Exhibition | Divine Illusions: Statue Paintings
Opening next month at the Snite:
Divine Illusions: Statue Paintings from Colonial South America
Snite Museum of Art, University of Notre Dame, 18 January — 16 May 2020
Curated by Michael Schreffler
Unidentified artist, Our Lady of the Rosary of Pomata, 1669, oil on canvas (Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation, photo by Jamie Stukenberg).
In eighteenth-century Spanish America, sculpted images of the Virgin Mary were frequent subjects of paintings. Some of these ‘statue paintings’ depicted sculptures famed for miraculous intercession in medieval Spain. Others captured the likenesses of statues originating in the Americas and similarly celebrated for their divine intervention. Like the statues they portrayed, the paintings, too, were understood to be imbued with sacredness and were objects of devotion in their own right.
Drawn from the extraordinary holdings of the internationally renowned Carl & Marilynn Thoma Art Foundation, this exhibition focuses on statue paintings of the Virgin from the Viceroyalty of Peru, a part of the Spanish Empire encompassing much of Andean South America. It centers particularly on works produced in Cuzco (Peru) and artistic centers in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca and explores the European and American dimensions of the phenomenon, iconographic variations in the genre, and what these works of art reveal about sacred imagery and its operation in Spanish colonial South America. The identities of the painters and patrons of these works remain largely unknown, but certainly some of them were native Andeans.
The paintings in the exhibition cohere not only in their subject matter and place of production, but also in the painters’ meticulous treatment of the lavish dresses, mantles, jewels, and crowns that adorned the sculpted images. These details enhance their illusionistic effects, simulating the presence of the dressed statue itself. By making divine images from distant places present in colonial Peru and positioning them—through painting—in the company of sacred sculptures from the Americas, works in this genre traced a transatlantic spiritual geography conceived in eighteenth-century Spanish America and extending from the Andes to the Pyrenees and beyond.
In addition to the paintings on display, this exhibition will be supplemented with carefully selected archival and didactic materials. This landmark exhibition is curated by Michael Schreffler, Ph.D., of the University of Notre Dame’s Department of Art, Art History and Design.
Call for Panels | NEASECS 2020, New York — Traffic
From the Northeast American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies:
NEASECS 2020 — Traffic in the Global Eighteenth Century
Fordham University, Lincoln Center Campus, New York, 25–27 September 2020
Panel and roundtable proposals are due 30 January 2020 (the call for papers will be posted by 15 February 2020, with a March 30 due date).
It would be difficult to imagine New York City without traffic, but traffic should not be understood merely as the polluting congestion of its highly frequented streets and waterways, an issue already present in New Amsterdam. Traffic also underlines the commerce, or the passing through different hands as the Encyclopédie’s “Trafiqué” underlines, both legal and illicit, of goods, bodies, books, artworks, monies, services, and ideas that is as central to New York City today as it was to the global eighteenth century.
For this 43 edition of NEASECS, we invite panels, papers, and other interventions on the topic of traffic in the global eighteenth century: be it book smuggling, human trafficking, drugs & arms smuggling, import/export, transnational and/or colonial exchanges, or money traders and currency converters; the traffic of ideas as well as objects of knowledge and aesthetic beauty (art objects, fashion…); the infrastructure (or lack there of) that facilitated the movements of such a global and local traffic; and/or the effects and affects of traffic/trafficking including the sonic. All disciplines from the history of science, history of the book, history of religion, architecture, art history, music history, and history, to literary studies, anthropology, and sociology are encouraged to participate. Round tables are also highly encouraged.
Of course, in the long tradition of NEASECS, panels on topics different from the theme of the conference are also welcome.
Panels will be 1 hour and 30 minutes. Panels should not have more than 4 presenters and should allow for at least 20 minutes of discussion.
For the very first time, and perhaps inspired by the controlled chaos of traffic itself and the vibrant, diverse democracy of New York City, we will also be hosting an open forum or town hall on human trafficking in the global eighteenth century. Anyone who wishes to participate can, and this can be in lieu of a paper. Although if you wish to participate in this session in addition to a panel or roundtable that is also welcome. The two-hour session will have parliamentary style format with lively free interventions to any individual who stands up to speak. Those with disabilities that prevent them from standing will be given a flag to raise. All you must do is register. All those who register for this event will be listed as participants in the session in the program.
Proposals for panels and roundtables are due 30 January 2020.
The call for papers will be posted by 15 February 2020.
Submission to panels and roundtables (individual contributions) will be due 30 March 2020.
Early registration at a discounted price must be completed by 30 May 2020.
Registration at the full price must be completed by 1 August 2020.
Please submit your proposals directly to neasecs@gmail.com. Thank you.
Click here to register and submit your proposals.
Call for Papers | Beyond the Academy: Architectural History
From the Call for Papers:
The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain Architectural History Workshop
Beyond the Academy: Architectural History in Heritage, Conservation, and Curating
The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London, 21 March 2020
Proposals due by 17 January 2020
The Society of Architectural Historians of Great Britain (SAHGB) invites presentation proposals for the Architectural History Workshop in 2020. This is our annual event for postgraduate students and early career professionals to share and develop their ideas; it aims to provide an informal and supportive space away from your own institution where you can discuss, debate, practice and enjoy the company of like-minded researchers and scholars working within the history of the built environment, broadly conceived. The theme of this year’s Workshop is Beyond the Academy: Architectural History in Heritage, Conservation, and Curating. Architectural history is practised in a number of fora: in academia, heritage, museums and collections. Academic research and skills have uses beyond the academy and in a competitive and precarious job market, architectural historians need to be open to a wide set of potential career paths.
We welcome doctoral students and early career professionals in architectural history, heritage, conservation, etc. The event is limited to postgraduate students (full-time or part-time) and early career professionals (those who have completed their postgraduate qualification within the last 5 years). Sessions will be structured to reflect the diversity of presentation styles needed for contemporary practice in architectural history, rather than in themes. Break-out sessions will be facilitated by a panel of invited professionals and scholars to be announced in due course.
This year we are encouraging scholars to present their research in ways that encourage discursive engagement. Research may be at any stage, from a proposal, final work as you write-up, post- doctoral reflections, or anything in-between.
We invite participation in a number of presentation styles including:
• Object-based and/or single-image presentations
• Reports or heritage statements
• Methodological reflections
Proposals can be for either
• 10-minute presentations
• Conference posters (A3 sheet in a standard format)
We welcome research on all periods and all places relating to the study of buildings, the built environment and associated histories that address a full range of methodological approaches to architectural history. All disciplinary approaches are welcome, including but by no means limited to:
• Architecture and Theory
• Urban History, Histories of Architectural Ecologies
• Art History, Material and Visual Culture
• History, Social and Cultural History
• Archaeology, Anthropology, Geography
• Heritage and Conservation of the Built Environment
Proposals should be no longer than 250 words, and indicate whether they are for posters or presentations. If you are interested in making a contribution, please complete the submission form on our website. The closing date for applications is Friday 17 January 2019. The result of all applications will be communicated by Friday, 1 February, with confirmation from the speakers requested by the second week of February. The Workshop will take place on Saturday, 21 March at The Gallery, 70, Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EL. No funding is available and a contribution of £10 is requested from all attendees to cover costs (inclusive of all catering). For further information or clarification of any sort please contact the conference organizers at ahw@sahgb.org.uk.
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