Anna Jameson Lecture by Paris Spies-Gans
This evening at The National Gallery (the lecture is fully booked, but it will be live-streamed) . . .
Paris Spies-Gans | ‘The Spirit of a Particular Age’
Women Artists and the Challenges of an Integrated Art History
Online and in-person, The National Gallery, London, 13 March 2025, 6pm GMT
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Self Portrait in a Straw Hat, 1782 (London: The National Gallery).
Women artists are having a moment—featuring in exhibitions, headlines, and auctions. Art historians have, however, long known of their existence. Why do we continue to treat these creators as rare, exciting discoveries? This lecture will consider the complicated legacies surrounding women artists and notions of historical truth. Taking Anna Jameson’s concept of the ‘Spirit of a Particular Age’ as a jumping-off point, it will explore the tensions that often accompany studies of women in their own places and times and suggest a path towards a more integrated—and hopefully lasting—narrative of art: one that includes women as the prominent historical players they regularly were. Sometimes this entails uncomfortable work, such as questioning canonical narratives about women and art. However, embracing such complexities can ultimately lead to a deeper, fuller understanding of the cultural and gender dynamics that shaped the past—and continue to influence the present.
The lecture will also be live-streamed; please book tickets here»
Paris A. Spies-Gans holds a PhD in History from Princeton University, an MA in Art History from the Courtauld Institute of Art, and a BA from Harvard University. Her research has been supported by fellowships from the Harvard Society of Fellows and the J. Paul Getty Trust, among other institutions. Her first book, A Revolution on Canvas: The Rise of Women Artists in Britain and France, 1760–1830 (PMC/YUP 2022), has won several prizes in the fields of British art history and 18th-century studies and was named one of the top art books of 2022 by The Art Newspaper and The Conversation. She is currently working on her second book, A New Story of Art (US/Doubleday and UK/Viking).
Call for Applications | PhD Thesis on Spain and Ibero-America
From the Call for Expression of Interest, with the French version available here:
Doctoral Thesis on the History of Art and Visual Studies
Spain and Ibero-America, particularly New Spain, ca. 1650–1870
Directed by Tomas Macsotay and Émilie Roffidal
Applications due by 11 April 2025
This call is addressed to students wishing to prepare a doctoral thesis on aspects of the history of art and visual studies in Spain and Ibero-America, particularly New Spain, ca. 1650–1870. We will support the candidate in the preparation of a thesis proposal to be submitted in France. If the proposal is accepted, the candidate will benefit from the collaboration of two art history departments in Spain and France, enabling him or her to obtain a European doctorate.
p o s s i b l e t o p i c s
1 Artistic Academies in the Ibero-American Space
• Exchanges with Italy and France, artistic models
• Interpersonal and inter-institutional networks
• The relationship between the fine arts and the applied arts, in particular with the luxury and semi-luxury market; the role of the Juntaso de Commercio and Sociedades económicas de amigos del país
• The circulation of theoretical and archaeological knowledge
• Local heritage and the movement to create a Spanish artistic identity (casticismo, cultura andaluza)
2 Religious Art in Ibero-America
• Ecclesiastical interiors, furnishings, and religious sculpture as embodiments of the transformation of religious practice
• Text-image relationships, in particular through the study of printed sermons and panegyrics
• Relationships between ‘Baroque’ art and ‘neoclassicism’, between devotion in the private and public spheres
• The question of regional models and neoclassical reform (particularly neoclassicism in Madrid and Valencia)
• The place of antiquity in the vocabulary of forms
3 The Journey to Spain, published and unpublished
• Travelogues as an expression of the reception of Spanish art
• The reception of art (perception, intertextuality, and narrativity in commentaries on monuments and works of art)
• The journey as a search for a common artistic repertoire versus local identity
4 Engraving in the Ibero-American Space
• The use of engraving to show a diversity of images: landscapes, religious and/or political ceremonies, works of art, the population, everyday life, etc.
• Links between the real and the imaginary (compositions, recompositions, etc.)
• The question of violence, revolt, and upheaval
• Engravers and the image market
Candidates must have sufficient communication skills in French and Spanish (C1 or at least B2 levels). To apply, please send a cover letter, a thesis proposal on one of the proposed themes (3,000–6,000 characters), and a transcript of Master’s result list. Successful candidates will receive support in preparing their application for a doctoral contract (funded thesis) and in writing their final thesis proposal.
Directors
• Tomas Macsotay, associate professor, Pompeu Fabra University, tomas.macsotay@upf.edu
• Émilie Roffidal, senior researcher, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FRAMESPA laboratory, UMR 5136, Toulouse), emilie.roffidal@univ-tlse2.fr
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