Miniature Painting and its Recipes in the Early Modern Period (1500-1800)
La peinture en miniature et ses recettes à l’époque moderne (1500-1800)
The Transmission of Technical Knowledge in the East and West
La transmission des savoirs techniques en Orient et en Occident
Published on Thursday, July 13, 2023
Abstract
By studying for the first time in a comparative way the East and the West various technical recipes of the miniature and their modalities of transmission, this 36th Comité international d’histoire de l’art (CIHA) World Congress session will aim at putting into perspective its material hybridity and shed a new light on the conditions in which the works were produced.
Announcement
Chairs of the Session
- Prof. Dr. Mandana Barkeshli, Conservation Scientist, Head of Research & Postgraduate Studies, De Institute of Creative Arts and Design, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
- Dr. Matthieu Lett, Assistant Professor of Early Modern Art History, University of Burgundy/LIR3S, Dijon, France
Argument
In art history, the practice of miniature painting raises problems of definition. This is partly due to its material hybridity, both in terms of supports and pictorial layers (pigments, binders), but also in terms of size and types of objects. The miniature is indeed likely to indicate a wide variety of techniques ranging from painting on vellum or ivory to enamel through illumination. In the West as in the East, the early modern period constitutes a key moment in the technical experimentation carried out in parallel with the development of professional and amateur miniature practices. In both areas, miniature painting was practiced by professionals, but also by high-ranking personalities such as Shah Tamasp I or the Spanish queen Marie Louise d’Orléans. The fact that the colors used did not stain and were odorless compared to oil painting but also the possibility of being able to easily copy compositions could have encouraged this appropriation by the courts. The appearance of several practical treatises simultaneously in both areas – for example the Qanun us-Suvar by Sadiqi Bek (ca. 1570-1600) or the Treatise Concerning the Arte of Limning by Nicholas Hilliard (ca. 1600) – is linked to this phenomenon. They offered recipes for mixing colors or advice on how to represent certain motifs or prepare different types of support. These texts constitute a major renewal of the modes of transmission of the practice of miniature painting. If they could not completely replace the teaching of a master, some of these books allowed students to learn the rudiments on their own. This was particularly suitable for women, who were becoming more and more numerous in Europe to take up miniature painting from the second half of the 17th century onwards. But in professional circles, the technical learning was done in the context of the workshop and the secrets of manufacture could be kept.
By studying for the first time in a comparative way the East and the West various technical recipes of the miniature and their modalities of transmission, this session will aim at putting into perspective its material hybridity and shed a new light on the conditions in which the works were produced.
Academics, museum and library professionals in charge of eastern or western miniature collections as well as conservation scientists specialized in materials analysis are invited to submit papers about the following – but not restrictive – themes:
- The materials used (supports, paper colors, sizings, dyes, pigments, inks, bindings mediums).
- Rediscovery information or knowledge behind the use of certain materials and techniques based on historical recipes and/or scientific analysis.
- The conditions of transmission through oral traditions and/or written sources, in particular the recipes themselves.
- The context of transmission in its social (workshops, courts) and/or gendered dimension.
- The terminology used in historical manuals and recipes; challenges in translation and in understanding the context of historical recipes through modern chemistry.
Comparative approaches are particularly welcome. Depending on the proposals, round tables between several speakers as well as individual communications of about 15 to 20 minutes may be scheduled. A time slot will be devoted to the discussion. A peer-reviewed publication is planned.
Submission guidelines
Please submit your proposal via this link: https://livebyglevents.key4register.com/key4register/AbstractList.aspx?e=148
by 15 September 2023.
- Title of the proposed paper (concise and reflecting the contents of the paper).
- Paper Proposal: An abstract of 350 to 500 words, in English or French, including 4 to 6 key words and a possible short bibliography.
- CV of 500 characters with first name, last name, title, status, institution of affiliation and the link to the personal or professional page.
More information on this page: https://www.cihalyon2024.fr/en/call-for-papers
Funding:
Applicants are responsible to secure their own funding. Please consult this page regularly: https://www.cihalyon2024.fr/en/call-for-grants
Scientific committee of the Congress
- Pascal BERTRAND, Université Bordeaux Montaigne, Département d’Histoire de l’Art et Archéologie, Pessac, France
- Hamady BOCOUM, Musée des Civilisations noires, Dakar Ponty, Sénégal
- Roberto CONDURU, Southern Methodist University Meadows School of the Arts, Dallas, États-Unis
- Ariane DOR, DRAC Occitanie (Conservation Régionale des Monuments Historiques), Toulouse, France
- Finbarr Barry FLOOD,New York University, Institute of Fine Arts, New York, NY, États-Unis
- Émilie GIRARD, Musée des Civilisations de l'Europe et de la Méditerranée (MUCEM), Marseille, France
- Charlotte GUICHARD, CNRS, Institut d’Histoire Moderne et Contemporaine, Paris, France
- Hanna B. HÖLLING, University College London, Londres, Grande-Bretagne
- Éléonore KISSEL, Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Paris, France
- Bertrand LAVEDRINE, Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation (CRC), Paris, France
- Ann-Sophie LEHMANN, University of Groningen, Faculty of Arts History, Groningen, Pays-Bas
- Valérie NEGRE, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, Paris, France
- Isabelle PALLOT FROSSARD, Fondation des Sciences du Patrimoine, Paris, France
- Antoine PICON, Harvard University Graduate school of Design, Cambridge, MA, États-Unis
- Béatrice QUETTE, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
- Yiyang SHAO, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China
- Kavita SINGH, Jawaharlal Nehru University School of Arts & Aesthetics, New Delhi, Inde
- Romain THOMAS, Université Paris Nanterre, Nanterre, France
- Tristan WEDDIGEN, Universität Zürich Kunsthistorisches Institut, Zürich, Suisse
- Monika WAGNER, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Allemagne
Subjects
- Representation (Main category)
- Mind and language > Representation > History of art
- Periods > Early modern
Places
- Centre de Congrès de Lyon, 50 Quai Charles de Gaulle
Lyon, France (69006)
Event attendance modalities
Hybrid event (on site and online)
Date(s)
- Friday, September 15, 2023
Attached files
Keywords
- miniature
Contact(s)
- Matthieu Lett
courriel : matthleu [dot] lett [at] u-bourgogne [dot] fr - Mandana Barkeshli
courriel : mandana [at] ucsiuniversity [dot] edu [dot] my
Information source
- Matthieu Lett
courriel : matthleu [dot] lett [at] u-bourgogne [dot] fr
License
This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.
To cite this announcement
« Miniature Painting and its Recipes in the Early Modern Period (1500-1800) », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Thursday, July 13, 2023, https://doi.org/10.58079/1bkr
