Lecture | Mei Mei Rado on French Tapestries at the Qing Court
From the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History:
Mei Mei Rado | From France to the Qing Court: Tapestries as Cross-Cultural Textiles
Online and in-person, Villino Stroganoff, Rome, 24 June 2025, 11am
Left: The Indian Hunter, from the second set of the Tenture des Indes, detail, 1689–90, the Manufacture royale des Gobelins, tapestry, wool and silk (Paris: Mobilier national). Right: Yu Sheng and Zhang Weibang, “Cassowary,” in Manual of Birds (Niaopu), detail, 1774, album leaf, ink and colors on silk (Beijing: Palace Museum).
Large-scale pictorial tapestries ranked among the most precious art forms in the early modern period. While their circulations and functions among European courts have been well studied, less known are their journeys to China and subsequent roles in stimulating new developments in Qing imperial arts.
The first part of this talk uncovers the history of French tapestries that entered the Qing court during the eighteenth century as diplomatic gifts and trade goods, including the first and second Tentures chinoises woven by the Beauvais Manufactory and the Tenture des Indes made by the Gobelins Manufactory. Their trajectories reconstructed from both the French and Qing sides offer a window into the complexity of global networks and contingency of cultural encounters. These tapestries’ themes, marked by idealized exoticism compressing distance and time, functioned as a kind of diplomatic lingua franca adaptable to express divergent cultural and political visions. The second part of this presentation examines how European tapestries gave rise to a new type of textile art form in the Qing imperial workshops and an innovative mode for furnishing the palace interiors. The medium’s architectonic tension and interactive visual potential enabled the Qianlong emperor to envision his own physical presence in relation to the tapestry in space and offered him new ways to reenact narratives charged with imperial significance.
The event will be available online through the Bibliotheca Hertziana’s Vimeo Channel»
Mei Mei Rado is assistant professor at Bard Graduate Center. Her research and teaching focus on the history of textiles, dress, and decorative arts in China and France from the eighteenth to the early twentieth centuries, especially on Sino-French exchanges. Previously she held curatorial and research positions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Palace Museum, Beijing. She is the author of The Empire’s New Cloth: Cross-Cultural Textiles at the Qing Court (Yale University Press, 2025). Next spring she will be an invited researcher at the Institut national d’histoire de l’art in Paris, where she will work on a new project on the adaptations of baroque and rococo ornament in Qing arts.
Classic Art London, Summer 2025
From Classic Art London’s Instagram account:
Classic Art London, Summer 2025
Galleries around London, Monday, 23 June — Friday, 4 July 2025
Join us during Classic Art London! Our summer season of old and modern masterworks at London’s leading dealers—in St. James’s, Mayfair, Belgravia, and Cecil Court—welcomes international collectors, curators, and connoisseurs. Selling exhibitions are accompanied by talks and events around art history and topics of debate for collections. From Titian to Turner, Paul Nash to Nordic Cubism, discover the finest works London’s art market has to offer this summer. Pick up an illustrated map from participating dealers and plan a gallery hop or leisurely stroll between venues. Enjoy special offers at Wilton’s, Franco’s, Café Murano, and Fortnum & Mason. Visit the website for full details.
Information on talks is available here»
Week-Long Courses at The Courtauld, Summer 2025
Jean-Baptiste Raguenet, A View of Paris from the Pont Neuf, 1763, oil on canvas, 46 × 84 cm
(Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 71.PA.26)
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From The Courtauld, with a few of the 20 offerings noted below (there also are 5 online courses available) . . .
Summer School at The Courtauld
The Courtauld, London, June — July 2025 (each class lasts one week)
Each in-person Summer School course is full-time, and while you can take only one course per week, you are able to pursue a particular interest in a period or theme across two or more weeks. The teaching day generally lasts from 10:00 to 16:30, with registration from 9:30 on the first day. Morning or afternoon classroom sessions are complemented by object-focused study in London’s museums, galleries, printrooms, churches, and other sites. We benefit greatly from The Courtauld Gallery. It features as a teaching resource in many of our courses, and is the venue for post-graduate talks introducing aspects of our collections and for our Summer School party. The fee for all Summer School on-campus courses is £645 (each online course is £395).
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#6 Harvey Shepherd | Rococo to Revolution: French Art and its Geographical Contexts, 1700–1789
In-person, 23–27 June 2025
This course will examine the ever-changing roles of French art during the turbulent eighteenth century, from the later years and death of Louis XIV to the Revolution of 1789. Students will consider the role that French art played in forming identities and tastes across the world; from shaping desirable aristocratic luxury to envisaging radical futures.
French art and taste of the eighteenth century will be encountered through a series of ever-widening geographical contexts. The opening classes will examine the political and economic centres of France, looking at the Château de Versailles, as well as the artistic culture of Paris and its society during the Enlightenment and the early years of the French Revolution. Alongside the court and the capital, we will consider France’s periphery and its neighbours, examining interactions with cities like Lyon and Marseille, and both peacetime connections and wartime rivalries with European states such as Great Britain, The Netherlands, and the Holy Roman Empire. Lastly, the course considers the wider global contexts of French art as it was both collected and sent abroad, examining the colonial and imperial interactions of France in an increasingly connected world, from the court of Qing China to Senegal, India, and the Caribbean.
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#7 Nicola Moorby | Travelling Light: Turner, Constable, and the Shape of British Art
In-person, 23–27 June 2025
This course will explore a fascinating aspect of British art history, the parallel careers of John Constable and J.M.W. Turner. Between them, these giants of landscape painting revolutionised the status of their genre, transforming the depiction of place through empirical experience and emotive response.
