For those within the fields of art history and Byzantine studies, Professor Henry Maguire needs no introduction. His publications transformed the way art historians approach medieval art through his insightful integration of rhetoric, poetry and non-canonical objects into the study of Byzantine art. His ground-breaking studies of Byzantine art that consider the natural world, magic and imperial imagery, among other themes, have redefined the ways medieval art is interpreted. From notable monuments to small-scale and privately used objects, Maguire’s work has guided a generation of scholars to new conclusions about the place of art and its function in Byzantium. In this volume, 23 of Henry Maguire’s colleagues and friends have contributed papers in his honour, resulting in studies that reflect the broad range of his scholarly interests.

Andrea Olsen Lam teaches art history for Pepperdine University’s campus in Washington, DC. Her current project on the Visitation demonstrates the heretofore overlooked significance of the Virgin Mary’s pregnancy in Byzantine art and ritual. Her other research interests include early medieval art that reflects Jewish–Christian–Muslim interactions and the history of iconoclasms.

Rossitza Schroeder is Associate Professor of art history at St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Yonkers, NY. Her primary field of research is Byzantine art. Her current project sheds light on the interactions between Byzantine monastic practice and visual representations. She is also writing on Byzantine–Ottoman–Venetian relations as manifested in Gentile Bellini’s 1480 portrait of Sultan Mehmed II.