Welcome medieval art researchers, students, scholars, and enthusiasts.
Medieval Art Research is a resource run by researchers at The Courtauld Institute of Art and elsewhere to provide news, views and upcoming advice from the world of medieval art history. It does not represent the views of The Courtauld.
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Latest News
New Resource: Introducing Medieval Christianity
This site is a pilot version of a resource designed to introduce students to some key concepts in medieval Christianity. The goal is to provide short articles and other resources which will help undergraduates in their study of medieval culture and literature.
Publication: Pygmalion’s Power: Romanesque Sculpture, the Senses, and Religious Experience
Pushed to the height of its illusionistic powers during the first centuries of the Roman Empire, sculpture was largely abandoned with the ascendancy of Christianity, as the apparent animation of the material image and practices associated with sculpture were considered both superstitious and idolatrous. In Pygmalion’s Power, Thomas E. A. Dale argues that the reintroduction ofContinue reading “Publication: Pygmalion’s Power: Romanesque Sculpture, the Senses, and Religious Experience”
PhD Funding: PhD candidate in the ERC Consolidator project FEATHERS: Elizabeth I, Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society, deadline 7 September 2020
The Leiden University Centre for the Arts in Society (LUCAS) invites applications for a PhD candidate in the ERC Consolidator project FEATHERS: Elizabeth I.
New Publication: Renaissance Meta-painting, Edited by Alexander Nagel and Péter Bokody
The volume offers an overview of metapictorial tendencies in book illumination, mural and panel painting during the Italian and Northern Renaissance. It examines visual forms of self-awareness in the changing context of Latin Christianity and claims the central role of the Renaissance in the establishment of the modern condition of art.
The Marco Manuscript Workshop 2021: “Immaterial Culture”
The sixteenth annual Marco Manuscript Workshop will take place Friday, February 5, and Saturday, February 6, 2021. Sessions will meet virtually via an online platform. The workshop is led by Professors Maura K. Lafferty (Classics) and Roy M. Liuzza (English), and is hosted by the Marco Institute for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the UniversityContinue reading “The Marco Manuscript Workshop 2021: “Immaterial Culture””
New Publication: Monsters and Monstrosity in Jewish History: From the Middle Ages to Modernity, edited by Iris Idelson-Shein and Christian Wiese
Drawing on Jewish history, literary studies, folklore, art history and the history of science, this book examines both the historical depiction of Jews as monsters and the creative use of monstrous beings in Jewish culture.
CFP: The Total Library: Aspirations for Complete Knowledge in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, deadline 1 September 2020
The 27th Biennial Conference of the Medieval and Renaissance Studies Program of Barnard College (New York City) is seeking paper proposals for their online conference to be held December 5, 2020. According to Borges, “The fancy or the imagination or the utopia of the Total Library has certain characteristics that are easily confused with virtues.” This one-day conference willContinue reading “CFP: The Total Library: Aspirations for Complete Knowledge in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, deadline 1 September 2020”
Online Lecture: Crossroads: Power and Piety at The Met
Insider Insights is a new online lecture series produced by The Metropolitan Museum of Art that features recent exhibitions, singular artworks, and new scholarship in the field of art history. Crossroads is a new installation at The Met that rethinks how a museum displays artworks in its collection, and in this lecture curators in the department of Medieval Art and the Cloisters discuss themes of power and piety and take a closer look at artworks that challenge our traditional notions of the Middle Ages.
Online Lecture: The Maius Masterclass with Professor Susan Boynton, 31 July 2020 4pm
For our final event in the Maius Masterclass series, on Friday 31 July at 4pm, we are delighted to welcome Professor Susan Boynton (Columbia University). Susan’s research has focused on such topics as music in the Iberian peninsula, liturgy, manuscript studies, and intersections between music and the visual arts.
