Patronage in Northern Europe between Reformation and Counter-Reformation (1517-c.1600)

From: Catharine Ingersoll
Date: May 23, 2019

Organizers:
Catharine Ingersoll (Virginia Military Institute) and Ruben Suykerbuyk (University of Ghent)

For much of the sixteenth century, religious upheaval in Northern Europe effected profound repercussions in the arts. Those who commissioned creative works, especially for ecclesiastical spaces or towards spiritual purposes, often did so with careful consideration of the changing confessional climate. This panel is interested in the ways in which Northern European patronage was influenced by or influential in the religious transitions engendered by the Protestant Reformation. Did patrons accommodate—subtly or straightforwardly—Protestant critiques in their projects, by altering age-old traditions, religious structures, and programs? Or did they publicly voice or visualize their adherence to the confession of their choice? Can a sense of outright defiance be noted in commissioned artworks and rituals or sponsored charity, or were thorny issues quietly avoided?

We welcome proposals for twenty-minute papers from scholars working in a variety of fields (Art History, History, Literature, Music History, etc.) that consider how patrons of the arts—and those who received their patronage—navigated the fraught spiritual and political environment of the years between 1517 and about 1600.

Please send your proposals no later than 15 July 2019 to the organizers via email: Catharine Ingersoll (ingersollccvmi.edu) and Ruben Suykerbuyk (Ruben.SuykerbuykUGent.be). Please include the following information:

- name and affiliation
- preferred email address
- paper title
- abstract (150-word max.)
- 3-5 keywords
- one-page CV (300-word max.)

Please note that the RSA submission website is very strict about word count and the system will not accept entries that go beyond the maximum limit. Participants will be notified by 1 August.