Fourth Distinguished WAI Lecture on Renaissance Art and Culture

Wandering contemplation.
A new concept of the picture in the Venetian Renaissance, its medieval roots and some general considerations on the temporality of viewing

Prof. Dr. Johannes Grave, Department for Art History and Film Studies, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Vice President (since 2024), Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)/The German Research Foundation  

Friday, 26 January 2024, 7.30-9.30 pm, UTC+8 Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, via Zoom
[11.30 am to 1.30 pm UTC+1, London; 12.30 to 2.30 pm, UTC+2, Berlin; 6.30 to 8.30 am, UTC-4, New York, Washington D.C.]

Giorgione, La Tempesta, c. 1508. Gallerie dell’Accademia, Venice

Around 1500, a “revolutionary novelty of pictorial language” (Salvatore Settis) can be observed in Venetian painting, which clearly deviates from the concept of “historia” as formulated by Leon Battista Alberti and implemented by early Renaissance painting, especially in Florence. Particularly in paintings by the old Giovanni Bellini, the early deceased Giorgione and the young Titian, there are hints of an alternative conception of what paintings can achieve. At the centre of this understanding is less an intellectual-scholarly ambition or the precise and reliable communication of certain thoughts than a form of perception in which viewing and contemplation are combined in a distinctive way. In addition to what a depiction gives us to see and reflect upon, i.e. the figures, actions and the meanings conveyed with them, what counts at least as much in Venetian pictorial culture is that a painting stimulates its audience to a specific doing and an unusual experience: to a thoughtful looking. The lecture will present this pictorial concept and ask to what extent it can be traced back to late medieval inspirations. The thesis will be put up for discussion that it is precisely the rather traditional cultural practice of Christian allegoresis from which essential impulses could be taken to arrive at a new conception of the possibilities of painting. This conception, in turn, was to become of great importance for the art of the early modern period. Pictures – as Venetian paintings show – cannot be reduced to being manifestations of a clearly predetermined meaning, but prove to be objects of open, temporally extending contemplation and reflection. Based on these observations, the concluding part of the lecture will outline more general considerations on the temporality of viewing pictures. 

Registration
If you are residing outside mainland China and interested in attending this or other WAI lectures, please register for virtual participation: https://forms.gle/LAj5SkGCuy7Pgu1x9

The Concept of Style: Transdisciplinary Epistemologies in the Arts and Sciences

The Workshop series “The Concept of Style” Transdisciplinary Epistemologies in the Arts and Sciences, spearheaded by Dr. Johannes Endres and Dr. Erich Reck, unfolds a captivating exploration into the concept of style, traversing the realms of art, science, and philosophy.

Begun in fall 2023, this academic endeavor seeks to foster a vibrant interdisciplinary dialogue, bridging disparate fields of inquiry to unravel the complex intersections of cultural and scientific knowledge through the lens of style.

Meeting Schedule: The workshop meetings are scheduled bi-weekly on Tuesdays from 12:15 to 4:30 with a 15 minute intercession. 
Venue: UCR Philosophy Library, HMNSS 2601

Invited Talks: Augmenting our bi-weekly discussions, the workshop will host 1-2 invited talks, delivered both virtually and in-person, by distinguished scholars in the field.

Credit Opportunity: Participants have the privilege to enroll in the workshop for credit/letter grade through a directed or independent study.

For more information, visit https://sites.google.com/view/theconceptofstyle/home.

Distinguished WAI Lecture on Renaissance Art and Culture

The Animation of Statues: How to Understand the Attribution of Emotions and Life to Art Works?
Professor Caroline van Eck, Department of History of Art, University of Cambridge, U.K.

Friday, 27 October 2023, 7.30-9 pm, UTC+8 Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, via Zoom
[12.30 to 2.30 pm UTC+1, London; 1.30 to 3.30 pm, UTC+2, Berlin; 7.30 to 9.30 am, UTC-4, New York, Washington D.C.]

Giovanni Bellini’s Pietà from the Brera Gallery in Milan, 1465-70, tempera on panel, 86 x 107 cm. Image: Public Domain

Dr. van Eck will present different perspectives on a very widespread but little-understood phenomenon: that of viewers treating artworks as if they are living beings. Such reactions have been condemned as idolatry, primitivism or even hysteria, but the universal and very persistent character of such responses asks for a less normative and narrowly Western approach. Concentrating on the Laocoon group, Giovanni Bellini’s Brera Pietà and Gianlorenzo Bernini’s Medusa, I will argue for an anthropological approach that draws on Alfred Gell’s theory of art as agency, as well as on classical rhetoric and early modern memory theories.

Moderator: Wang Lianming, City University of Hong Kong
Discussant: Uwe Fleckner, University of Hamburg/Advanced School for Art and Humanities, China Academy of Art
Q&A translation: Zhao Zifeng, University of Cambridge

Individuals residing outside mainland China are cordially invited to register for virtual participation in the lecture series: https://forms.gle/LAj5SkGCuy7Pgu1x9 Registered attendees will receive timely email notifications containing Zoom links before each scheduled event. See more details: https://arthist.net/archive/39988

2023-24 Distinguished WAI Lecture Series on Renaissance Art and Culture: Established in 2020, the World Art History Institute (WAI) at Shanghai International Studies University has firmly established itself as a leading research institution closely affiliated with the Comité International d’Histoire de l’Art (CIHA). Its primary mission is to promote World Art Studies in China and foster collaboration within the global network of art history institutions, museums, archives, and libraries. In commemoration of its founding, WAI Shanghai will inaugurate the Distinguished WAI Lecture Series in September 2023. The annual program for the 2023-24 academic year will focus on Renaissance art and culture, featuring twelve world-leading scholars who have made significant contributions to various fields of Renaissance studies. These contributions will be presented through a variety of academic activities, including public lectures, roundtable discussions, collaborative workshops, book launch events, translation initiatives, and publication projects. The lecture series will take place in multiple Chinese cities, including Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, and Shenyang.