Conference paper

Cohen, Adam S.:

Ottonian and Carolingian Art: Modern and Medieval Perspectives

A consideration of the relationship of Ottonian to Carolingian art has long been a staple of art historical scholarship. Henry Mayr-Harting, for instance, began his two-volume study of Ottonian book illumination with a comparison between the Gero Codex and the Lorsch Gospels. That the Old Testament scenes of Bernward's great bronze doors were derived from a Touronian Bible is well known, as is the iconographic and stylistic impact of the Codex Aureus on Regensburg manuscript illumination. This paper investigates the meaning of Carolingian art among different segments of Ottonian society to assess the extent to which copying (and/or responding to it) was an act of authentication. It also explores the history and meaning of modern scholarly interest in the question of originals, copies, and authenticity in the relationship of Ottonian to Carolingian art.