CFP: Jerusalem: The Holy City as Interreligious Experience (International Congress on Medieval Studies Kalamazoo 2021), deadline 15 September 2020
Sponsor: Center for Medieval and Early Modern Studies (CMEMS), Stanford University Co-Ordinator: Ana Núñez (ananunez@stanford.edu) This panel contributes to conversations that explore Jerusalem as a space of central importance to Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Through critical rereadings of textual accounts and material remains, the papers in this panel will highlight the dynamic ways in which JerusalemContinue reading “CFP: Jerusalem: The Holy City as Interreligious Experience (International Congress on Medieval Studies Kalamazoo 2021), deadline 15 September 2020”
Exhibition: Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara at The Met
The first exhibition of its kind, Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara explores the art and history of the Sahel (a region of Western Africa comprised of modern-day Senegal, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger) from before the Common Era to the 19th century. The region was an active participant in global tradeContinue reading “Exhibition: Sahel: Art and Empires on the Shores of the Sahara at The Met”
New Publication: The Ghent Altarpiece: Research and Conservation of the Exterior, Edited by Bart Fransen and Cyriel Stroo
The outer panels of the Ghent Altarpiece had been overpainted to a considerable extent. The virtuosity of the Eyckian technique and aesthetics remained hardly visible. And yet, this had never been observed before the start of the conservation treatment. By removing the overpaint, the tonal richness and the coherent rendering of light and space once again came to the fore.
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Seminars and Lectures
Online Lecture: The King, His Hall and a Scandal: Accounts of Eadwig in the Tenth Century, Katherine Weikert, (SAHGB Seminar) 23 July 2020 17:00-18:00
In 955, King Eadwig came to the West Saxon throne in a time of internal strife between delegates for the crown. Only fifteen at the time, his short-lived reign became synonymous with lechery, debouchery and ill-council. This paper will examine one of the stories that made this reputation: at his coronation feast, Eadwig left the celebrations in order to cavort with his consort, Ælfgifu (and, in some texts, her mother.)
Online Lecture: The Maius Masterclass with Dr Caroline Dodds Pennock, 24 July 2020 1.30pm
On Friday 24 July at 1.30pm, we will welcome Dr Caroline Dodds Pennock (University of Sheffield). Caroline is the only Aztec historian in the UK, and her research focuses on indigenous and Spanish American history and the Atlantic world, with a particular interest in issues of gender, violence, and cultural exchange.
Online Talk: Lucy Worsley meets faces from the Tower, 23 July 2020, 7 pm
In this 1 hour talk online, Lucy will go behind the scenes to explore daily life at the Tower today, in the company of Ravenmaster and Yeoman Warder Christopher Skaife. Tower of London curator Sally Dixon-Smith will be on hand too, sharing insights into the Tower’s past – from ravens to royal executions.
Seminars: Uncovering the Parish Church’s Naughty Bits, talk by Dr Emma J. Wells, The Churches Conservation Trust seminar series, Thursday 23 July at 1pm
Gazing at the inside or outside of an historic church, your eyes are likely to encounter strange beasts, frolicking figures and twisted foliage staring back at you from doorways, windows, friezes, corbel tables, roof bosses and stained glass – although plenty are just hidden enough to fool the eye. What are these strange images? HiddenContinue reading “Seminars: Uncovering the Parish Church’s Naughty Bits, talk by Dr Emma J. Wells, The Churches Conservation Trust seminar series, Thursday 23 July at 1pm”
Online Seminar: Medieval French Online Seminar, 22 July 2020 at 5pm BST
We hope you can join us for the next meeting on 22 July 2020 at 5pm BST. We will have two papers – Bex Courtier (Cambridge): “Towards a Migrant Consciousness: Reading Saladin and Chamoiseau’s Frères migrants” and Charlotte Spencer (Durham): “The Face in the Fountain: Reading, Reflection, and Representation on French Fourteenth-century Ivory Mirror Cases”
Call for Speakers: ICON Scotland Take 5: 5 speakers | 5 talks | 5 minutes (20 August 2020), deadline 31 July 2020
Following on from our successful ‘Knowledge Exchange’ webinar, Icon Scotland are pleased to invite contributions to our first ‘Take 5’ webinars. The one-hour online event will feature 5 x 5-minute presentations followed by a Q&A session.
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Call for Papers
CFP: New Faces in Medieval Iberian Studies, IMC Leeds 2021 (5-6 July), deadline 15 september 2020
What began as a casual conversation led to the establishment of a new collaborative group, AGECSMIberia, dedicated to connecting graduate and early career Iberianists around the world and showcasing their new exciting work through sponsored sessions. The global pandemic has made the promotion of the work of early career Iberianists even more important in an infinitely more complex job market.
CFP: 3 sponsored sessions by DISTAFF, International Congress on Medieval Studies (13-15 May 2021), deadline 15 September 2020
DISTAFF are hosting three sponsored sessions at the International Congress on Medieval Studies (13-15 May 2021).
