How can a film based on the life of a world-famous icon painter about whom virtually nothing is known be of use to students studying the history and culture of medieval Russia? In this lecture, Michael Flier will demonstrate how the director, Andrei Tarkovsky, uses the presence of different characters and contexts to generate parallel but distinct interpretations of one and the same episode.

Presented with support from the Departments of History, Slavic Languages and Literatures, Judaic Studies, and the Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies