Exhibition Closing: Zoom on van Eyck: Masterpieces in Detail, Staatliche Museen du Berlin, Ends 03 Mar. 2024

Exhibition Closing

Zoom on van Eyck: Masterpieces in Detail

Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen du Berlin, Germany

20 October 2023 to 03 March 2024

Jan van Eyck, Die Madonna in der Kirche, um 1437/40, Detail © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie / Christoph Schmidt https://www.smb.museum/en/exhibitions/detail/zoom-on-van-eyck/

No other painter in the history of European art was able to convey the details of the visible world with the same level of brilliance and precision as the founder of early Netherlandish painting, Jan van Eyck (ca. 1390/1400–1441). Now, an interactive digital projection at Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie makes it possible to delve into the most minute aspects of his masterpieces. The exhibition also presents original works by van Eyck from the Gemäldegalerie’s own holdings, shedding light on the technological investigation and restoration work carried out on some of his paintings. 

An Interactive Projection

The exhibition in the central hall of the Gemäldegalerie revolves around a number of digital projections of the works of Jan van Eyck that were developed by Bozar – Centre for Fine Arts and the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) in Brussels. The projection allows visitors to interactively “zoom in” from the overall view of the paintings onto the smallest details, choosing which sections to focus in on. The wall-sized enlargements reveal minute details of the works in high resolution. Details such as eyes, mouths or hands can be compared with one another, allowing audiences to follow intricate aspects in the paintings, from the tiny hairs or pupils of the figures through to the brushstrokes of the master. 

The projections are generated from the extremely high-resolution photographs of the 33 preserved paintings by van Eyck and by his immediate successors, which were produced as part of the project Van Eyck Research in OpeN Access (VERONA), which was carried out by the KIK-IRPA between 2014 and 2020. Twenty of these works, which are considered to have been made by van Eyck himself, were included in this interactive presentation.

The Berlin Collection of Originals by van Eyck

Alongside this display, the Gemäldegalerie is showing its collection of paintings by Jan van Eyck and his circle. With three undisputed panel paintings made by the hand of the master, two paintings that at least originate from van Eyck’s studio, and four early copies, the Gemäldegalerie is home to an unusually rich collection of works by Jan van Eyck. The interplay of the high-resolution projections with the original paintings generates a new kind of fascination with his brilliant paintings and their impressive wealth of detail.

The Restoration of the Berlin Paintings

A third section of the exhibition sheds light on the technological investigations and restoration work carried out on three of the van Eycks at the Gemäldegalerie. The systematic technological investigations of the works commenced in 2015 as part of the production of a scholarly catalogue of the Gemäldegalerie’s collection of Flemish and French painting of the 15th century. This catalogue, which provides comprehensive access to Berlin’s outstanding collection of early paintings by van Eyck for the very first time, was compiled by art historians and paintings conservators as part of an interdisciplinary collaboration. The publication date is slated for late 2023 or early 2024.

The conservation work carried out on paintings by van Eyck in recent years was concentrated on a panel painting depicting the crucifixion of Christ from the studio of the master as well as two major works from the collection of the Gemäldegalerie: the portrait of Badouin de Lannoy and that of a young man in a red chaperon, presumed to depict Giovanni Arnolfini. This work involved removing heavily discoloured finishes and sections of overpainting that had been applied over the years. With this work, the paintings have regained much of their original colour and vibrancy.

Curatorial Team

Zoom on Van Eyck: Masterpieces in Detail is curated by Stephan Kemperdick, curator for pre-1600 German, Dutch and French painting, and Sandra Stelzig, a conservator at the Gemäldegalerie.

The interactive installation Facing Van Eyck. The Miracle of Detail has been curated by Bart Fransen (KIK-IRPA). It was conceived in 2020 by Bozar-Centre for Fine Arts Brussels and KIK-IRPA, in collaboration with Hovertone.

A special exhibition of the Gemäldegalerie – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

For more information, https://www.smb.museum/en/exhibitions/detail/zoom-on-van-eyck/

Call for Papers: “What Lies Beneath”, The Southern African Society for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Conference 2023, STELLENBOSCH, SOUTH AFRICA, Due By 29 Feb. 2024 (Extended Deadline)

Call for Papers

The Southern African Society for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (SASMARS) Conference 2024

“What Lies Beneath”

Mont Fleur Conference Venue, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 1-4 August 2024

Extended Deadline: Due By 29 February 2024

We are pleased to announce that the 26th Biennial SASMARS Conference will be held from 1 to 4 August 2024 at the Mont Fleur Conference Venue in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Papers may cover any time period within the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and deal with any area of interest or discipline that could be relevant to the topic “What Lies Beneath”.

IDEAS TO CONSIDER COULD INCLUDE, BUT NEED NOT BE LIMITED TO:

• Beneath the heavens

• Beneath the earth

• Beneath the waves

• Beneath the skin

• Beneath the belt

• Beneath the story

• Beneath the language

• Beneath perceptions and emotions

• Underworlds and Otherworlds

• Invisible worlds

We are delighted to have as plenary speaker Prof. Andrew Breeze of the University of Navarra, Spain.

PROPOSALS:

Proposals should consist of a title and abstract of up to 250 words, as well as the author’s name, affiliation, contact details, and a biography of no more than 100 words. Papers should be no longer than 20 minutes when read and will be followed by Q and A.

DEADLINE:

Please submit proposals to Carin Marais (marais.carin@gmail.com) by 29 February 2024. Any enquiries can be sent to the same email address.

Please note that the conference will be held in person and that conference fees include accommodation at Mont Fleur for three nights, all main meals and mid-morning and mid-afternoon tea. A shuttle service will be available for transport between Cape Town International Airport and Mont Fleur at a small fee.

For more information, https://sasmars.wordpress.com/sasmars-conference-2024/

Call for Papers: Byzantium within its margins: Centres, Peripheries and Outlines, Paris (4-5 Oct. 2024), Due By 31 Mar. 2024

Call for Papers

XVe Rencontres internationales des jeunes byzantinistes

Byzance en ses marges : centres, périphéries, contours

Byzantium within its margins: Centres, Peripheries and Outlines

Paris 4-5 October 2024

Abstracts Due By 31 March 2024

La montagne, la croix, les bourreaux : tout, dans la célèbre miniature du Psautier Khludov, nous transporte “au-dehors”. Aux portes de la ville, à la lisière de la société, la Crucifixion évoque encore, au souvenir des iconoclastes, les contours mouvants du dogme chrétien. De cette remarquable mise en abyme où l’image, depuis les marges auxquelles elle semble reléguée, surplombe le texte pour en mieux tempérer l’ascendant, émane pourtant une vague confusion : lequel, de l’écrit ou de l’enluminure, se tient au centre de la page – s’il en est un ?

Des marges du psautier à celles de Byzance, il n’y a qu’un pas. Microcosme par excellence, le livre illustré nous invite à étendre, à l’échelle d’un monde, cette notion ambivalente.  À l’image du tracé mouvant des frontières, la tension qui se noue entre le texte et la miniature affleure, sous de multiples aspects, à travers la carte : entre la capitale et les provinces, l’empire et ses vassaux, le prince chrétien et ses voisins.

Telles régions limitrophes s’affirment, avec le temps, comme des centres incontestables du pouvoir – la Serbie et la Bulgarie, l’Épire et Trébizonde : et voici Byzance devenue marge. Telles autres, plus éloignées de Constantinople – culturellement, spirituellement –, maintiennent avec elle des liens ténus pour mieux se définir : ainsi de l’Arménie, de la Sicile, de la Rus’ de Kiev et même de l’Éthiopie, autant d’autres Byzance(s) en-dehors de Byzance.

En réduisant à l’espace urbain les enjeux territoriaux de l’empire, en les transposant aussi à l’espace ecclésial, le même paradigme nous incite à en déceler les axes et les seuils. Les murs de la ville et ses édifices, l’architecture et le décor des églises, les lieux de pèlerinage et les nécropoles élaborent et refondent, constamment, la notion de liminalité.

Le Christ supplicié, de même que l’iconoclaste sacrilège, esquisse la norme sociale : l’hérésie, comme le calvaire, retranche, exclut, marginalise. Mais les franges de la société byzantine, qui dépassent de loin les projections modernes, façonnent une mosaïque nuancée dont bien des composantes, souvent négligées – femmes, criminels, ascètes –, nous engagent à repenser la cohérence.

Moines et monastères revendiquent leur marginalité autant qu’ils l’idéalisent : tant leur implantation, aux abords ou en plein cœur de la ville, que la reconnaissance sociale dont ils jouissent, semblent contredire la réclusion à laquelle ils prétendent. L’exil lui-même, souvent amer, maintient plus que jamais son objet au centre des égards : éloigné, on le surveille ; il écrit, revient parfois.

Penser Byzance, enfin, exige la distance et le décentrement du regard étranger. Chroniqueurs arméniens, latins et syriaques, émissaires arabes et mongols ont porté sur l’empire, sa culture et ses rites, un œil attentif, parfois acéré, que les historiens ne sauraient mésestimer. Notre discipline elle-même n’y échappe en rien : ultime soubresaut du monde gréco-romain, interminable Bas-Empire ou prélude à la Turquie ottomane, l’histoire byzantine fut, elle aussi, longtemps perçue comme marginale – l’une de ces inévitables transitions indispensables à la chronologie.

Les centres, les normes, les limites : tout restait alors à définir à qui voulait que la culture byzantine devînt enfin l’objet d’une étude autonome. Aujourd’hui, la délicate tension entre le centre du monde et les marges de l’empire témoigne des avancées de la recherche comme des écueils auxquels elle est confrontée. Telle est l’ambition des XVe Rencontres internationales des étudiants du monde byzantin : aborder Byzance en ses marges, depuis ses marges, en tant que marge.

Les communications pourront s’inscrire dans les thématiques suivantes :

– marges territoriales, frontières et espaces de transition
– peuplement des marges et déplacements de populations
– place des femmes, des enfants, des esclaves, des individus en dehors des normes de genre
– maladies, infirmités, handicaps, mort
– controverses religieuses, hérésies, excommunications et anathèmes
– institutions monastiques
– manifestations de la marginalité : costume, pratiques alimentaires
– Byzance vue de l’extérieur

Les interventions, d’une durée de vingt minutes, pourront être données en français ou en anglais. Les propositions de communications (250 à 300 mots), ainsi qu’une brève biographie incluant l’institution de rattachement, le niveau d’études actuel (master, doctorat, post-doctorat) et le sujet de recherche, devront être envoyées à l’adresse aemb.paris@gmail.com, au plus tard le 31 mars 2024.

Les Rencontres se tiendront en présentiel, à Paris, les 4 et 5 octobre 2024. La prise en charge des frais de transports par l’AEMB est envisageable pour les candidates et candidats ne pouvant obtenir de financement de la part de leur institution d’origine. Les candidates et candidats retenu.es devront adhérer à l’AEMB.

Pour plus d'informations: http://www.aembyzantin.com/xve-edition-4-5-octobre-2024/

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A mountain, a cross, an executioner: everything in the well-known miniature of the Chludov Psalter carries us “outside”. At the gates of the city and on the margins of society, the Crucifixion also recalls, through the memory of Iconoclasm, the shifting outlines of Christian dogma. From the margin where it is seemingly relegated, the image overlooks the text to better mitigate its authority. Yet, in this remarkable mise en abyme, a sense of confusion remains: which of the written word or the image holds centre stage – if there is any?

There is but one step from the margins of the psalter to those of Byzantium. As a quintessential microcosm, the illuminated manuscript invites us to extend this ambivalent notion to the scale of a world. Like the shifting lines of a border, the tension emerging between the text and the miniature likewise surfaces in varied ways across the map: between the capital and its provinces, the Empire and its vassals, the Christian prince and his neighbours.

Thus, some borderlands emerge over time as centres of power in their own right – Serbia and Bulgaria, Epirus and Trebizond – occasionally turning Byzantium itself into a margin. Others, further removed from Constantinople geographically, culturally or spiritually – nevertheless maintain subtle ties with it to better define their own identity, such as Armenia, Sicily, Rus’ and even Ethiopia – all in a way Byzantium(s) beyond Byzantium.

By scaling down the territorial questions of the Empire to urban space, or transposing them onto the space of the church, the same paradigm invites us to retrace their axes and thresholds. City walls and structures, church architecture and decoration, pilgrimage sites and necropoleis constantly reshape and redefine the notion of liminality.

Both the Torture of Christ and the sacrilege of iconoclasm suggest a social norm: heresy, like Calvary, excludes, cuts off and marginalises. Yet the fringes of Byzantine society, which go far beyond contemporary projections, compose a nuanced mosaic whose many elements, often overshadowed – women, criminals, ascetics –, call upon us to rethink the cohesion of the whole.

Monks and monasteries proclaim their marginal status as much as they idealise it: both their location, on the fringes if not within the heart of the city, as well as the social recognition they receive seemingly contradict the reclusion they claim to seek. Exile itself, though bitter, keeps its object surely within the line of sight: the exile is watched when far away, writes back and sometimes returns.

To consider Byzantium, lastly, requires the distant and decentred gaze of foreign eyes. Armenian, Latin and Syriac chroniclers, Arab and Mongol emissaries turned a careful, sometimes cruel eye on the Empire, its culture and rites, which historians would be wrong to ignore. The discipline of Byzantine history itself has long been relegated to the margins of the field, as a necessary but uninteresting transition, with Byzantium variously held as the last jolt of the Greco Roman world, the exhaustingly long final breath of the Late Roman Empire or the prelude to Ottoman Turkey.

Centres, norms, limits: everything remained to be done for the partisans of an autonomous study of Byzantine culture. Today, the delicate tension between the centre of the world and the margins of the Empire reflects both the advances and the pitfalls faced by academic inquiry. Such are the aims of the XVth Rencontres : to consider Byzantium within its margins, from its margins and as a margin.

Papers may concern the following themes:
• Territorial margins, borders and spaces of transition
• Settlement of margins and population transfers
• The situation of women, children and slaves
• Definitions and transgressions of gender norms
• Disease, disability, infirmity and death
• Religious controversies, heresy, excommunication and anathema
• Monastic communities
• Visible forms of marginality such as dress and foodways
• Byzantium as a margin

Papers, with an expected duration of 20 minutes, may be presented in French or English. Proposals for presentations (250-300 words), as well as a brief biography including the candidate’s affiliation, their current level of study (master, doctoral, post-doctoral) and their area of study should be sent to aemb.paris@gmail.com by March 31, 2024, at the latest.

The conference will be held in-person in Paris on October 4-5, 2024. Participants’ travel costs may be covered by the association if they are unable to receive funding from their institutions. Selected candidates will be asked to register as members of the association.

For more information: http://www.aembyzantin.com/xve-edition-4-5-octobre-2024/

CALL FOR PAPERS: Thinking the "other" from the Historical Perspective, Interdisciplinary Graduate Workshop for Ph.D. Students and Early Career Researchers, Prague (2-3 Sept. 2024), Due 16 Mar. 2024

CALL FOR PAPERS

Interdisciplinary Graduate Workshop for Ph.D. Students and Early Career Researchers

Thinking the "other" from the Historical Perspective

Charles University, Faculty of Humanities, Prague, Czech Republic

2-3 September 2024

Abstracts Due 16 March 2024

The act of conceptualizing and delineating the notion of "the other" assumes a central role in the intricate process of constructing individual and collective identities. This process which encompasses various dimensions such as culture, religion, and ethnicity, establishes the demarcations that define the boundaries of "the self." Consequently, comprehending the cognitive frameworks employed in the perception of 'the other(s)' becomes indispensable for elucidating the intricate fabric of interactions that occur among individuals, groups, societies, and civilizations, in different historical epochs. This thematic inquiry holds enduring pertinence within the purview of history and related fields, and its application contributes significantly to the interpretation of a wide array of social and historical phenomena. While the abstracts can explore topics from the list below, they are not constrained to these choices:

• The opposition "Barbarism" vs. "Civilization" in History

• Religious minorities in the Middle Ages and Modernity

• History of slavery

• Representation of women and LGBTIQ+ in History

• History of madness, illness, and prisoners

• Migrants in Europe during the 20th century

• Law and otherness from a historical perspective

• Identity construction in historical discourse

• Transformation of the "other" in contentious politics

• Creation of the nation-state and otherness

• Approaching the "other" in education and pedagogy

• Representing the "other" and the self in literary texts

To facilitate a broad and inclusive participation, the organizing committee openly issues a call for papers. This conference aims to bring together Ph.D. students and early career researchers from Charles University as well as from the international scientific community to explore the concept of "the other" from a historical and multidisciplinary perspective. Besides history, this exploration will encompass fields such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, law, etc. The main goals of the workshop are to have productive discussions and conversations about this main topic, as well as to build strong academic connections that may result in future collaborations. It is important to note that the workshop will be in person and conducted in English,

The submission deadline for abstracts (300 words) and one-page CV is set for March 16, 2024.

Subsequently, the submitted abstracts will be diligently assessed, and within one month, the authors will be duly notified of the acceptance or rejection of their proposals. Each participant will have 20 minutes for their presentation and at the end of the presentation there will be a space for questions and answers. Additionally, the event could feature academic experts in the field serving as keynote speakers. The event will take place at Charles University, nonetheless, neither the organizing committee nor the hosting institution will be responsible for covering the financial obligations, such as travel, accommodation, and other related expenses.

The organizers plan to publish selected papers in either the conference proceedings or a themed section of an open-access scholarly journal. The authors of the chosen papers will be informed via email after the selection process, providing them with more details about deadlines, the journal's style, and so on.

ORGANIZING COMMITTEE: Alper Cakir and David De Pablo

CONTACT: workshophistorycu@gmail.com

Postgraduate colloquium: Authority and Identity in the Middle Ages, The Courtauld, London, 15 Mar. 2024, 10:00-16:30

Postgraduate colloquium

Authority and Identity in the Middle Ages

Vernon Square Campus, Lecture Theatre 2, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London

15 March 2024, 10:00-16:30 GMT

Mosaic detail of Roger II receiving the crown from Christ, Church of Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio, Palermo, Sicily, 12th century. Image: Matthias Süßen, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

Studies of medieval art have often focused on works of art featuring, or patronised by, those in positions of authority.  More recently scholars have moved towards a wider understanding of the ways in which works of art established a sense of authority and impacted the identity of the communities who viewed and used them.  However, concepts of ‘authority’ and ‘identity’, and their complex interrelationship, are rarely interrogated in a holistic way.

The two concepts are often inextricably linked.  Identities were shaped by those in positions of authority; images endowed with ‘authority’ could influence how those interacting with them self- identified; patrons claimed authority through images, often forging their public identity as charitable, pious figures.  But what does it mean to claim authority in the Middle Ages?  And what exactly did it mean to have an identity?  Even today, these concepts are complex and multi-faceted – most notably one self-identification can differ dramatically from that imposed by others.

In this colloquium, we want to address these topics afresh, exploring how art and material culture reflect and produce concepts of identity and authority.  We will also consider how alternative perspectives could reinforce or subvert ideas of an authoritative voice or image.

Programme

The colloquium begins at 10am at The Courtauld Institute of Art in Vernon Square.

Session 1 – Power of Popes and the Shaping of Monastic Identity 
Chaired by Sam Truman, Courtauld PhD student.