However, their approaches were very different. Turner roamed throughout Britain and the Continent in search of inspirational scenery, combining observation of nature with literary and historical references. By contrast, Constable nurtured his vision at home, rooting himself in the familiar and the everyday. As well as comparing differences and similarities within their works, we shall examine the wider cultural contexts pertinent to their careers: the reproductive print market, the nineteenth-century experience of travel, and particularly the role of the Royal Academy in London, the arena where their robust professional rivalry was played out. We shall also look closely at the artists’ materials and techniques, particularly their innovations with oil paint, watercolour and their use of sketchbooks. The course culminates with a discussion of their respective artistic legacies and their changing reputations through the twentieth century and beyond.
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#13 Kyle Leyden | Constructing the Heart of Empire: London’s Public Architecture
In-person, 30 June – 4 July 2025 (the course is booked, but there is a waiting list)
Architecture is the art form whose presence, symbolic message and socio-political legacy cannot be avoided. The construction of great buildings is an undertaking imbued with significant symbolic and political currency which continues to have an unavoidable resonance with those who continue to interact with these spaces today.
Through an overview of key historical moments and an examination of several major architectural projects, this course will present London as a city in which architecture was consciously deployed as a potent device through which the changing essential values of, and core political vision for, the British Empire were communicated to Londoners, the wider British population and to foreign observers. It will also consider current debates about how post-imperial societies can and ought to deal with the highly contested legacies of these prominent urban spaces.
Engaging with diverse issues and concepts, the course gives students an opportunity to gain a solid understanding of the social and artistic history of London and its critical role as a stage for the theatre of Empire. It features visits to major public buildings and royal palaces and includes spaces that are otherwise inaccessible to the general public including the Royal Apartments of the Palace of Westminster, and the spectacular interiors of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
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#17 Giulia Martina Weston | Beyond Artemisia: Italian Women Artists in the Long 17th Century
In-person, 7–11 July 2025
Over the last decade a conspicuous number of monographic exhibitions has been devoted to Italian women artists of the early modern period, paving the way for notable scholarly findings, chief rediscoveries and newly emerged research avenues. Focusing on the careers and production of a selected group of artists, this course will unveil the most significant discoveries gathered so far, aiming to engage its attendees in a rich exchange on the roles played by these extraordinary women in their society as well as consider what lesson can be drawn today from their experiences.
Ranging from the pioneering examples set by Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana to the versatile output of Artemisia Gentileschi and Giovanna Garzoni, our enquiry will look at specific geographical areas (such as the Bologna of Elisabetta Sirani and Ginevra Cantofoli) and consider a wealth of artistic media, from minute artworks on parchment to Plautilla Bricci’s grand architectural designs. Visits to the National Gallery and The Courtauld Print Room will allow us to gain first-hand knowledge of this exquisite group of artists, and to consider their legacy in dialogue with the predominant art-historical canon.
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#23 Sheila McTighe | Re-Imagining the Everyday: Genre Paintings and Prints in 16th- to 18th-Century Europe
In-person, 14–18 July 2025
The secular subject matter we now call ‘genre’ imagery grew steadily in popularity through the early modern period across Europe. From depictions of peasants at work or play to the erotic intrigues of the aristocracy, genre imagery explores the full range of human behaviours, sometimes imagined, and sometimes rooted firmly in real life. We shall investigate this subject matter and the artistic practices of naturalism or realism with which it was often allied in works by artists like Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Sofonisba Anguissola, Caravaggio, Jacques Callot, Diego Velazquez, Georges de La Tour, Judith Leyster, Rembrandt, Johannes Vermeer, Antoine Watteau, and Jean-Siméon Chardin.
In contemporary writings about art, genre painting was often decried as unworthy of an ambitious artist. However, primary sources show that such art was highly sought after, whether by elite patrons commissioning paintings or by ‘middling’ people buying images made for the marketplace. Printed images were a constant source of new subjects drawn from modern life, while prints reproducing paintings further expanded the range of genre art and reached a wide audience. Among other, we shall discuss what the functions of everyday imagery might have been for such a diverse body of people. Classroom sessions will be complemented by visits to London’s rich collections of paintings and prints.
In Memoriam | David Bindman (1940–2025)
Posted recently (3 June) by the Paul Mellon Centre:
David Bindman (1940–2025)
by Sarah Victoria Turner
We are saddened to hear that David Bindman (1940–2025) Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at University College London and Fellow of the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research, Harvard University, has passed away after a short illness.
David has been an immensely influential figure in British art over the last sixty years, writing on Blake (the subject of his first published article in 1966), Hogarth, Roubiliac, the French Revolution and caricature, and race and representation. His book Blake as an Artist (1977) endures as a key text, while his Hogarth for the World in Art series (1981) remains a standard introduction to the artist. His publications for the Paul Mellon Centre (PMC) include Karl Friedrich Schinkel ‘The English Journey’ (with Gottfried Reimann, 1993) and the multiple-award-winning Roubiliac and the Eighteenth-Century Monument (with Malcolm Baker, 1995). He was a founding figure in the multi-volume project Image of the Black in Western Art (2006 to date) and co-editor of thirteen volumes in the series. . .
Keep reading here»
Call for Papers | Posterity and Fortunes of 17th- and 18th- C. Artists
From Le blog de l’ApAhAu::
Create and After? / Créer et après?
Posterity and Critical Fortunes of 17th- and 18th- Century European Artists
Postérité et fortune critique des artistes européens des XVIIᵉ et XVIIIᵉ siècles
Salle Vasari, Galerie Colbert, 2 rue Vivienne, Paris, 7–8 November 2025
Proposals due by 28 June 2025
According to Antoine Schnapper, one of the tasks of the art historian is to “go against the tide of neglect and oblivion.” Art history has been built on a selection of works and events deemed worthy of remembrance. Conversely, artists, artefacts, and other objects deemed unworthy of an era, a trend, or a discourse have been neglected or obscured. The notions of ‘critical fortune’, ‘posterity’ and ‘reception’ highlight this dynamic. The artists of the 17th and 18th centuries who enjoy lasting recognition escape oblivion, while others, less valued, disappear from the narrative. These contrasting fates are rooted in a variety of factors: changing aesthetic sensibilities, the material nature of the works, historical upheavals, and their visibility in museum collections.
The history of European art has its origins in the writing of artists’ biographies, from Vasari to Félibien to Dezallier d’Argenville. It is based not only on the objective appreciation of works, but also on the judgements made by artists, the public, critics, historians, and the art market, which can alter or reinforce an artist’s position. Since the end of the 19th century and the birth of art history as a discipline, historians such as Henry Jouin (1878; 1888; 1890), Jules Guiffrey (1877), Pierre Marcel (1914; 1924), and Jean Locquin (1912; 1933) have set out to fill these gaps by shedding light on the mechanisms that led to certain artists being forgotten. However, these early studies, which were often based on specific cases, did not provide an overall analysis of the oblivion or marginalisation of artists. Since the 1960s, many artists of the 17th and 18th centuries have been rediscovered or reassessed thanks to monographs accompanied by catalogues raisonnés. New methodologies and easier access to sources have enriched this research, thanks to digital technologies that bring to light previously unpublished information on artists’ careers and their influences. The rise of social history and gender studies has made it possible to place artists in broader contexts, and the study of materials and techniques offers new perspectives on artistic creation. These tools have considerably renewed the approach to monographs, providing a more nuanced reading of artists’ careers. However, the traditional monograph, even when accompanied by a catalogue raisonné, is not always sufficient to provide a comprehensive overview of the critical fortunes of artists.
While there are still many forgotten or neglected artists, the wealth of publications in recent decades provides fertile material for new general reflections, fleshed out by new approaches to the discipline, such as studies. This colloquium therefore proposes to question the notion of posterity, reception, and critical fortune, not only from the point of view of the artist, but also from that of the amateur, cultural institutions, and the public in the 17th and 18th centuries. It will look at the factors and mechanisms that contributed to the rise or fall of certain artists. It is therefore intended to be a reflection on the test that all artists must overcome: time. What role have critics, academies, Salons, the public, and cultural institutions played in this dynamic? What influence have the art market and collectors had on the recognition of artists? In addition, this symposium will look at the challenges faced by art historians when faced with material gaps: how do we deal with an artist or a work for which sources are rare or absent?
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The first theme of this colloquium will focus on the notion of posterity. In his Salon of 1765, Diderot stated: “The artist, in his studio, must feel around him the gaze of a severe and incorruptible posterity.” In so doing, he emphasised the need for artists not to work ‘for their own century’, but to create a future legacy. Taken from the Latin posteritas, posterity refers to the time that comes after, the future. As early as the 17th century, Furetière’s dictionary bears witness to this conception that it is the artist’s responsibility to look after his posterity. It was up to him to ensure that he would be remembered. Many artists in the 17th and 18th centuries directed their careers in this direction. This focus of the symposium will therefore seek to explore the means put in place by artists to ensure their posterity. How did artists’ personal strategies—whether in terms of constructing their image or managing their relations with patrons, critics or institutions—influence their posterity ? In addition, we would like to encourage papers on the material resources that certain artists have deployed to guarantee the longevity of their works. This includes, for example, a certain technical mastery to ensure the longevity and transmission of their works.
Preferred topics
• The use of writing in the construction of posterity : analysis of artists’ memory strategies
• Analysis of the use of prints to promote and disseminate a work of art
• Building a legacy: transmission within families and artists’ studios
• Absence, indifference and refusal of posterity
• The impact of the materiality of works of art on posterity: ephemeral creations, time-tested techniques, etc.
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The second theme of the colloquium will be reception. This term refers to the way in which a work or an artist is perceived and appreciated by the public, who are the main players here. Reception is subjective, sensitive and dependent on the tastes of an era, as well as the social and political influences of the time. By ensuring that his work is well received during his lifetime, the artist takes a step towards success and immortality. Tastes evolve regularly, and works are constantly re-evaluated in the light of one artist’s, one audience’s and one era’s view of another. Criteria differ according to time and place and can therefore be received differently by each century and each new generation. Sometimes it is the works themselves that fall victim to this process, particularly when restoration work alters the original appearance of the objects. This constant questioning of taste can be damaging for some artists, but beneficial for others. The aim is to study how these contexts have influenced artistic criticism and the fortunes of artists. How have political and social events altered the criteria by which works are judged? How does the material state of a work affect its reception?
Preferred topics
• The use and role of the written work in the reception of artists and their works : press articles, critical reviews of the Salons, Academy lectures, treatises, etc.
