The Sculptor as Architect

Session sponsored by the European Architectural History Network

Early modern architects were never just architects; they were also painters, carpenters, sculptors, goldsmiths, instrument makers and decorators. In recent years, scholars have dedicated considerable attention to the relationship between painting (and more fundamentally, disegno) and the production and presentation of architecture. But there remains a significant lacuna in the scholarship regarding the intersection between sculpture and architecture, or more broadly, between the facture of artistic objects – carved, cast, molded or poured – and the construction of architectural spaces. 

How did the skills of the goldsmith or sculptor transfer to the production of architecture and vice versa? 

This session invites contributions that consider how the skills inherent in the practices of early modern of sculpture transferred to the production of architecture and vice versa. Possible areas of inquire include: 

  • the production of models and their employment in sculpture and architecture
  • foundry practices and casting techniques that were applied in sculpture, artillery and architecture
  • the training and skills of specific sculptors/founders/architects
  • the relationship between Kleinarchitektur, architectural models and actual buildings
  • material knowledge and the production of sculpture and architecture 
  • the distinction (theoretical and physical) between sculpture and architectural ornament  

Please send proposals by 24 July 2021 to Elizabeth Merrill (elizabethmerrill11@gmail.com) and Nele De Raedt (nele.deraedt@uclouvain.be). Your proposal should include a title, 150-word abstract, and one-paragraph biographical CV.  

Share this post

News from the field

Call for Junior Fellows for the EAHN Communications

Position: Junior Fellow (2 positions in the EAHN) Duration: 1 year (subject to extension) Start date: June 2026 Application deadline: 31 May 2026 2 Junior Fellow positions The EAHN invites applications for 2 Junior Fellow positions from engaged doctoral fellows...

Teaching Architectural Histories in the Age of Global Crisis

Roundtable organized by the EAHN executive committee. Chairs: Léa-Catherine Szacka, EAHN, University of Manchester Fatma Tanış, EAHN, TU Delft Speakers: Florian Urban, EAHN, Glasgow School of Art Hannah le Roux, University of Sheffield Maarten Delbeke, ETH Zürich...

AH meets AI

Roundtable by Architectural Histories Chairs: Markus Lähteenmäki (Architectural Histories) Min Kyung Lee (Architectural Histories) Claire Zimmerman (JSAH) Automation, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence (AI), or even alien intelligence, the AI label is under the...

Architecture, Colonialism and East Asian Labour

A+I Working Paper Series, Issue #03 | Guest Editor: Jingliang Du Abstract Deadline (300 words): 8 June 2026 This issue invites contributions that examine how architectural labour organised, mediated, and contested colonial and imperial power, with a focus on East...