Emma Iadanza, Courtauld PhD student, ‘A New Reconstruction of Leo X’s Liturgical Manuscripts’.
Vittoria Magnoler, PhD student, University of Genoa, ‘Stating the Authority of Aquinas. The Triumph by Bonaiuti as an Identity Manifesto of the Dominicans of Santa Maria Novella’.
Blanche Lagrange, PhD Student, University of Poitiers (CESCM), ‘The reform at Saint-Bertin during the 10th century: new institutional authority and identity in Boulogne-sur-Mer, BM, MS. 107’.

12.15 – 13.15: Break

Session 2 – Religion and Shaping of Individual Identity 
Chaired by Sophia Dumoulin, Courtauld PhD student.

Sophia Adams, Courtauld PhD student, ‘“Þat tyme þis schrowyll I dyd wryte”: Canon Percival of Coverham’s Prayer Roll, Morgan Library and Museum, Glazier MS 39’.
Natalia Muñoz-Rojas, Courtauld PhD candidate, ‘ “We first settlers”: The altarpieces of San Bartolomé and Virgen de la Antigua in the Parish Church of San José in Granada’.
Lucy Splarn, PhD student in the Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at the University of Kent, ‘The identity of pilgrims through the art of souvenirs’.

14.45 – 15.15: Break

Session 3 – Church Architecture and Shaping of Community Identity
Chaired by Helen Dejean.

Florence Eccleston, Courtauld PhD student, ‘Moral and Political Identity in Late Medieval English Wall Paintings of Sin’.
Klaudia Sniezek, PhD student, Jagiellonian University in Cracow, ‘Unveiling Identities in Stone: Burial in the Portico of Czerwinsk Abbey’.
Isabelle Chisholm, MPhil student, University of Cambridge, ‘The “Afterlife” of The Rajhrad Dormition of the Virgin (1375-1380): defining Czech Nationaism Across Transcultural Impulses’.

16.45: Drinks Reception

Organised by Courtauld PhD students Jane Stewart, Laura Feigen, Irakli Tezelashvili and Florence Eccleston. 

For more information and to book tickets, https://courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/authority-and-identity-in-the-middle-ages/

Call for Papers: VELUM TEMPLI. VEILING AND HIDING THE SACRED, 2nd Colloquium on Art and Liturgy Cádiz, Spain (17-19 October 2024), Due by 1 April 2024

Call for Papers

VELUM TEMPLI. VEILING AND HIDING THE SACRED

2nd Colloquium on Art and Liturgy Cádiz

Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. University of Cádiz, Spain, 17-19 October 2024

Abstracts Due By 1 April 2024

The veiling or hiding of the sacred has been a constant feature of Christian worship since its late Antique origins. With powerful precedents in the temple of Jerusalem, as well as in paganism, it is a characteristic that tends to be associated with Eastern Christianity and its iconostasis. However, it was also practised by the Latin church, in whose early Christian basilica the vision of the altar of the Eucharistic sacrifice was already limited and dosed. This ritual attitude, which continued throughout the Middle Ages and even beyond, took the form of veils and curtains suspended from the pergolas or beams that divided the presbytery from the rest of the nave, or using the tetravela that ran along the rails of the baldachins that covered the altars.

Guillaume Durand, in the 13th century, describes in detail the practices that were established at that time, including the great velum templi of Gallican origin, a piece that would be kept for centuries during Lent as a living vestige of this liturgical practice. Several examples of notable antiquity have survived, as does the memory of its use.

Closely related to this, the veneration of sacred images was also marked by a desire for safe preservation, as can be inferred from the design of medieval tabernacles and winged altarpieces. Both took part in the wish to protect physically the paintings and sculptures and a desire for gradualness in the vision of the mystery of the sacred that the images themselves embody. In Spain, the extraordinary development of the altarpiece required bold, eyecatching solutions for its concealment, such as the enormous doors of some Aragonese examples or the woven twills which, when unfolded, are a sort of trompe l'oeil of the work they conceal.

Relics, sacred vessels and even the consecrated Host itself have also been the object of ritually regulated display and concealment, depending on the feasts of the liturgical year or the specific moment of the sacred ceremony taking place in the church. To satisfy this need for visual preservation, reliquary cabinets, the curtains of expositors and tabernacles or chalice veils were created during the Middle Ages, among other pieces of furniture that have also undergone formal and ornamental reformulations during the Renaissance, the Baroque and later.

Through the diachronic and transhistorical study of the phenomenon of display and concealment, this 2nd International Meeting on Art and Liturgy of the University of Cadiz aims to recover for the History of Art the memory of these singular works within the context of the cultic functionality with which they were conceived, where they also acted as vectors of ephemeral transformation in the visual appearance of the temples. For this purpose, renowned specialists such as Eduardo Carrero Santamaría, Fernando Gutiérrez Baños, Josefina Planas Bádenas, Antonio Sántos Márquez and Héctor Ruiz Soto, among others, will take part.

CALL FOR PAPERS

We invite the academic community to submit abstracts in Spanish, English, Italian and French consisting of a 500-700 word summary highlighting the innovative nature of the paper together with the chosen session and a brief curriculum vitae before 1 April 2024 to the following address: arteyliturgia@uca.es The organising committee shall acknowledge receipt of submissions and select those considered most closely aligned with the meeting objectives, responding before 15 May 2024. Following peer review, these will be published in a monograph. Texts should be sent by 15 November 2024.

PAPERS AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL BE DELIVERED IN FOUR SESSIONS

Session I. Ritual occultation in liturgical, literary and graphic sources.

Testimonies of synods and councils, rubrics in missals, references in customary books, testimonies in travel books. Graphic sources: paintings, drawings, engravings, manuscript illumination and historical photography.

Session II. Veils and altar curtains in the context of Latin Christianity.

Velum templi, Velum quadragesimal, lateral curtains, etc. Origins, typological evolution and local particularities.

Session III. The veiling of crosses, images, relics and sacred vessels.

Liturgical, devotional and conservation aspects. Reliquary cabinets, display ceremonies.

Session IV. From the medieval open tabernacle to the great Baroque altarpieces.

Functional principles and devotional implications.

SPEAKERS REGISTRATION

Speakers: 40 €

Speakers members of CEHA: 20 €

In both cases, the registration includes a copy of the book with the proceedings of the Meeting. After acceptance, speakers will have until 15 June 2024 to pay the registration fee via bank transfer to the University of Cádiz account (Banco de Santander: IBAN ES48 0049 4870 8529 1609 2739; SWIFT: BSCHESMM).