• The influence of taste on the reception of artists according to the context of space and time
• Lack of interest in an artist, a factor in the destruction of works
• The disappearance of works, a factor in the oblivion of artists
• Consequences of the emergence of the concept of genius in the 18th century on the reception of artists and their works
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The final theme of this symposium will be the notion of critical fortune. This methodical examination of an artist’s reception reflects not only the aesthetic and intellectual judgements made about their work, but also the evolution of their reputation and influence in art history. Critical fortune thus acts as a selective memory, determining which artists are preserved in history and which others sink into oblivion. It influences not only the individual trajectories of artists, but also our understanding of the evolution of styles and aesthetic debates over time. In this sense, critical fortune becomes an essential filter in the writing of art history, structured by the choices of what is valued and what is omitted. Favourable critical fortune can propel an artist to the rank of ‘master’, while unfavourable fortune can condemn him or her to indifference. However, such fortunes are often unstable, subject to fluctuations in trends, social contexts and power dynamics in the art world. This focus will explore transformations in the perception of artists : how were certain artists revalued in the 19th and 20th centuries? What are the reasons for these critical revisions, and how have these reassessments altered their place in art history ? In this way, writing the critical fortune will renew the discourse on an artist for generations to come.
Preferred topics
• The role played by monographs in building the critical fortunes of artists past and present.
• The importance of the vocabulary used to describe artists: ‘master’, ‘small’, ‘great’, ‘minor artist’, ‘major artist’, etc.
• The influence of museums (museography, exhibitions, etc.), universities (conferences, seminars, publications, etc.), the art market and the press.
• New methodologies: what contribution can they make to the writing of critical fortune ?
• Regimes of historicity: the influence of the socio-historical context on the writing of art history and on heritage issues.
Presentations will last twenty minutes and will take the form of individual and collective case studies, focusing, among other things, on the themes listed in the call for papers. Proposals (600–700 words) must be submitted, along with a short biography, to fortunecritique@gmail.com by 28 June 2025. A publication will be considered after the conference.
Organizing Committee
• Élisa Bérard, PhD candidate in Art History, Sorbonne University, Centre André-Chastel
• Romane Delsinne, PhD candidate in Art History, Sorbonne University, Centre André-Chastel
• Enzo Menuge, PhD candidate in Art History, Sorbonne University, CNRS, Centre André-Chastel
Scientific Committee
• Christine Gouzi, Professor of Modern Art History, Sorbonne University, Centre André-Chastel
• Étienne Jollet, Professor of Modern Art History, Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne
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b i b l i o g r a p h y
BARBILLON, Claire, CHEVILLOT Catherine, MARTIN, François-René, Histoire de l’art du XIXe siècle, 1848–1914 : bilans et perspectives, actes du colloque École du Louvre-musée d’Orsay, 13–15 septembre 2007, Paris, École du Louvre, 2012.
BARTHES Roland, « La mort de l’auteur », In : Manteia, n°5, 4e trimestre, 1968, p. 12–17.
BONFAIT Olivier, « Réception et diffusion. Orientations de la recherche sur les artistes de la période moderne », In: Histoire de l’art, n°35–36, 1996, p. 101–114.
BONFAIT Olivier, « Conclusion : une génération La Fosse ? Nouveaux lieux et paradigmes de la peinture en France autour de 1700 », In : Bulletin du Centre de recherche du château de Versailles [en ligne], 15, 2018.
BRISAC Anne-Laure (dir.), Perspective : la monographie d’artiste. 4/2006, [revue], Paris, Armand Colin – La revue de l’INHA, 2007.
BOURDIEU Pierre, « L’illusion biographique », In : Actes de la recherche en sciences sociales, n°66–67, 1987, p. 95–104.
CHASTAGNOL, Karen, « Charles de La Fosse et la peinture d’histoire autour de 1700 », In : Bulletin du Centre de recherche du château de Versailles [en ligne], 15, 2018.
DIDEROT Denist, Salons, vol. 1 (1759–1761–1763), texte établi et présenté par J. Seznec et J. Adhémar, 2nde édition, Londres, Oxford Clarendon Press, [1957] 1975.
DIMIER Louis, Histoire de la peinture française du retour de Vouet à la mort de Le Brun, Paris et Bruxelles, 2 vol., 1926–1927.
DOSSE François, Le Pari biographique. Écrire une vie, Paris, La Découverte, 2005.
FEBVRE Lucien, « Penser l’histoire de l’art », In : Annales, économies, sociétés, civilisations, n°5/1, janvier-mars 1950, p. 134–136.
FEBVRE Lucien, « Résurrection d’un peintre : à propos de Georges de La Tour », In : Annales. Économies, sociétés, civilisations, t. 5, 1950, n°1, p. 129–134 ; rééd. Par Brigitte Mazon dans Lucien Febvre. Vivre l’histoire, Paris, R. Lafont/A. Colin, coll. « Bouquins », 2009, p. 260–265.
GOUZI Christine, « L’histoire de l’art selon Antoine Schnapper », in Commentaire, Numéro 129 (1), 2010, p. 151–158.
GOUZI Christine, « Préface », In : Antoine Schnapper, Jean Jouvenet 1644–1717 et la peinture d’histoire à Paris, Paris, Arthena, [1974] 2010.
GOUZI Christine, « L’histoire dans les règles de l’art : la monographie », In : actes du colloque Artistes, collections et musées : hommage à Antoine Schnapper, Paris, INHA, 2009, Paris, Presses de l’Université Paris-Sorbonne, 2016.
GOUZI Christine, « Préface », In : Nicolas-Guy Brenet. 1728–1792, Paris, ARTHENA, 2023.
JOLLET Etienne, « La temporalité dans les arts visuels : l’exemple des Temps modernes », in Revue de l’art, N° 178(4), 2012, p. 49–64.
JOUIN Henry, Charles Le Brun et les Arts sous Louis XIV, Paris, Imprimerie nationale, 1889.
LOCQUIN Jean, La peinture d’Histoire en France de 1747 à 1785, Paris, 1912 (rééd. 1978).
MARCEL Pierre, La Peinture Française au début du XVIIIᵉ siècle. 1690–1721, Paris, Ancienne maison Quantin, 1906.
PASSINI, Michela, L’oeil et l’archive : une histoire de l’histoire de l’art, Paris, La Découverte, 2017.
RIS (de) CLÉMENT, Les Amateurs d’autrefois, Paris, E. Plon & Cie, 1877.
ROSENBERG, Pierre, « Roberto Longhi et le XVIIᵉ siècle français », In : De Raphaël à la Révolution, les relations artistiques entre l’Italie et la France, Paris, Skira, 2005, p. 27–36 (1ère éd. dans G. Previtali [dir.], L’Arte di scrivere sull’arte. Roberto Longhi nella cultura del nostro tempo, Roma, Editori riuniti, 1982).
SCHNAPPER Antoine, « Les tâches de l’historien de l’art. », In : Contrepoint, n°2, 1973, p. 161–172.
SHAFTESBURY, Characteristics of Men, Manners, Opinions, Times, réédité par Lawrence E. Klein, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, [1711], 2000.
THUILLIER Jacques, CHÂTELET, Albert, La peinture française. De Le Nain à Fragonard, Genève, Skira, 1964.
THUILLIER Jacques, La peinture française au XVIIe siècle, vol. 2., Genève, Skira, 1992.
VAISSE Pierre, « Du rôle de la réception dans l’histoire de l’art », in Histoire de l’art, n°35-36, 1996, p. 3–8.
WARESQUIEL (de) Emmanuel, Il nous fallait des mythes : La Révolution et ses imaginaires de 1789 à nos jours, Paris, Tallandier, 2024.
WOOD, Christopher, A History of Art History, Princeton, University Press, 2019.
e x h i b i t i o n s
• Dunkerque, Lille, Valenciennes, 1980 : La Peinture française aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles, Dunkerque, musée des Beaux-Arts, Valenciennes, musée des Beaux-Arts, Lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts, 1980, Dunkerque, musée des Beaux-Arts, 1980 (dir. Jacques Kuhnmünche et Hervé Oursel).
• Ottawa, 1976 : Le siècle de Louis XV : peinture française de 1710 à 1774, Ottawa, musée des Beaux-Arts du Canada, 19 mars – 2 mai 1976, Ottawa, Galerie nationale du Canada, 1976 (dir. Pierre Rosenberg).
• Sceaux, 2013 : 1704, Le Salon, les Arts et le Roi, Sceaux, domaine départemental, musée de l’Île-de-France, 22 mars – 30 juin 2013, Milan, Silvana Editoriale, 2013 (dir. Dominique Brême et Frédérique Lanoë).
• Tours, Toulouse, 2000 : Les Peintres du roi, 1648–1783, Tours, musée des Beaux-Arts, 18 mars – 18 juin 2000 ; Toulouse, musée des Augustins, 30 juin – 2 octobre 2000, Paris, Réunion des musées nationaux, 2000.
Exhibition | Women Artists: 1300–1900
Now on view, as noted at the blog Art History News:
Women Artists: 1300–1900 / Ženy, mistryně, umělkyně 1300–1900
National Gallery Prague, Waldstein Riding School Prague, 29 May — 2 November 2025
Curated by Olga Kotková
Elisabetta Sirani, Omphale, ca. 1660-61 (Dresden: Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister , Gal.-Nr. 388).
The exhibition presents the artistic work of women from the Middle Ages to the end of the 19th century. Exhibited artworks highlight the unique qualities of women’s work, particularly in painting, sculpture, drawing, and graphic art, as well as in the applied arts, revealing a lesser-known dimension within the history of art. Attention is given to the description of the environment in which female artists worked; social connections and influences shaping their work and the themes women explored in their art.
For the first time, visitors have a chance to see a comprehensive exhibition of female artists who were active in Central Europe, the Netherlands, and present-day Italy in the period 1300–1900. The exhibition is focused on this period because it marks a turning point in the status of women artists: they gradually gained access to art academies, and both aristocratic and urban women were actively engaging in art. Female artists were increasingly taking control of their careers, gradually establishing themselves professionally and socially. However, only a few were able to run an art studio like male artists. The theme of the exhibition underscores a key message: while gender influences artistic expression and has historically limited women’s opportunities for recognition and education, what truly matters is talent, skill, and the determination to succeed in a still male-dominated world.
It may come as a surprise to some that women’s daring fantasies were already manifested during the medieval period, revealing how deeply religious women, especially nuns and monastics, harboured both erotic and maternal desires. Visitors will also be captivated by the stories of female painters from the Renaissance, many of whom were victims of violence and intrigue; the cruelty they endured was often reflected in their artistic work. Many sought to match the output of their male counterparts, proving that they were just as skilled, if not more so.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous talented women made their mark north of the Alps, achieving success as scientists, painters, and travellers. A very inspiring story is that of Maria Sibylla Merian, who in 1699 undertook an adventurous expedition to Suriname to study insects. In the late 18th century and the early decades of the 19th century, several prominent female painters emerged, including Angelica Kauffmann, Barbara Krafft Steiner, and Amalie von Peter. Their paths were followed by other artists. Thanks to their talent, family support, and education, they were able to fully dedicate themselves to professional artistic creation, which brought them self-fulfilment, respect, and recognition.