CFP: In Sickness and in Health: Pestilence, Disease, and Healing in Medieval and Early Modern Art (12 January 2021), deadline 1 September 2020
14th Annual Imago Conference, University of Haifa In light of the global turmoil caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, the 14th AnnuaI Imago conference will examine the cultural and artistic impact of epidemics, diseases and healing in the art of the Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period. We hope this examination will not only shedContinue reading “CFP: In Sickness and in Health: Pestilence, Disease, and Healing in Medieval and Early Modern Art (12 January 2021), deadline 1 September 2020”
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Conferences
Conference recording: Secret Spaces: Medieval Sacristies, Vestries, Treasure Rooms and their Contents, Society of Antiquaries of London, 25 February 2019
On the 25th February 2019, the Society of Antiquaries of London hosted a one-day conference on Secret Spaces: Medieval Sacristies, Vestries, Treasure Rooms and their Contents. The aim of this conference is to introduce the subject of ecclesiastical treasure houses to both the academic world and the wider public. You can now watch the entire conference from your very own sofa – scroll down for all the recordings.
IMC 2020: Medieval Art related papers & panels, 6 – 9 July 2020
We’ve had a look through the International Medieval Congress 2020 programme and have brought together all the Medieval Art related papers and panels.
Conference: The 38th Annual Gerry Hedley Student Symposium, Postgraduate Conservation Students, Courtauld Institute of Art, 1 July 2020, 9am – 2:30pm
The Gerry Hedley Symposium is an annual student-run conference. Post-graduate students and interns from all three of the UK’s conservation courses, The Hamilton Kerr Institute, Northumbria University and The Courtauld Institute of Art, have the opportunity to present their research.
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New Publications
New Publication: Lexique des stalles médiévales / Lexicon of Medieval Choir Stalls, by F. Billiet and E. C. Block
As well as an introduction that includes articles on the history and function of medieval choirstalls, the lexicon provides illustrated multilingual definitions of the elements used in the construction and decoration of the stalls. As with the illustrated bibles of the Middle Ages, this book includes the most beautiful of the works of art which decorate the medieval choir stalls in thirteen Catholic countries of Europe.
New Publication: Funerary Portraiture in Greater Roman Syria, edited by Michael Blömer and Rubina Raja
This volume provides a unique survey of locally produced funerary representations from across regions of ancient Syria, exploring material ranging from reliefs and statues in the round, to busts, mosaics, and paintings in order to offer a new and holistic approach to our understanding of ancient funerary portraiture.
New Publication: Les stratégies de la narration dans la peinture medieval: La représentation de l’Ancien Testament aux IVe-XIIe siècles, edited by Marcello Angheben
Depuis les débuts de l’art chrétien, l’Ancien Testament a reçu une place singulière dans le décor des églises comme dans l’illustration des manuscrits. Certaines formules conçues aux IVe-Ve siècles se sont imposées durant tout le Moyen Âge, comme celles de Saint-Pierre de Rome, et une influence encore plus large a longtemps été attribuée à la Genèse Cotton ou à son modèle.
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Medieval Jobs
Fellowship: Teaching Fellow in History of Art, University of Edinburgh, deadline 7 August 2020 5pm
The University of Edinburgh invites applications from specialists in the visual and material court culture of Northern Europe, c. 1400-1800. We welcome versatile applicants who have secondary interests in areas of high student need and who are able to incorporate material from the University’s Centre for Research Collections into their teaching.
Postdoctoral Job: Postdoctoral Research Associate, School of English, University of Kent, deadline 16 August 2020
Do you have a PhD or equivalent and experience in late medieval literary studies? Are you looking for research role that will put to use your knowledge, experience and interest in this area? The University of Kent and Queen’s University Belfast are embarking upon a three-year project funded by the Leverhulme Trust to investigate the theory that London citizens created new programmes of religious education for both the City’s clergy and for literate lay communities that have hitherto gone largely unnoticed by scholarship.
Job: Postdoctoral Researcher in Medieval Manuscript Studies, Radboud University Nijmegen, deadline 20 August 2020
Radboud University Nijmegen is advertising a position for a Postdoctoral Researcher in Medieval Manuscript Studies (0.8FTE) to be part of the research team of the ERC-funded project Patristic Sermons in the Middle Ages. The dissemination, manipulation and interpretation of Late-Antique sermons in the Medieval Latin West (PASSIM).
