Colloque – Experiences of Antiquity in Medieval Art

Programme : ici

The revival of classical antiquity defines the “Middle Ages” and has been studied ever since Ghiberti wrote his Commentarii and before. Ars mediaevalis 2024 will provide a new perspective on the matter by attending to the medieval experiences of ancient artistic traditions, that is, to the ways artisans and other observers perceived the past and incorporated their interpretations into the production of new works. Convened on October 4/5/6, meeting aims to consider, among other questions, how changing scale and media transformed imitations of ancient motives and techniques, how additions to spolia and recontextualizations put allusions to the past to work in new conceits, how political ambitions deployed classical references for contemporary agendas, how artistry itself and writings about the antiquity incorporating fantasies about the past.

Since 2011, the international colloquium Ars Mediaevalis, hosted by the Fundación Santa María la Real and held annually in Aguilar de Campoo (Palencia), has served as a venue for the most avant-garde, far-reaching research in the field of medieval art history. Each year, some fifteen scholars (seniors and juniors) introduce their most recent research in Aguilar de Campoo, focusing on the analysis of works produced during the Middle Ages, applying such productive, current historiographical approaches as semiotics, cultural anthropology, criticism, and the history of representation. The colloquium has thus raised relevant and timely arguments that advance the analysis and understanding of key aspects of medieval art.