Eugen_ia. Oder: Im Netz der Ähnlichkeiten : Über Formen des visuellen Othering im 12. Jahrhundert

Twelfth-century Christian art did not rely on exclusive physical features to visually distinguish Jews, Muslims, Africans, or heretics. Instead, representations from this period shared ambiguous physiognomic and iconographic traits among 'others,' challenging the notion that discriminatory visual codes were fully developed. This ambiguity suggests a semiotic practice where rigid exclusion and enemy construction did not depend on formalized physical distinctions. The study examines these principles through an analysis of Eugenia of Alexandria's depiction on a nave capital in Vézelay's abbey church, which blends male and female characteristics. By tracing the interplay between meaning production and visual representation, the research offers insight into how 'otherness' was constructed in 12th-century art without relying solely on denotative physical markers.

Büttner, S. (2013). Eugen_ia. Oder: Im Netz der Ähnlichkeiten : Über Formen des visuellen Othering im 12. Jahrhundert. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. https://doi.org/10.25595/2071