Journal Publications
New Journal Issue: Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, July 2020
The latest issue of Speculum is now available on the University of Chicago Press Journals website: Speculum: A Journal of Medieval Studies, Volume 95, Number 3, July 2020.
New Journal Issue: Al Masaq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean
Volume 32, Number 2, 3 May 2020. ISSN 0950-3110 (Print); ISSN 1473-348X (Online) Philippa Byrne, “Reddimus urbem”: Civic Order and Public Politics at the End of Norman Sicily, pp. 125-139 Hana Taragan, Textiles in Cross-Cultural Encounters: The Case of the Umayyad Palace at Khirbat al-Mafjar, pp. 140-155 Antonios Vratimos, Joseph Tarchaneiotes and the Battle of Mantzikert (AD 1071), pp. 156-168Continue reading “New Journal Issue: Al Masaq: Islam and the Medieval Mediterranean”
New Journal Issue: Medievalista Journal, number 28
It is with great pleasure that we inform you that nº 28 of Medievalista Journal is available. This issue of Medievalista brings some news. The most decisive ones were the simplification of the title – Medievalista on-line became Medievalista -, the adoption of a new management and editing platform and another renewal of the graphicsContinue reading “New Journal Issue: Medievalista Journal, number 28”
Funding & Scholarships
Grants: Association for Art History, deadline 30 September 2020
The Association for Art History offer grants of up to £1,000 which provide support to aid scholarly research, to develop professional practice and to further the teaching and learning of art history at all education levels.
PhD Funding: UCLA Department of Art History Establishes the Diane C. Brouillette Graduate Fellowship
The UCLA Department of Art History has established the Diane C. Brouillette Graduate Fellowship in Art History, thanks to a $250,000 tribute gift in memory of the late UCLA alumna Diane Brouillette. The gift qualified for an additional $125,000 in matching funds from the UCLA Humanities Centennial Matching Gift Fund.
PhD Funding: PhD Fellowship History of the Book, University of Turin, deadline 26 June 2020
special fellowship is being given to a student holding a university degree from outside Italy who is willing to pursue a PhD program in History of the Book conceived as part of a research program on Legal Texts and/or Law books produced between Medieval and Early Modern age.
Exhibitions & Art Fairs
Google Arts & Culture: Our Favourite Online Exhibitions
We’ve scoured Google Arts & Culture for some of our favourite online exhibitions. Whether you’re interested in illuminated manuscripts, sculpture or architecture, there are a number of virtual exhibitions that we think you’ll enjoy.
Exhibition: The Ministry of Works collection: Photographs and images from the Conway Library
The Courtauld has created a new online exhibition of photos from the Conway library, including a set of extraordinary photos taken in the aftermath of WWII. Medievalists will find much of interest here, including this striking photo of Private William Scollie of Chicago examining art works in the Siegen caves near Cologne in April 1945.Continue reading “Exhibition: The Ministry of Works collection: Photographs and images from the Conway Library”
New exhibition: Historic photos of Notre-Dame in Paris
In response to the devastating Notre-Dame fire in April 2019, the Courtauld has published an online exhibition featuring 19th- and early 20th-century images of the cathedral taken from the Courtauld’s Conway Library. Modern media gave the terrible fire at the cathedral of Notre-Dame of Paris a shocking immediacy. We watched it live on 24-hour television,Continue reading “New exhibition: Historic photos of Notre-Dame in Paris”
Resources
Resource: Writing about Art with Art Critic Tabish Khan, Association for Art History
How do you write about art? On Wednesday 24 June we launched a new series of short online talks about writing about art. We started the series finding out how to write about art and exhibitions with art critic, Tabish Khan. Tabish has been visual arts editor at Londonist since 2013 and writes extensively aboutContinue reading “Resource: Writing about Art with Art Critic Tabish Khan, Association for Art History”
New Resource: Census of Italian Renaissance Woodcuts
Please note the existence of a new resource, which has just gone live: The online Census of Italian Renaissance Woodcuts. The Census team have traced, studied and catalogued all single-leaf woodcuts and woodblocks made in Italy from the earliest known use of this medium to about 1550.
New Resource: Islamic Manuscript Basics
This site holds basic information and resources relating to the study of Islamic manuscripts. If you are new to thinking about the material aspects of Islamic manuscripts or are simply curious and want to know more, then this site is for you!
