint of iconographic studies, Khosrow II is among the most influential Persian kings. Although he was literally occupied by rebels and wars within the borders of the Sasanian territories and beyond, Khosrow managed to create a powerful image of himself that emphasized the legitimacy of his monarchy. Indeed, Khosrow Parviz (the Victorious) drew upon royal iconography as a propaganda tool on a wide range of materials such as rock and stucco reliefs, coins, seals, and metal plates. His image (created both visually and verbally) not only revived the traditional iconography of the Persian kings but also evolved it in a way that transcended his time and was passed on to the early Islamic Caliphates after him. Khosrow II imitated and manipulated the traditional royal iconography of his predecessors in order to display his legitimacy, piety, and valor. 
  • 899
  • 17 May 2022
Topic Review Peer Reviewed
William II of Hauteville (1171-1189)
William II of Hauteville King of Sicily (1171–1189). William II of Hauteville was the third king of the Norman dynasty on the throne of Sicily. He ruled independently from 1171 (from 1166 to 1171 he was under the regency of his mother) to 1189. From an iconographic point of view, he is particularly interesting because he was the first king of Sicily who made use of monumental images of himself. In particular, we have five official (namely, commissioned directly by him or his entourage) representations of him: the royal bull, the royal seal, and three images from the Cathedral of Monreale (near Palermo): two mosaic panels and one carved capital.
  • 634
  • 18 Apr 2022
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