Conference | Baldassarre Fontana and Stucco Decoration across Europe
From ArtHist.net:
Stucco Decoration across Europe
Baldassarre Fontana and Other Travelling Stucco Artists
Online and in-person, Olomouc and Kroměříž, Czech Republic, 16–18 June 2025
Focusing on the the life and work of Baldassarre Fontana (1661–1733), this conference addresses stucco artists working across Europe in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Fontana created a number of remarkable works, particularly in the territories that are now the Czech Republic and Poland. The conference aims to present new findings pertaining to material studies within the broader context of the migration phenomenon, showcasing diverse methodological approaches and the latest techniques for studying, interpreting, restoring, preserving, and conserving stucco decorations across Europe.
The conference is organized as part of the Stucco Decoration across Europe project (STUDEC), co-financed by the European Union thanks to the Erasmus+ programme, KA220-HED – Cooperation partnerships in higher education. The conference is held under the auspices of the Swiss Embassy in the Czech Republic and the Italian Cultural Institute in Prague. Partners of the conference are Archbishopric of Olomouc and Archbishopric Château and Garden in Kroměříž.
Scientific Committee
Alberto Felici (SUPSI Mendrisio), Giacinta Jean (SUPSI Mendrisio), Martin Krummholz (Palacký University Olomouc), Ondřej Jakubec (Palacký University Olomouc), Michał Kurzej (Jagiellonian University in Cracow), Serena Quagliaroli (University of Turin), Jan Válek (Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the Czech Academy of Sciences), Jana Zapletalová (Palacký University Olomouc)
Organising Committee
Jana Zapletalová, Martin Krummholz, Ondřej Jakubec
Organisational Assistance
Štěpánka Malíková, Jan Malý, Jiří Mikuš, Natálie Nosková, Anna Rýcová
m o n d a y , 1 6 j u n e
8.00 Registration
9.00 Welcome and Greetings
• Marialuisa Pappalardo, Director of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Praga
• Lorenza Fässler Pascuzzo, Deputy head of Mission, Swiss Embassy to the Czech Republic
• Jana Zapletalová, Palacký University Olomouc
9.20 Section 1 | Baldassarre Fontana between Chiasso, Rome, and Moravia: Education, Life, Patrons, and Networking
Directed by Jana Zapletalová and Martin Krummholz
• Stefania Bianchi and Mark Bertogliati — Baldassarre Fontana: Professional Success and Patrimonial Fortune
• Federico Bulfone Gransinigh — Baldassarre Fontana in Rome: Collaborations and Apprenticeships between Hypotheses and Certainties
• Laura Facchin — Baldassarre Fontana and Ercole Ferrata’s Workshop in Rome: The Legacy of Alessandro Algardi
• Katarzyna Brzezina-Scheuerer — Hohenaschau and the Stucco Decorations in Bavaria in the Late 17th Century
• Jana Zapletalová — The Unknown Beginnings of Baldassarre Fontana’s Work in Moravia
12.15 Lunch break
14.00 Section 2 | Baldassarre Fontana in Poland: Impacts and the Art of Stucco of His Time
Directed by Matej Klemenčič and Piotr Krasny
• Michał Kurzej — Stuccoes in Bookkeeping: The Cracow Work of Baldassarre Fontana in Light of Archival Sources
• Mariusz Smoliński — Baldassarre Fontana and the Stucco Decoration of the Pawlowski Chapel in Doboszowice (Silesia)
• Martin Krummholz — Early Commissions of Santino Bussi (1664–1736): Payments to Stucco Workers in Central Europe around 1700
• Marina Dell´Omo — Stuccatori e pittori lombardi e ticinesi nell’Europa centrale, tra legami personali e rapporti con la committenza: Qualche esempio
16.15 Optional Visit: Corpus Domini Chapel in former Jesuit Convict, led by Jan Malý and Medea Uccelli
t u e s d a y , 1 7 j u n e
8.00 Departure to Kroměříž Château
9.30 Section 3 | Baldassarre Fontana’s Stucco Decoration in the Sala Terrena, Kroměříž Château
Directed by Alberto Felici and Jana Zapletalová
• Jana Zapletalová — Brief Art Historical Introduction
• Alberto Felici and Giovanni Nicoli — Emergency Interventions
• Jan Válek, Sylwia Svorová Pawełkowicz, and Petr Kozlovcev — Materials and Manufacturing Techniques
• Sylwia Svorová Pawełkowicz and Jan Válek — Original Finishes and Subsequent Coatings
• Peter Majoroš — The Colour Conception
12.00 Lunch break / time to visit the Castle and Gardens
15.00 Departure from Kromeriz to Olomouc
16.30 Section 4 | Stucco Manufacturing Techniques and Their Conservation Issues
Directed by Giacinta Jean and Alberto Felici
• Alberto Felici, Giovanni Nicoli, and Medea Uccelli — The Cleaning of Stucco Decorations: Conservation Treatments between Historical-Aesthetic Instances and Operational Practice
• Jan Vojtěchovský and Daniela Jakubů — Stucco Decoration of the Chapel of St. Isidore in Křenov and Its Surface Treatments
• Blanka Veselá and Zuzana Wichterlová — Study of Original Stucco Techniques by Bartolomeo Muttoni and Their Polychromy in the Baroque Chapel of Kácov Castle
• Marta Caroselli, Eleonora Cigognetti, Alberto Felici, Giovanni Nicoli, and Alessia Grandoni — Consolidation of Stucco Decorations, Laboratory Tests, and Field Applications
w e d n e s d a y , 1 8 j u n e
