[1] Art and Philosophy in 17th century Netherlands

From: Hanneke Grootenboer, h.grootenboerlet.ru.nl
Date: 11 Jun 20

Chair: Hanneke Grootenboer, Radboud University
h.grootenboerlet.ru.nl

While the relation between art and science in early modern Netherlands has long been the focus of art historical scrutiny, the connection between art and philosophy has remained under-explored. This is the more surprising, as a wide range of thinkers, among them many refugees, initiated the so-called age of ‘new philosophy’ which eventually resulted in the rise of a ‘radical enlightenment’ by the turn of the century. While artists were influenced by particular visions (most evidently Romeyn de Hooghe by Spinoza), philosophers frequented artistic circles (such as Pierre Bayle) or considered their art collection as an extension of their thinking (as did, for instance, Francisus Sylvius). In the visual arts, certain artistic categories such as emblem books containing denkbeelden or thought-images, or particular sub-genres such as vanitas paintings were traditionally associated with philosophical reflection. Painters have self-consciously included mirror images in their work, as did Clara Peeters, while illusionistic tricks used in art and entertainment evoked profound bodily experiences in their audiences that were meant to let the senses ‘think’. Recent literature on material culture suggests that luxury collectibles such as cunningly crafted artifacts or exotica were considered not only as objects of knowledge and spiritual meditation, but also as things to ‘think with’.

This panel invites papers that explore the relation between the visual arts and philosophy in the Low Countries during the ‘long’ 17th century in the broadest sense, addressing questions that may include: What was the relation between art and philosophy that Samuel van Hoogstraten famously called the sister-arts? How did philosophical concepts resonate in visual culture? What was the impact of image-making on articulating intellectual ideas? To what extent did artists contribute to philosophical debates or did philosophers shape art theoretical discourse? What was the function of art objects and images on the expansion of the mind? Papers dealing with the influence of 17th century visual culture on philosophical writings after 1700 (such as of Hegel or Schopenhauer) are also welcome.

Please send proposals of max. 500 words, along with a single-paged curriculum vitae, to the session chair: h.grootenboerlet.ru.nl.
Deadline: 1 July 2020. Applicants will be notified by the program chair no later than 1 August 2020.

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[2] Media of Exchange: Drawings and the Transmission of Ideas

From: Erin Travers, etraversgetty.edu
Date: 9 Jun 20

Session Organizers: Talitha Maria G. Schepers, Graduate Intern in Drawings, J. Paul Getty Museum, and Erin Travers, Graduate Intern in Philanthropy, Getty Foundation

Much attention has been given to the discussion of prints as mobile images that disseminated ideas across geographic, economic, religious, and linguistic borders. This emphasis on prints’ multiplication and spread overlooks the important contributions of drawings to cross-cultural and interdisciplinary exchanges. This panel investigates the vital role of drawings in the transmission of ideas, both within and beyond the early modern Low Countries, and their function as active agents to build networks, document encounters, and facilitate knowledge production. We seek to address questions that explore how and why drawings served as unique objects for the transmission of ideas in the early modern period: How did drawings act as points of contact between people, places, and objects? How were different media, for example, chalk, pen and ink, washes, or metalpoint, used for distinct purposes or merged to make new creations? Finally, in what capacities did drawings function differently from other media?

We invite papers that consider the unique material and technical qualities of drawings that positioned this medium as a vehicle for intellectual, educational, cultural, and professional transfer and contact. Sketchbooks, for instance, provided the ideal medium for travelling artists to capture ideas, copy down designs or document their surroundings. Meanwhile, travelling artists, merchants and diplomats alike would leave their pictorial marks in the alba amicorum of those they visited abroad. Drawings also enabled knowledge to move between disciplines. For instance, Samuel van Hoogstraten (1627-1678), in his art-theoretical treatise, advises his readers to make copies after his anatomical prints in order to quickly learn the shape and names of the muscles and bones, while medical practitioners made drawings when studying after a cadaver or documenting their patients’ maladies. Another fascinating example is how Rudolf II (1552-1612), in addition to collecting prints, commissioned albums of drawings from the artist Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1601), who incorporated natural specimens into his watercolour and gouache images. Finally, this session encourages speakers to consider how drawings provided a platform to express encounters and new ideas for non-professional draughtsmen. Think, for instance, of costume albums produced in the Ottoman Empire by Netherlandish travellers and merchants who were less technically experienced, such as Lambert Wijts (active 1572-1573).

Participants are invited to explore artistic exchanges across geopolitical, cultural and disciplinary divides. Contributions from other disciplines, such as the history of science, digital art history, and conservation are also welcome. We invite 20-minute papers that explore, but are not limited to, the following subjects:

- Material preferences
- Amateur vs. professional practice
- Ephemera
- Sketchbook/travelogues/letters
- Interdisciplinary exchange
- Cross-cultural contact
- Knowledge production and/or exchange

We ask that interested participants submit an abstract of no more than 250 words and a three-page CV to tschepersgetty.edu and erintraversgetty.edu by July 1st, 2020.