Session C.7 at the International "Cirice" Congress 2023 (Naples, University Federico II):
Medieval sculpture in the aftermath of the World War II: destruction, dispersion and restitution. The impact on research methodologies and tools.

Chairs: Paola Vitolo, Antonella Dentamaro
paola.vitolounina.it, antonella.dentamarounina.it

The destructions caused by of the World War II represented, relatively recently with respect to the development of modern artistic historiography, a watershed in the investigation of medieval sculptural complexes. In the aftermath of the end of the conflict, the loss of materials on the one hand, the restoration and reconstruction of works on the other, have often changed in a profound and irremediable way sculptural works and micro architectural contexts (chapels, altars …), with a significant impact on the critical approach to this field of study and above all on the sense of identity linked to places, as well as on the categories of representation of spaces. At the same time, these interventions have in some cases represented the opportunity for important discoveries on the material conditions of the works, for example revealing signs of interventions made over the centuries to the original contexts, cases of reuse of materials/works, sculptures that have remained hidden after later interventions etc.

How much was irretrievably lost during the Second World War? What was the impact of the reconstructions on the iconography of the places? How many works still survives, although in a fragmented state, in museums and private collections? Which contexts could be materially recomposed or reconstructed through historical images and the support of virtual reconstructions? To what extent, on the other hand, have post-war interventions represented an opportunity for scientific research?

The session aims to investigate, through the discussion of case studies, how and to what extent World War II conditioned and posed new methodological questions in the field of medieval sculpture studies.
The session is part of the activities of the MemId project (Memory and identity. The reuse, rework and repurposing of Medieval sculpture in the Modern Age, from historical research to new technologies, FISR 2019).

Deadline for abstract submission: 20 September 2022
Submission of abstracts on the congress platform: http://www.diarc.sda.unina.it/ocs2/index.php/progetto/progetto2018/about/submissions
Congress deadlines, instructions for registration and registration fees: https://www.iconografiacittaeuropea.unina.it/cms/deadline/