IMPORTANT: The concept of the transfer should be ARTEYLITURGIA followed by the speaker’s SURNAME and NAME. The speaker should send a copy of the bank transfer receipt via email to arteyliturgia@uca.es

For more information: https://arteyliturgia-uca.weebly.com/

For a PDF of the Call for Papers which contains more information: https://arteyliturgia-uca.weebly.com/uploads/1/4/0/5/140580493/cfp_ingl%C3%A9s.pdf

East of Byzantium Lecture Series: Political Rituals and Urban Communities in Cilician Armenia, Gohar Grigoryan, 27 Feb. 2024, 12:00PM (Online)

East of Byzantium Lecture Series

Political Rituals and Urban Communities in Cilician Armenia

Gohar Grigoryan, University of Fribourg

Tuesday, February 27, 2024 | 12:00 PM (EST, UTC -5) | Zoom

The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture and the Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University are pleased to announce the next lecture in the 2023–2024 East of Byzantium lecture series.

Outdoor rituals were among those rare occasions when medieval rulers and ruling aristocracies could be seen in person and inspected publicly. As in many medieval societies, so also in the Armenian kingdom of Cilicia (1198–1375), these public ceremonies were almost always performed in front of urban communities. While the political and propagandistic concerns of these aesthetic enactments come as little surprise, the present lecture will address the question from the point of view of those city inhabitants who were to contemplate—and in some cases, to partake in—the carefully organized and well-pondered rituals of the men of power.

Gohar Grigoryan is a senior researcher at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, Department of Art History and Archaeology. She received her PhD from the same university in 2017 for her dissertation on royal images in Cilician Armenia. She is the author of many essays on medieval Armenian art and history and co-editor of three books, including, most recently, Staging the Ruler’s Body in Medieval Cultures, published by Brepols/Harvey Miller (2023).

Advance registration required. Register: https://eastofbyzantium.org/upcoming-events/political-rituals-and-urban-communities-in-cilician-armenia/

Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.

An East of Byzantium lecture. EAST OF BYZANTIUM is a partnership between the Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies at Harvard University and the Mary Jaharis Center that explores the cultures of the eastern frontier of the Byzantine empire in the late antique and medieval periods.

Exhibition Ending: The Year 1000: The Netherlands in the Middle of the Middle Ages, National Museum of Antiquities, Leiden, Until 17 March 2024

Exhibition Ending

The Year 1000: The Netherlands in the Middle of the Middle Ages

National Museum of Antiquities, Rapenburg 28, 2311 EW LEIDEN, netherlands

Until 17 March 2024

This winter, the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden) is going back in time over a thousand years with the grand overview exhibition 'The Year 1000'.

The middle of the Middle Ages, the period 900-1100, often seems an episode in history where nothing happened. But for what is now the Netherlands, these are in fact times of great changes in landscape, construction, climate, language and society. The exhibition takes visitors on a colourful time journey through the landscape of this medieval world, with the year 1000 as its final destination. The journey brings visitors close to the people of this time at the imperial residence in Nijmegen, the cathedral of Utrecht, the treasuries of Maastricht, the Rome of a thousand years ago and the wealth of Byzantium. On display are over four hundred archaeological finds, artefacts and manuscripts from the Netherlands and far beyond. A starring role is reserved for the 'power couple' Empress Theophanu and her husband Otto II. ‘The year 1000' is an exhibition for young and old and will be on display from 13 October 2023 through 17 March 2024.

In the period 900-1100, a 'Netherlands' emerged that is still recognisable today, with dykes around reclaimed land, a fortress after every river bend and church towers on the horizon. The Netherlands is ruled by bishops and belongs to the 'Holy Roman Empire'. These are also the centuries when Eastern and Western knowledge are widely exchanged: music notation, the number 0 and chess are new arrivals in the Netherlands. At the end of the millennium, the end of the world was expected. People saw omens in solar eclipses, floods and comet appearances. But in the end ... nothing happened. The exhibition tells the stories of these medieval people, about their daily lives, their ideas about the world and expectations of the turn of the millennium. Almost all important Dutch archaeological finds from the period 900-1100 can be seen in 'The year 1000'. On display are, among other things, a Viking drinking horn from the Basilica of Our Lady in Maastricht and the famous Egmond Gospels from the KB, National Library of the Netherlands, swords, ship's timbers, gold jewellery including the recently found treasure find from Hoogwoud, coin hoards, books full of precious stones, the pectoral cross of Saint Servatius, the oldest chess pieces in the Netherlands and a wooden ladder from a well.

Besides Leiden's own collection, there are numerous loans from the Netherlands and abroad. These include important pieces from international collections such as the Castello Sforzesco (Milan), the National Museum of Finland (Helsinki) and the Landesmuseum Kassel. In addition, there are loans from more than forty Dutch museums, heritage institutions and private collections including the National Numismatic Collection (Amsterdam), Museum Catharijneconvent (Utrecht) and the Fries Museum (Leeuwarden).

For more information, click here (National Museum of Antiquities) and click here (Leiden International Center).

Call for Papers: Immured Relics – Display, Signs and Memory, Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max-Planck-Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Rome (28-29 November 2024), Due By 18 March 2024

Call for Papers

Reliquie murate – allestimenti, segni e memoria /// Immured Relics – Display, Signs and Memory 

Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max-Planck-Institut für Kunstgeschichte, Rome

28–29 November 2024

Due By 18 March 2024

This workshop is to explore the relation between relics and architecture. First and foremost, we are interested in cases of relics physically built into the architectural fabric of churches and chapels, such as columns whose capitals have been equipped with relics, triumphal arches or the apse’s semi-dome with relic depositories, “secret chambers” or even foundations and walls fortified by holy material. In order to capture the variety of the phenomenon we decided to exclude the “standard case” of relics in direct relation to the Christian altar, mandatory since the 8th/9th century, as well as relics kept in sacristies or treasury chambers in which all the relics and reliquaries owned by a given church are kept. We are interested in the mise-en-scène of specific relics in a fixed and architectonically defined surrounding. Since no systematic overview documenting this phenomenon is available, we aim at establishing a taxonomy of immured relics, in order to ask, in a next step, why these and not other places in the sacred space where chosen to house a relic.

Another important aspect we would like to address is the question of presence, visibility and signalization or indication of immured relics. The act of immuring can be considered both a way of incorporating relics permanently into the architectural fabric as well as hiding and securing relics from theft. In which cases was such presence signaled? Is there a shift in the value of the visibility of relics over their mere presence (or some exclusive knowledge of their presence) that can be explained by changing customs with regard to relic veneration? Do some typologies of immured relics occur only at certain moments in time and at certain places or are the adopted solutions rather indifferent to chronology and geography? We would like to include examples ranging from Late Antiquity to the High Middle Ages (until 1300) on a global scale. Although our personal focus is on Christian relics, we are explicitly interested in relic practices of other religious contexts, in order to investigate the respective specificities of relic deposition in architecture. We would like, as well, to consider phenomena of persistence of practices of immuring relics, both as a legacy of Antiquity and as a tenacity of the medieval tradition in the Modern Age.

