Authorship and Identity in Early Modern Signatures

Annual Meeting of the Renaissance Society of America in Washington,
D.C., 22-24 March, 2012

In recent decades, insightful iconographic and semiotic investigations
of signatures have highlighted their importance as more than just
tools of connoisseurship in the authentication of works of art.
Artists’ signatures—broadly conceived as textual or visual elements
signifying authorship or creative responsibility—are particularly
relevant within the context of early modern art, concomitant with the
rising phenomenon of biographical art history, the humanist cult of
fame, and the increasing value placed on a distinctive ‘autograph’
style. Early modern signatures assert artists’ responsibility for
their work, but often carry additional meanings through their textual
content, visual form, and placement. The signature was thus an
important tool of artists’ self-fashioning. For this session, we seek
papers presenting new explorations of this rich subject. Topics in any
medium and geographic region are welcomed, as are papers that take an
interdisciplinary approach.

Please submit as e-mail attachments (MS Word or PDF) an abstract
(maximum 150 words) and c.v. to both organizers by May 20.

David Boffa <davidboffagmail.com>
Kandice Rawlings <krawlingsgmail.com>