Looking Back to Look Forward: Reshaping Ancient Figures in European Art, c. 1350-1650

The study of Antiquity rarely constitutes mere contemplation of things long gone. For centuries, ancient myth and historical figures have been sources of authority, prestige, and moral exemplarity, lenses through which to think about, and to some extent act upon, the present. This two-day conference aims to investigate notable examples of appropriation and reinvention, and to consider new interpretations of famous figures from ancient Greece, Rome, and the Old Testament, as found in c. 1350 to 1650 European art. Ideological and political motives, concerning both the public and the private sphere, often drove the reshaping of these ancient figures, informing their understanding to this day.

PROGRAM

THURSDAY, JUNE 24

15.00 Welcome
Henri de Riedmatten (Université de Genève)

15.10 Petrifying Gazes: Danaë and the Uncanny Space in the Painting by Jan Gossaert (1478-1532)
Barbara Baert (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven)

15.45 Guardare indietro con Tiziano. L’Allegoria della Prudenza come caso studio
Guillaume Cassegrain (Université Grenoble Alpes)

16.20 Break

16.50 Lucretia as Impassive as Marble: Eros and Politics in Quattrocento Florence
Henri de Riedmatten (Université de Genève)

17.25 Strength is a Female Virtue: Ancient Heroines in the Triumph of Fortitude Tapestry in San Francisco
Claudia Daniotti (University of Warwick)

18.00 ‘In a Darksome Wood’: Past and Present in Wilderness Landscapes of the Renaissance
Joseph Manca (Rice University)

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FRIDAY, JUNE 25

9.30 Deianira as Fortitude: A Grieving Widow?
Mathilde Jaccard (Université de Genève)

10.05 The Many Faces of Virgil in Renaissance Art
Luke Houghton (University College London)

10.40 Break

11.10 De statua. Visualizing Fame in Renaissance Art and Humanism
Nicolas Bock (Université de Lausanne)

11.45 A Glimpse of Humanism in the Neroni Patronage
Fabio Gaffo (Université de Genève)

12.20 Closing discussion

Organizers:
Henri de Riedmatten, Fabio Gaffo, Mathilde Jaccard (Université de Genève)
Claudia Daniotti (University of Warwick)

Zoom Registration and Contact:
https://www.unige.ch/restauration/en/conference