We seek contributions of about 20 minutes in Italian or English. The organizing institution will cover travel and accommodation costs for the speakers. 

If you are interested, please upload an abstract of the planned talk (max. 350 words) and a short CV (max. 2 pages) on the following platform by 18 March 2024: https://recruitment.biblhertz.it/position/13565973

For any further information, please write to the scientific organizers: Maddalena Vaccaro (mavaccaro@unisa.it) and Adrian Bremenkamp (bremenkamp@biblhertz.it).

For more information, https://www.biblhertz.it/3464358/240103_CfP_Immured-Relics-_-Display_-Signs-and-Memory

Careers for Medievalists?, Vernon Square Campus, Lecture Theatre 2, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, 16 March 2024, 10:00-17:30 GMT

Careers for Medievalists?

16 MarCh 2024, 10:00-17:30 GMT

Vernon Square Campus, Lecture Theatre 2, Courtauld Institute of Art, london

Sponsored by the British Archaeological Association, this event aims to demonstrate the range of career options available to medievalists, especially those studying in Art History and adjacent disciplines such as History, Archaeology and Heritage Studies. Recent graduates and those in recruitment positions will offer tips and advice on a range of careers, including

• Heritage and Conservation

• Curating and the art market

• Tour guiding and freelancing

• Universities

• Archives and libraries

• Publishing and editing

Tickets cost £12, which covers the lunch, tea/coffee and cake provided to all attending. Talks will also be recorded and posted online after the event.

In recognition of the need to diversify the field of medieval studies, the British Archaeological Association can offer a limited number of bursaries to subsidize ticket and travel costs. For further details follow this link.

The event will run from 10-5.30pm on Saturday 16th March, and follows The Courtauld’s Medieval Postgraduate Colloquium on Friday 15th March. It will be held in the lecture theatre at The Courtauld’s Vernon Square campus in London, a 10-minute walk from Kings Cross Station.

Organised by Dr Tom Nickson (The Courtauld)

To Book Tickets: https://courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/careers-for-medievalists/

International Cultural Workshop: REDISCOVERING THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF UPPER SVANETI, GEORGIA (26 July - 4 August 2024), Mestia, Svaneti, Due 15 March 2024

International Cultural Workshop

REDISCOVERING THE CULTURAL HERITAGE OF UPPER SVANETI, GEORGIA

26 July – 4 August 2024, Mestia, Svaneti

Due 15 March 2024

https://old.tsu.ge/en/

This project takes place in Upper Svaneti, the spectacular mountainous region of Western Georgia, which not only has an abundance and variety of cultural heritage, but also a unique way of life. Even today, the local population preserves various pre-Christian beliefs and rituals. In Upper Svaneti, medieval churches and residences with defense towers have been preserved in their original forms. Almost all these churches are decorated with paintings, and  original treasuries are kept in most of them: medieval painted and revetted icons, crosses, ecclesiastic vessels created in local workshops or many other regions of the Christian East and the West. Exposure to this extraordinary material will provide all students of medieval art with an entirely new perspective on their field.

The ten-day workshop will enable ten PhD and MA students to visit significant monuments of cultural heritage in Upper Svaneti, to take part in discussions on-site, and to engage in various field activities.

The workshop will be held in English.

The International Cultural Workshop is organized by the Institute of Art History and Theory at Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, in cooperation with the College of Arts & Sciences at Syracuse University and the Art History Department at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. The project partner is the Svaneti Museum of History and-Ethnography.

The International Cultural Workshop (RCHUS) is funded under the US Embassy Georgia Cultural Small Grants Program.\

Application period
22 January to 15 March 2024 (00:00/Georgian Time Zone: UTC + 4)
The selection results will be announced on 8 April.

Eligibility
Applicants of any nationality must currently be enrolled in an MA or PhD program in Medieval or Byzantine art history or a related field.

Documents to be submitted:

– Application form with other three documents:

– Curriculum vitae (with list of publications/presentations, maximum 3 pages)

– Cover letter outlining interest in the program (maximum 300 words)

– Recommendation letter

The application must be in English.

See here for Application form: https://forms.gle/GLAacswWY5VBHDrk7

Fees and Funding

The International Cultural Workshop (RCHUS) is free of charge: will cover travel from Tbilisi to Mestia, field trips, hotel accommodation and meals in Upper Svaneti.

The workshop participants must cover their own international flights to and from Georgia, and hotel accommodation in Tbilisi. However, there are limited funds for participating students in the project budget for partial covering the international transportation and accommodation in Tbilisi. Please clarify your need for funding on your Application form.

For further information, please contact: svaneti.workshop@gmail.com

Call for Applications: Summer Course for the Study of the Arts in Flanders 2024 ‘Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture’, 23 June - 3 July 2024, Due By 10 March 2024, 5PM CET

Call for Applications

Summer Course for the Study of the Arts in Flanders 2024 ‘Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture’

23 June 2014- 3 July 2024, BelGium

Due By 10 March 2024, 5 p.m. (Central European Time).


Annually, the Summer Course for the Study of the Arts in Flanders brings a select group of 18 highly qualified young researchers to Flanders. They are offered an intensive 11-day programme of lectures, discussions, and visits related to a specific art historical period of Flemish art. The Summer Course provides the participants with a clear insight into the Flemish art collections from the period at hand, as well as into the current state of research on the topic.

The 8th edition of the Summer Course will focus on ‘Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture’. It will be held from 23 June until 3 July 2024. Excursions will be made to Leuven, Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges, Mechelen, Breda, Rotterdam, Maastricht, Liège, Aachen, Geel, Zuurbemde, Zoutleeuw. The language of the Summer Course is English.

More information on the programme, grants, how to apply, ... on bit.ly/summercourse8

The Summer Course for the Study of the Arts in Flanders is a joint initiative of: M Leuven, KMSKA, MSK Gent, Musea Brugge, Mu.ZEE, Ghent University, KU Leuven, Rubenshuis/Rubenianum, Flemish Art Collection, meemoo.

Structural content partners for this edition are: Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA), Royal Museums of Art and History Brussels.

This edition is coordinated by: Flemish Art Collection, meemoo and M Leuven.

