Creativity and Invention in Antiquarian Drawings (1400–1600)
Workshop, Ashmolean Museum, September 5–6, 2024
An upcoming workshop to be held at the Ashmolean Museum will center on the creativity and invention of Early Modern drawings of antiquities, which are still too often understood as accurate, archaeological “documents” for the appearance and survival of ancient artifacts. In the past two decades, a wealth of new scholarship has called attention to issues such as artistic agency, creativity, context, technique, patronage, and purpose, in short, issues relevant to Renaissance antiquarian drawings as artworks in their own right. Bringing together international speakers and interdisciplinary participants, the conference aims to re-consider the particular aims and functions of this type of drawing, using the riches of the Ashmolean’s own collection as a point of departure.
The conference is free and all are welcome, but pre-registration is required.
Speakers: Tatjiana Bartsch, Cammy Brothers, Kathleen Christian, Marzia Faietti, Robert Gaston, Clare Guest, Elizabeth Merrill, Anna Rebecca Sartore, Giovanni Santucci, Michael Waters, and Carolyn Yerkes
The conference is organized by Cammy Brothers, Professor of Architectural History, Northeastern University; Kathleen Christian, Professor of Early Modern Art and Director of The Census of Antique Works of Art and Architecture Known in the Renaissance, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin; Jennifer Sliwka, Keeper of Western Art, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Garlick Professorial Fellow, Balliol College; and Catherine Whistler, Emeritus Research Fellow, St. John’s College.
The workshop is generously funded by the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, the Humboldt University in Berlin, the Oxford Berlin Research Partnership / Berlin University Alliance, and Northeastern University.
