Curtains. Between the Human Gaze and the Mystery of Faith

Dr. Corinna Mairhanser (Scientific Assistant in Late Antiquity and Byzantine Art History, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich) will give a lecture entitled “Curtains. Between the Human Gaze and the Mystery of Faith” on Friday, January 30, 2026, starting at 12:00 pm at the Institute of Art History (room 235).

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From late antiquity through the Byzantine Empire to the present day, the curtain has been – and continues to be – a central yet often overlooked medium. Departing from the question of how seeing and perception are shaped and regulated, this paper examines how practices of concealment and revelation structure knowledge, behaviour, and identity. A case study of late antique church interiors offers insight into a veiled visual world in which curtains function as performative thresholds. By regulating visibility, staging the invisible, and producing moments of mystery, they actively generate meaning and contribute to the legitimisation of religious authority. These strategies of visual control are deeply embedded and enduring. The curtain emerges as a key device of staging and a potent symbol of the tension between knowledge and mystery, visibility and power, offering a lens through which the ways of directing and influencing the gaze can be understood.

Research study stay of Dr. Corinna Mairhanser at the Institute of Art History from 13th January till 3rd February 2025 is realized within the framework of the project Art and Architecture of Urban Settings in Croatia, that is supported by European Union – NextGenerationEU.

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Cover ilustration: Bibbia di San Paolo fuori le Mura, Rome, fol. 32v, AD 870