9.00 Section 5 | Materiality, Authenticity, and Perception of 17th- and 18th-Century Stucco Decorations
Directed by Serena Quagliaroli and Edi Guerzoni
• Serena Quagliaroli — Some Preliminary Observations on the History of Stucco Restoration: Comparing Cases from Piedmont and Eastern Europe
• Andrzej Siwek — Conservation Works on the Interior of St. Anne’s Church in Cracow in the 2nd Half of the 20th Century and Their Place in the State of Research on Fontana’s Artistic Legacy
• Daniela Russo, Marie-Claire Canepa, Annalisa Dameri, Andrea Longhi, Irene Malizia, Paola Manchinu, and Chiara Ricci — The Stucco Decoration of the Sala Verde at the Castello del Valentino: Study, Preservation, and Proposals for Conservation
• Stefania De Blasi and Edi Guerzoni — The Color of Stuccoes: Towards a History of Restoration in 1990s Piedmont from the Pinin Brambilla Barcilon Archive and the Case of the Former Santa Croce Convent in Turin
• Renata Tišlová, Zdeněk Kovářík, and Zdeňka Míchalová — Material and Technological Beginnings of Stucco Marble Art in the Czech Lands at the Turn of the 17th and 18th Centuries
12.00 Lunch break
13.30 Section 6 | Predecessors and Contemporaries of Fontana: Interactions between Stucco Workers, Architects and Other Artists
Directed by Ondřej Jakubec and Massimo Romeri
• Giuseppe Dardanello — Stuccatori luganesi to the Challenge of Painted Quadratura: Competition and Interaction between Decorative Techniques and Choices of Taste in the Decorative Worksite of Stupinigi
• Frančiška Oražem, Sara Turk Marolt, and Matej Klemenčič — From Lombard Tradition to Bavarian Innovation: The Transformation of Stucco and Altarpiece Production in Carniola in 1730s to 1750s
• Piotr Krasny — Gesamtkunstwerk, Bel Composto, or Homogenous Arrangement? On the Problems with Describing Early Modern Interior Decorations by Artists from the Region of Lake Como and Lake Lugano
14.45 Final discussion
New Book | Beyond Adornment: Jewelry and Identity in Art
From The Getty:
Yvonne Markowitz and Susanne Gänsicke, with contributions by Emily Stoehrer, Beyond Adornment: Jewelry and Identity in Art (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2025), 184 pages, ISBN: 978-1606069622, $40.
Why do people wear jewelry? What meaning does it hold for the wearer? And what does the wearer hope it will convey to those they encounter—or to someone viewing their image decades, even centuries, later?
Artistic renderings of the human figure—in portraiture, sculpture, and other media—in a range of allegorical, historical, and religious images often showcase jewelry. The ornaments depicted in such designs offer an abundance of information that not only heightens our understanding of the subject but also provides insights into the imagination of the artist. Jewelry enhances our enjoyment of works of art because it is visually compelling, sensuous, and laden with an array of associations and symbolic meanings. Bringing together spectacular and significant art objects depicting figures wearing sumptuous personal adornments that define who they are within the specific milieus in which they lived, this richly illustrated and accessible volume represents a novel, interdisciplinary approach to the ways in which jewelry can be studied and understood.
Susanne Gänsicke is senior conservator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Yvonne J. Markowitz is the Rita J. Kaplan and Susan B. Kaplan Curator Emerita of Jewelry at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
c o n t e n t s
Timothy Potts — Foreword
Introduction — Yvonne Markowitz and Susanne Gänsicke
1 Susanne Gänsicke — Projecting a Powerful Presence
2 Susanne Gänsicke — In Search of the Spiritual
3 Yvonne Markowitz — For Those We Love and Mourn
4 Susanne Gänsicke — An Illustrious Past Serving the Present
5 Yvonne Markowitz — Fantasizing the Present
Emily Stoehrer — The Theater of Everyday Life: Dressing the Part
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
Illustration Credits
Index
Selldorf Architects to Lead New Masterplan for The Wallace
From the press release:
Annabelle Selldorf, Principal of Selldorf Architects, photographed at The Frick just before it reopened in April following a five-year renovation led by Selldorf.
The Wallace Collection is pleased to announce that Selldorf Architects, in collaboration with Purcell and Lawson Ward Studio, has been appointed to lead the design and delivery of a transformational masterplan for Hertford House, the museum’s historic home in London.
This ambitious project will reimagine and revitalise the museum’s spaces for the 21st century, preserving the charm and unique character of the building while improving access, sustainability, and visitor experience. The masterplan marks a significant investment in the long-term future of the museum and its ability to connect diverse audiences with one of the world’s most remarkable art collections. Selldorf Architects, renowned for their work with leading cultural institutions including The National Gallery, the recently reopened Frick Collection, and the Neue Galerie, will serve as Lead Design Architect.
