The conference, organized by the research group « Objects, Materiality and Representation », which is part of the Research Laboratory TrAme in the Université de Picardie Jules Verne, will explore the successive forms, themes or motifs expressed in a work of art, with a particular focus on the work’s materiality.

Presentation

Questions that may be addressed include the following: How can the successive states of a work be identified? Do the causes of these changes – whether intentional or not – affect this identification? What were the contexts, techniques or events that rendered the changes possible or necessary? Who made the changes, and were they the same as those who intervened at previous stages of the work’s development? What is the appropriate terminology for both the act of transformation and its consequences? Is it a matter of transposition, adaptation, reconfiguration, intervention, sabotage, scraping, re-use or restauration? Was the change the result of an attempt to recreate the work, to prolong its lifespan, or was the aim a return to a previous state, or even to a projected primary or so-called original form?

Papers may choose to address the reactions to these changes, which may range from scandal through enthusiasm, and which may in turn have contributed to the creation of a work’s historic, even legendary, identity. The successive states of a work of art will thus figure in a historical reckoning of the practices and functions that allow for a renewal of its meaning and value.

The domains under examination include architecture, sculpture, graphic arts, decorative arts, painting, texts and music While the works themselves should originate from the antique through the early modern periods, their later versions and evolutions may encompass any era through the present day. Interdisciplinary perspectives are welcome.

A variety of approaches are encouraged, including academic (history, history of art, textual studies or archaeology), artistic (painting, singing or theatre) as well as museum studies (conservation or restauration).

The conference will be conducted in French, English and Italian.

The conference will take place on the 21st and 22nd of November 2024 at the University of Picardy – Jules Verne, in Amiens, France.

Submission guidelines

Proposals should be sent to the organising committee:

• veronique.dominguez@u-picardie.fr
• philippe.senechal@u-picardie.fr
• morgan.dickson@u-picardie.fr
• marie-laurence.haack@u-picardie.fr
• sebastien.biay@u-picardie.fr

by the 15th of February 2024.

Paper proposals should include the following information:

• Title
• A brief summary, of no more than 2000 characters setting out the paper’s scope, theoretical perspective and bibliography
• The author’s – or authors’ – academic and institutional affiliation

Selection Committee

• Véronique Dominguez-Guillaume
• Philippe Sénéchal
• Morgan Dickson
• Marie-Laurence Haack
• Sébastien Biay

Université de Picardie Jules Verne,laboratoire TrAme, UR 4284