Enfilade

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3  The Journey to Spain, published and unpublished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