They are joined by Purcell, the UK’s largest team of heritage architects and long-standing heritage consultants to the Wallace Collection, and Lawson Ward Studio, who developed the original project brief and who bring expertise in cultural learning environments—the practice being responsible for the recently opened Roden Centre for Creative Learning at the National Gallery. Together, the team brings exceptional international experience in museum and gallery design, combined with a deep understanding of Hertford House and the operational needs of the Wallace Collection. Their joint appointment has been made under public procurement regulations and represents a once in a lifetime opportunity to re-visit the collection and its setting and to enhance the experience for its friends and visitors.
The announcement comes in the Collection’s 125th anniversary year and as it celebrates a number of significant milestones in public engagement. It recently welcomed over 500,000 visitors in a single year for the first time, helped by the 2020 launch of an international lending programme that has extended the Collection’s impact and contributed to a series of acclaimed exhibitions. Among these, Frans Hals: The Male Portrait brought together the artist’s best male portraits from collections across the UK, Europe, and North America. In 2023, Portraits of Dogs: From Gainsborough to Hockney proved hugely popular with audiences, and last year, Ranjit Singh: Sikh, Warrior, King made an important contribution to extending the museum’s audience. The forthcoming display of Caravaggio’s Victorious Cupid (1601–02)—a major loan from Berlin’s Gemäldegalerie and the first time the painting has been shown in the UK—will be another landmark moment, reinforcing the Collection’s growing ambition and profile on the international stage.
The masterplan will address a wide range of priorities: from improving visitor welcome and circulation to enhancing gallery spaces, creating a new Learning Centre, upgrading environmental conditions and improving accessibility throughout the historic site. There is also potential to reimagine the museum’s dedicated temporary exhibition space, restaurant and event facilities, and for critical improvements to be made to staff and back-of-house areas—all designed with sensitivity to the listed building and its distinctive character.
Director of the Wallace Collection, Dr Xavier Bray, said: “The Wallace Collection occupies a unique place in the national and international museum landscape—an exceptional collection in an extraordinary historic home. We are delighted to be working with Selldorf Architects, Purcell and Lawson Ward Studio on the next chapter in the museum’s history. Their thoughtful, collaborative approach and track record of working with complex heritage buildings gives us great confidence as we embark on this transformational journey.”
Annabelle Selldorf, Principal of Selldorf Architects, said: “We are looking forward to working with the Wallace Collection to enhance the unique experience of visiting Hertford House, making their magnificent collection of paintings, decorative arts and arms and armour more accessible. Engaging a wider audience with art and the building’s beautiful architecture is vital and the project presents an exciting opportunity to re-examine essential aspects of the visitor’s experience. Bringing people closer to art matters to us and is a core part of our firm’s work.”
The Wallace Collection’s masterplan is currently in its early stages, with detailed design development, stakeholder engagement and technical surveys set to continue throughout 2025. A comprehensive fundraising campaign is being developed to realise the bold ambitions of the masterplan. The project aims to deliver an integrated and phased programme of works that will support the museum’s evolving offer, public engagement ambitions, and long-term sustainability goals.
Call for Papers | Interrogating the Female Gaze
From ArtHist.net:
Spectacle and Spectatorship: Interrogating the Female Gaze
Fifth Annual International Women in the Arts Conference
Online and in-person, University of Arkansas Rome Center, Rome, 4–6 November 2025
Convened by Consuelo Lollobrigida and Adelina Modesti
Proposals due by 14 July 2025
Laura Mulvey in her pioneering analysis of visual pleasure (“Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema,” 1973) posited filmic creation, artistic practice, and cultural representation as the projection of patriarchal fantasy and product of a male gaze that objectifies the body of woman as spectacle. Similarly John Berger in his Ways of Seeing (1972) defined Western art history as primarily a history of the representation of women by men for the gratification of the male spectator. But what implications does this have for the female creator, viewer of art, or reader? What about the female gaze? Or the female body as represented by women, or even the male body for the female spectator? What about women’s visual pleasure?
AIWAC 5’s theme invites papers that interrogate the ‘look’ for women as makers (artistic practitioners, writers, performers, musicians), as patrons of art, and as spectators. The historical time frame and geographical area is open, including up to contemporary times.
Possible topics include
• Female visual (and other) pleasures in the arts
• The female ‘eye’: women as patrons and collectors of art
• Definitions of spectacle, including theatre (spettacolo), music and film, and women’s engagement as dramatists, filmmakers, actors, performers, scriptwriters, musicians, and composers
• Woman as spectacle
• The female gaze: women artists and makers; women and architecture
• Female spectatorship
• Writing and reading women
• Female models and agency
Conference papers will be published in the “AIWAC acta colloquia” postprint series in collaboration with Brepols Publishers, after a peer review process.
To submit a proposal
• Write an abstract in English in Word (max. 500 words, excluding authors name(s) and contact details)
• Include a short bio (150 words max)
• Save the proposal as: ‘AIWAC5_name and family name’
• Include a short CV
• Email to clollobr@uark.edu and amodesti@unimelb.edu.au
Proposals are due by 14 July 2025. Successful applicants will receive a notification by 31 July. A remote presentation might be considered, even if in-presence presentation will have priority. Talks should be no longer than 20 minutes. The organizers cannot contribute towards transport or accommodation costs of speakers or attendees. A registration fee will be communicated along with the acceptance of papers. Excluded papers won’t be notified. The conference will take place at University of Arkansas Rome Center and will combine selected paper presentations with keynote speakers. The final program will be communicated by the beginning of October 2025.
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