Leo X: New Perspectives on his Pontificate
RSA, Annual Meeting, New York City

The pontificate of the Medici Pope Leo X which began exactly 500 years
ago has widely been considered a climax of Renaissance Art and a failure
in political and spiritual matters. Scholars have worked vastly and
along different lines on the works of art associated with his name like
the completion of the Vatican Stanze, the tapestries for the Sixtine
Chapel, his predilection for precious manuscripts and jewels or his
large building projects like San Giovanni dei Fiorentini or the San
Lorenzo façade. We ask for new contributions adding to our knowledge on
Leonine art works, but also for those focussing certain aspects of
Leo’s patronage more systematically, like, e.g., new conceptions of
magnificence in art, ceremony and their interaction, the role of
antiquarian studies, the relationship between artists and patron or the
role of art in diplomatic matters. We also very much welcome papers from
other disciplines like history, ecclesiastical history, musicology,
literary history, philosophy etc. that may contribute to take a fresh
look at Leo’s pontificate and its image.

Please send a CV and an abstract of no more than 300 words by June 6th,
2013 to eva.kremsuni-muenster.de and niebaumjuni-muenster.de.