DH Institute in Vercelli: Medieval Manuscripts in a Modern World, Museo del Tesoro del Duomo e Archivio Capitolare di Vercelli, Application Due 15 February 2024 (Rolling Until 1 March 2024)

DH Institute in Vercelli: Medieval Manuscripts in a Modern World

Museo del Tesoro del Duomo e Archivio Capitolare di Vercelli

First-round application deadline: February 15
Final application deadline: March 1

Before and After MSI processing on one of the Vercelli Scrolls

The Videntes Team and staff of the Museo del Tesoro del Duomo di Vercelli are excited to announce that registration is open for our Digital Humanities summer institute in Vercelli, Italy in June 2024.

The institute will begin with an optional welcome aperitivo the evening of June 16th. Workshops and lessons will begin the morning of June 17th and continue through the afternoon of Saturday, June 22nd.

To apply, please fill out the Google application form, which will include a current CV or resume and statement of interest. For first round consideration, the application deadline is February 15 (applicants will be notified by February 23, 2024). Rolling applications will continue to be accepted through March 1, 2024.

Please find attached the flyer for the institute. If you have further questions, please contact us via the website comment form or email us at videntesmsi@gmail.com.

For more information, see https://videntesmsi.com/medieval-manuscripts-in-a-modern-world/

Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture: Byzantium as Europe’s Black Mirror, Anthony Kaldellis, 16 February 2024 12:00 PM EST (ZOOM)

Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture

Byzantium as Europe’s Black Mirror

Anthony Kaldellis, University of Chicago

Friday, February 16, 2024 | 12:00 PM EST | Zoom

The Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture is pleased to announce the 2023–2024 edition of its annual lecture with the Harvard University Standing Committee on Medieval Studies.

In the course of its long self-fashioning, “the West” (later “Europe”) set itself off as a superior alternative to a number of imagined Others, including the infidel world of Islam, the primitive nature of the New World, and even its own regressive past, the Middle Ages. This lecture will explore the unique role that Byzantium played in this process. While it too was identified as the antithesis of an idealized Europe, this was done in a specific way with lasting consequences down to the present. Byzantium was constructed not to be fully an Other, but rather to function as an inversion of the Christian, Roman, and Hellenic ideals that Europe itself aspired to embody even as it appropriated those patrimonies from the eastern empire. It became Europe’s twin evil brother, its internal “Black Mirror.” Once we understand this dynamic, we can chart a new path forward for both scholarly and popular perceptions of the eastern empire that are no longer beholden to western anxieties.

Anthony Kaldellis is a Professor of Classics at the University of Chicago.

Advance registration required at https://maryjahariscenter.org/events/byzantium-as-europes-black-mirror.

This lecture is co-sponsored by the Harvard University Standing Committee on Medieval Studies.

Contact Brandie Ratliff (mjcbac@hchc.edu), Director, Mary Jaharis Center for Byzantine Art and Culture with any questions.

Online Discussion: Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Sustainable Access in a Digital Age, Wednesday 7 Feb. 2024, 17:00-18:30 GMT/14:00-15:30 EST

Online Discussion

Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Sustainable Access in a Digital Age

Wednesday 7 February 2024, 17:00-18:30 GMT/14:00-15:30 EST

The interruption in digital services at the British Library has called into question our reliance on online systems to consult medieval manuscripts. in an unexpected twist, the cyber attack simultaneously put the physical manuscripts at the British Library out of reach also. This timely conversation will reflect on the current situation, offering perspectives on sustainability and how we might rethink our practices after this startling reminder of the ephemeral nature of the digital.

Speakers will include Benjamin Albritton, Stewart J. Brookes, Stephen G. Nichols, Suzanne Paul, Dot Porter, Andrew Prescott, and Elaine Treharne

Moderated by Laura Morreale

Organized by Digital Medievalsit and kindly hosted online by the Centre for the Study of Book, Bodleian Libraries

To register, visit this link.

Medieval Lecture and Seminar Series: Chivalry, justice and love: Royal architecture in fourteenth-century Castile, Elena Paulino-Montero, At The Courtauld, 6 Mar. 2024 17:30-19:00

Medieval Lecture and Seminar Series

Chivalry, justice and love: Royal architecture in fourteenth-century Castile

Dr. Elena Paulino-Montero, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia

VERNON SQUARE CAMPUS, LECTURE THEATRE 2, THE COURTAULD

Wednesday 6 March 2024, 17:30 - 19:00

Crónica troyana (c. 1350). Biblioteca del Escorial. Ms. h-I-6, f. 13v.

14th-century Castile was characterized by great creativity in the field of architecture, culminating with the construction of the famous Alcazar of Seville and reforms to the Alcazar of Segovia. Those monuments were possible thanks to the previous decade’s artistic experimentation in which cross-cultural exchanges with al-Andalus and the Mamluks played a key role. During this time, the kingdom of Castile was marked by a profound political crisis and architecture, sculpture and literature were crucial in the construction of an ideal image of power, in which queens assumed a leading role.

This talk will analyze the process of codification of royal spaces in Castile in the 14th century. The objective is twofold. On the one hand, it will analyze the development of this architecture in parallel to the development of a courtly and chivalrous image of the Castilian monarchs in which Islamic models played a fundamental role. On the other hand, it will present the active role of the queens in the realm of architecture.

Elena Paulino-Montero is lecturer of Medieval Art at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia. Previously she was assistant professor at the Complutense and postdoctoral fellow at the UNED. Her research is devoted to patronage and transcultural artistic during the Late Middle Ages in the Iberian Peninsula. She is part of the Cost-Action 18129 “Islamic Legacy. Narratives East, West, South North of the Mediterranean (1350-1750)”. She is also the principal investigator of the project “Women and the Arts in Medieval Castile: Patronage, reception and agency”, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Organised by Dr Tom Nickson (The Courtauld) as part of the Medieval Lecture and Seminar Series. 

For more information and to book tickets, visit https://courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/chivalry-justice-and-love-royal-architecture-in-fourteenth-century-castile/

Panel Discussion and Book Launch: Venetian Disegno: New Frontiers, The Courtauld, London, 8 Feb. 2024, 17:00-18:30

Panel Discussion and Book Launch

Venetian Disegno: New Frontiers

Vernon Square Campus, Lecture Theatre 2, The Courtauld, London

8 February 2024, 17:00 - 18:30

Vittore Carpaccio, Studies of a Seated Youth in Armor, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The relationship between disegno (drawing or design) and Venetian art has historically been a problematic one. Giorgio Vasari’s notion that painters from Venice and the Veneto were mainly focused on colore and not trained in or accustomed to drawing became a commonplace in the literature on Venetian art. The title of this book, Venetian Disegno, would for him imply an unacceptable paradox. This view can no longer be sustained in light of modern scholarship, and it is clear that drawing played a crucial role in the education and the artistic practice of artists from Venice and the Veneto region. From the fifteenth onwards, drawing was a vital form of expression in Venice. With contributions by 23 leading scholars and curators, Venetian Disegno offers a fresh perspective on Venetian art, illustrating the importance of disegno and the study of drawings for artistic practices in the lagoon city.

