CFP: Sculpture vs. Architecture: The “Other” Paragone (Boston, 31 March – 2 April, 2016)

Call for Paper abstracts for a session at the 62nd Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America
Boston, 31 March–2 April 2016
 Sculpture vs. Architecture: The “Other” Paragone
While copious literature has described the early modern affinity for comparing painting with sculpture and even explored the so-called paragone between painting and architecture, period ideas about the relationships between sculpture and architecture have received far sparser attention. This session will scrutinize the paragone between the plastic arts and architecture from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century as manifested in images, objects, buildings, and text. The goals of the session will be to determine what distinct and overlapping forms of artistic expertise were associated with sculpture and architecture in various contexts, and to integrate those insights into our broader understanding of early modern paragone discourses. Questions addressed may include: How did artists and architects negotiate control over architectonic projects with sculptural programs? How did architectural treatises address sculpture, and how did writings about the plastic arts treat architecture? In what ways did writers compare the aesthetic qualities of each medium? What forms of artistic expertise did architects and sculptors respectively claim? And where did critics locate the intersections between these areas of knowledge? Antagonism as well as accord between scuplture and architecture will be of interest to the discussion.
Please submit a 200-word abstract and a brief CV to Elizabeth J. Petcu at epetcu@princeton.edu before 12 noon EST on May 31.

Share this post

News from the field

The Scott Opler Fellowship in Architectural History

The Scott Opler Fellowship in Architectural History for the period 2025-2027 Worcester College, Oxford is pleased to be able to offer a two-year residential Fellowship in the study of Renaissance or Baroque architectural history through the generosity of the Scott...

Professor (100%) in Prospective Architectural Theory

KU Leuven has a full-time vacancy for independent academic staff (ZAP) in the field of architectural theory. We are looking for internationally oriented candidates with an excellent research file and teaching competence in the area of theoretical reflection on...

International Conference on Adaptive Reuse

What stories do abandoned buildings still hold? Can they be transformed to serve new purposes without losing their essence? How can architects balance history and innovation? This conference delves into the art and challenge of adaptive reuse, where past and present...