1/2
Copying in the Art of the Middle Ages (Kalamazoo, 2003)
Sarah Blick
Call for Papers for the following session at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA in May 2003
Copying in the Art of the Middle Ages
Richard Krautheimer's landmark 1942 article "Introduction to an ‘Iconography of Medieval Architecture,'" on the notion of copying in the art of the Middle Ages, will by now have had many years of "field testing" as scholars have applied its principles to their own research. Krautheimer suggested that
during the Middle Ages copies focused on elements making up the form and its measurements instead of reproducing a specific building shape. This allowed for a variety of interpretations of the original from one copy to another.
Scholars have applied his theory of imitation to everything from buildings in Europe emulating structures in the Holy Land to tiny pilgrim souvenirs which bear the features of the shrines they commemorated. This session seeks to re-examine this theory and place it in a wider context of medieval copying, exploring why and how copying occurred in the Middle Ages, through specific studies of such issues as how a copy was meant to be read, the catalysts behind a copy, and the relationships between the copy and the original.
The great demand for copies in the medieval period seemed to reflect the great importance and meaning of the originals, as the imitation evoked responses and associations that were, hopefully, similar to those evoked by the original.
Therefore, papers might also consider whether the viewer needed knowledge of the original to understand the copy and what role authenticity and/or private devotion played in the manufacture of copies. What kind of artwork inspired copies? What was the function of the copy? Was originality diminished by imitation? Was the impact of the "original" diminished or did the copy
enhance the importance of the model? Why are some medieval copies vague, while others are precise replicas? How is an object or building considered a copy when there is little visual or structural resemblance, as posited by Krautheimer? Do we now have grounds for amplifying or altering his initial theory? Papers that examine either broad theoretical concepts of copying or specific case studies of emulation will be welcome.
The deadline in September 15, 2002.
ArtHist.net
2/2
Please send a brief proposal and the audio-visual form and cover sheet available at
http://www.wmich.edu/~medinst/congress/Forms/avreq.html to
Sarah Blick Art History Kenyon College Gambier, OH 43022 USA
blicks@kenyon.edu FAX (740) 427-5673
Reference:
CFP: Copying in the Art of the Middle Ages (Kalamazoo, 2003). In: ArtHist.net, Aug 8, 2002 (accessed Feb 27, 2022), <https://arthist.net/archive/25144>.
