The Gaze from Above

When gazing into the vast expanse of 'the universe', humankind
experiences the universal desire to fathom the mystery of its creation.
We utilize our unique ability to express ourselves through artistic
means to make this mystery tangible, transmuting the secrets of the
cosmos into stunning objects and ingenious symbols. Through a deep
engagement with recent iconological methods the author travels up and
down a methodological Jacob's ladder, between the artist's gazes from
the earth to the sky. The reader is treated to studies on a wide variety
of objects and mediums, ranging from the embroidery of Girone, the
Hereford mappa mundi to the genesis cycle in the Saint Mark's
Basilica in Venice. The author reconsiders the iconic gaze of van Eyck's
lamb and enters Danae's uncanny, voyeuristic space in the painting by
Jan Gossaert. Meanwhile, she allows other thinkers to explore these
questions alongside her. She turns to Erwin Panofsky, who writes about
his fascination with Galileo Galilei's telescope, and finally Lars von
Trier and his movie Melancholia gets to call it Schluss.












All the artworks in this captivating book contribute to unravel the
largest mystery that surrounds us: the cosmos. The image blooms into the
countenance of that majestic, astonishing black pupil above us. Or as
Aby Warburg once wrote: "Contemplation of the sky is the grace and the
curse of humanity."