Organised by Irene Brooke, Lecturer in Renaissance Art, The Courtauld; Ketty Gottardo, Martin Halusa Senior Curator of Drawings, The Courtauld; Guido Rebecchini, Professor of Sixteenth-Century Southern European Art, The Courtauld.

Dr. Maria Aresin is a specialist in the field of Venetian drawing. She earned a PhD from the University of Frankfurt. Since 2020-21 she has been assistant curator of the catalogue of Venetian drawings at the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung in Munich. In 2022 she was Head of Prints and Drawings at the Landesmuseum Mainz. Since May 2023 she has been curator for works on paper (15th to 18th centuries) at the Kupferstichkabinett of the Kunsthalle Bremen.

Dr. Paul Holberton has published extensively on the art of the Venetian Renaissance and runs Paul Holberton Publishing which is recognised internationally as one of the finest publishers of books on art. His most recent scholarly work, A History of Arcadia, is a long-awaited study of the pastoral genre in textual and visual sources from the classical though the early modern period.

For more information and to book tickets, visit https://courtauld.ac.uk/whats-on/venetian-disegno-new-frontiers/

Call for Applications: Grants for Research on Chartres Cathedral for PhD Candidates and Emerging Scholars, The American Friends of Chartres, Due 29 March 2023

Call for Applications

Grants for Research on Chartres Cathedral for PhD Candidates and Emerging Scholars

The American Friends of Chartres

Due 29 March 2023

https://www.friendsofchartres.org/

The American Friends of Chartres annually offers a stipend of  $2,500.00 to current graduate students and emerging scholars to carry out research projects that promise to advance knowledge and understanding of the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres or its historical contexts in the medieval to early modern periods. The grants support projects requiring on-site research in Chartres. Topics in the fields of art history, history, or related disciplines might include architecture, stained glass, sculpture, urban development, economy, religious practices, manuscripts, or the cathedral treasury, among other topics. Following the research project, the grantee is asked to provide a synopsis of the research and conclusions, which will be publicized through the cultural activities and website of the American Friends of Chartres. 

The American Friends of Chartres facilitates lodging in Chartres for grant recipients, as well as access to the cathedral, the Centre International du Vitrail, the municipal library, archival collections and related resources.

Questions about the grant may be addressed to ChartresResearchGrant@gmail.com.

Applicants should currently be pursuing a Ph.D. or have received the degree within the last six years.

Applicants should supply:

• A description of up to 500 words of the proposed project, including:

  • questions to be researched and their importance to scholarship on the art, culture, or history of Chartres;

  • requirements for access to monuments, works of art, and archival resources;

  • projected length of time and tentative dates to be spent in Chartres;

  • expectations for publication of conclusions, whether alone or as part of a larger project, including a Ph.D. dissertation, article, or book.

• A current Curriculum Vitae

• Names and contact information of two references

Please send application materials as e-mail attachments in Word or PDF format to ChartresResearchGrant@ameliahyde

The deadline for applications is 29 March 2024.

To learn more about the application, visit https://sites.google.com/view/chartres-research-grants/home, and to learn more about the American Friends of Chartres, visit https://www.friendsofchartres.org/

The Servane de Layre-Mathéus Fund for Research on Chartres Cathedral
The American Friends of Chartres has established a special fund honoring the memory of Servane de Layre-Mathéus (1939-2020), co-founder of Chartres–Sanctuaire du Monde, of the Centre International du Vitrail, and of American Friends of Chartres. Servane dedicated much of her life to the preservation of Notre-Dame de Chartres Cathedral, and to the pursuit and transmission of knowledge of medieval art, culture, and spirituality. In recognition of her contributions, she was made chevalier of the Légion d’honneur, officier des Arts et des Lettres, and officier de l’ordre national du Mérite. The fund is intended to support research that furthers her work.

Lecture, The Murray Seminars at Birbeck: Faith, Race and the ‘Other’ in North Italian Sculpture, c.1480-1700, Andrew Horn, 6 Feb. 2024 12:00-13:30 GMT (7:00-8:30 ET) In-Person & Online

Lecture, The murray Seminars at Birbeck

Faith, Race and the ‘Other’ in North Italian Sculpture, c.1480-1700

Dr. Andrew Horn, Associate Lecturer, School of Art History, University of St Andrews

Tuesday, 6 February 2024 12:00 - 13:30 GMT

In-Person (Birkbeck, School of Historical Studies) & Online

Northwest Italy in the early modern period witnessed a flourishing of religious sculptural ensembles, rendered in polychrome terracotta and wood, representing scenes from Christ’s Passion and death. Works of this genre range from intimate scenes of the Deposition and Lamentation above altars in churches, to series of elaborate multimedial chapels situated on the ‘Sacri Monti’, pilgrimage sites at the foot of the Italian Alps. In addition to the main protagonists, the dramatic cast of these ensembles often feature characters whose skin colour, costume or physical characteristics identify as non-European, non-Christian or in some way set apart from European Christian society of the time. Examining a selection of these artworks in relation to devotional treatises, religious plays and historical records of public policy from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, this paper considers what the representation of these outsiders––these ‘others’––may reveal about faith and society in premodern Europe. What roles do such figures serve within the drama of Christian salvation history?

To register to attend online, click this link.

To register to attend in-person, click this link.

Call for Applications: Ochs Scholarship, British Archaeological Association, Due 1 February 2024

Call for Applications

British Archaeological Association

Ochs Scholarship

Due 1 February 2024

The Ochs Scholarship was established in 1994 from a bequest by Maud Lillian Ochs, and is awarded annually by the British Archaeological Association for research projects which fall within the Association’s fields of interest. These are defined as the study of archaeology, art and architecture from the Roman period until the nineteenth century, principally within Europe. The scholarships are intended to provide post-graduate students striving to write up theses with late stage funding. To be eligible  the thesis must be capable of completion within the period of the Scholarship, which is for one year from a nominated starting date by the end of the calendar year in which the scholarship is awarded. Thus, an application made in early 2024 might have a nominated starting date of October 2024 and result in the submission of a thesis by October, 2025. Applications where a substantial amount of fieldwork remains to be done are unlikely to succeed.

The next closing date for applications is 1 February, 2024.

For more information, https://thebaa.org/scholarships-awards/ochs-scholarship/