Art criticism and cultural studies. About the works of I.E. Danilova

Abstract

An old article by L.M. Batkin, with some abridgements, is proposed here as memorial material dedicated to I.E. Danilova, despite the fact that it has already been published. This choice is not accidental. We extract from the article text that relates to one of the most informative of I.E. Danilova’s books, where her main essays concerning the art of the eastern and western Middle Ages, as well as the Renaissance, are concentrated. I.E. Danilova was consistent in studying the art of exactly the late Middle Ages, the last heyday of that artistic culture, on the border of the Middle Ages and the New Age, both in the West and in the East. Her oeuvre in the field was independent and largely innovative. L.M. Batkin commented on precisely those issues of her book. In addition, he put important emphasis on the culturological aspect of the oeuvre of I.E. Danilova, who did not work as a narrowly oriented art historian. Finally, this article is important as memorial material relating not only to I.E. Danilova herself, but also to the creative cooperation and friendship of two researchers who collaborated at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities until their death.