ABSTRACT
In the seventh century Armenia formed a frontier zone between Byzantium, Persia, and the emerging Arab caliphate. At this time, the region saw the construction of over two dozen domed churches bearing programs of relief sculpture and epigraphy. Between 1913 and 1918 the scholar Josef Strzygowski (1862-1941) visited Armenia and published a near-900-page volume championing the region as the cradle of medieval art. Strzygowski’s text, and the early churches described in its pages, were both born during periods of imperial confrontation in the Caucasus. Both the text and the churches challenge notions of center and periphery and speak directly to problems of frontier existence: the reality of military violence, the urgency of diplomacy and protocol, and the risks of trespassing.1 Exploring these two historical moments, this chapter will note key changes in the conceptual framework of the field of Armenian architecture and sculpture since the early twentieth century. Why does the visual culture of the Caucasus, and more specifically Armenia, stand outside the traditional contours of medieval art history? The conclusion will consider how an alternate narrative integrating Armenia might look and what problems hold back its writing.
