CFP, Renaissance Society of America, San Diego, April 4-6, 2013

Making and Breaking the Rules in Early Renaissance Italian Sculpture

This session will examine the ways in which early Renaissance sculptors in Italy engaged with standards of representation and artistic production traditionally considered characteristic of the period. How and why did artists define, challenge, or ignore the "rules" of sculpture? We are especially interested in papers that explore artists' purposeful use or "misuse" of such rules. By looking at how sculptors approached what are often taken as conventions, we hope to raise questions about the extent to which such conventions were, in fact, normative and about the meaning of artists' critical strategies. Papers may consider sculptural production, representation, display, patronage, style, technique, medium, or any other area in which traditional assumptions about the making or reception of sculpture in early Renaissance Italy warrant reexamination.

Please email an abstract (150-word maximum) and brief CV to both David Drogin (david.drogingmail.com) and Robert Glass (rglass29gmail.com) by May 25, using the subject heading "RSA 2013".