Conference: Between Heaven & Earth: Ecclesiastical Patronage, 1400-1600 (London, May 9, 2015)

The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, London, May 9, 2015
Between Heaven and Earth: Ecclesiastical Patronage in Europe, 1400-1600
Third Annual Renaissance Postgraduate Symposium
In recent years, the artistic commissions of ecclesiastic and lay
patrons – both individual and collective – have been a fruitful area of
scholarship. Research addressing issues of sacred space, devotional
practice, and the materiality of extant objects has generated new
insights into the artistic provisions made for patronal commemoration
and salvation. Often, however, the interests of lay and ecclesiastical
patrons have been considered separately, with a lesser focus on how the
differences in their status mediated a shared pursuit of commemoration
in death. Clerical patronage of art in Renaissance Europe allowed for
an expression of political identity and dynastic power during life, but
how did their status and role in society affect their choices for the
afterlife? Were ecclesiastical patrons more acutely aware of a pressing
need to make provision for their personal salvation than their lay
counterparts? If so, was this reflected when commissioning
commemorative or devotional art? Was the desire to secure a wider
intercessory audience expressed more consciously or emphatically in the
art of the clergy?
This conference seeks to shed light on the ways in which ecclesiastical
patrons utilised devotional and commemorative art. Was there a dialogue
between their individual selves and the institutions in which they
chose to locate their foundations? Crucially, how do these foundations
comment on ecclesiastical life and afterlife? By examining a category
of patrons that was highly aware of devotional and commemorative
practice, this conference seeks to gain a better understanding of art
commissioned for churches by those appointed to participate in and lead
them.
Organised by Joost Joustra and Lydia Hansell with Guido Rebecchini (The
Courtauld Institute of Art)
Ticket/entry details: £16 (£11 students, Courtauld staff/students and
concessions)
BOOK ONLINE: http://ci.tesseras.com/internet/shop Or send a cheque made
payable to ‘The Courtauld Institute of Art’ to: Research Forum Events
Co-ordinator, Research Forum, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset
House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN, stating ‘Renaissance Postgraduate
Symposium’.
For further information, email ResearchForum@courtauld.ac.uk
PROGRAMME (9:30 – 17:30)
09.30 – 10.00 REGISTRATION
10.00 – 10.15 Welcome
10.15 – 11.35 Session 1: Creating Ecclesiastical Sites (Chair: Lydia
Hansell)
Richard Nemec (Universität Bern): ‘De Reformatione ecclesiae’…
Council and Architecture: A normative language of architecture?
Claudius Weykonath (Bibliotheca Hertziana): The Sacro Monte di Varallo
Sesia in its paraliturgical function
Filip Malesevic (Université de Fribourg, Switzerland): Rome Unveiled:
Cardinal Cesare Baronio and the Iconographic Programme in S. Giovanni
in Laterano during the Post- Tridentine Papacy
Discussion
11.35 – 12.00 TEA / COFFEE BREAK (provided – seminar room 1)
12.00 – 13.20 Session 2: Boundaries between Lay and Ecclesiastical
Patrons (Chair: Harriette Peel)
Katharina Weiger (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz): Robert of
Anjou and the idea of the ‘Ecclesia Neapolitana’
Emma Capron (Courtauld Institute of Art): ‘Mater Omnium’: Lay Patronage
and Clerical Intentions in the Cadard Altarpiece
Francesco Marcorin (IUAV, University of Venice): ‘Supra Ossa
Sanctorum’: An unusual case of double patronage in 16th century Verona
Discussion
13.20 – 14.00 LUNCH (not provided)
14.00 – 15.20 Session 3: Depicting the Ecclesiastical Patron (Chair:
Joost Joustra)
Elizabeth Dwyer (University of Virginia): Portraits and Visions in
Renaissance Flanders: The Paradigm of Rogier van der Weyden
Cloe Cavero de Carondelet (European University Institute, Florence):
Seeking Intercession for the Afterlife: The Double Portraits of the
Converso Cleric Luis de Oviedo and Cardinal Sandoval y Rojas
Christel Theunissen (Radboud University, Nijmegen): Reserving a seat
(on earth and in heaven): Patronage of Choir Stalls in Europe
Discussion
15.20 – 15.45 TEA / COFFEE BREAK (provided – seminar room 1)
15.45 – 17.05 Session 4: Commemorating Status (Chair: Bryony
Bartlett-Rawlings)
Adrian Bremenkamp (Freie Universität Berlin): Making the Queen’s
Saint: The 15th century Altarpiece of San Vincenzo Ferrer from the
Church of San Pietro Martire in Naples
Anna Wyszyńska (Jagiellonian University, Cracow): Depicted for
Posterity: Jan Długosz’s ‘Catalogus archiepiscoporum gnesnensium. Vitae
episcoporum cracoviensium’ illuminated by Stanislaus Samostrzelnik
Lara Langer (University of Maryland): Sculpture as Spectacle: The
Promotion of Patron and Artist within the Church
Discussion
17.05 – 17.30 Closing remarks
17.30 RECEPTION
The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2R
0RN
www.courtauld.ac.uk