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Introduction: Contemporary Encounters with the "Medieval Face"

first fifty years of service to the art history and culture of the Middle Ages. Its publication has been made possible through the generosity and support of the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foun dation and the Audrey Love Charitable Foundation. The celebration of the ICMA's fiftieth anniversary began with the publication of Gesta, 45/2 (2006), a special issue comprising twelve articles written by former editors of the journal. Those studies range from chronicles of Gesta's history to articles that approach objects and research ques tions in contemporary medieval art history from a variety of perspectives. The celebration continued with two signature events organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art: first, the exhibition Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture (26 September 2006-18 October 2007), curated by former ICMA president Charles Little, and the publication of the accompanying catalogue.1 This was intended to act as a window to larger questions about the representation and meaning of the face in the Middle Ages. It was followed by a colloquium entitled "Facing the Middle Ages: A Symposium in Honor of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the International Center of Medieval Art," held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 14-15 October 2006. This aimed to elicit novel ways of viewing problems of representation, presentation, and mean ing of the face and was a vehicle by which scholars could re flect and build on the themes of the exhibition.