Projects / Programmes
Artwork as Reflection of Knowledge and Networking. The Role of Education and Social Connectedness of Artists and Patrons in the Late Middle-Ages and Early-Modern Times
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 6.09.00 |
Humanities |
Art history |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| H310 |
Humanities |
Art history |
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| 6.04 |
Humanities |
Arts (arts, history of arts, performing arts, music) |
art, artwork, artists, commissioners, education, knowledge, social connectedness, universities, academies, confraternities, guilds
Researchers (8)
Organisations (2)
Abstract
The proposed project's central research question concerns the role of education and broader social integration of artists and art patrons in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period on the territory of present-day Slovenia. To enable a comprehensive insight into the topic several case studies will be conducted within the project. Geographically they will cover the entire Slovenian territory and include all key aspects necessary for a thorough understanding of the research question.
In research of the medieval period, the role of family and other social connections of the exceptionally influential Berthold of Andechs, the patriarch of Aquileia, will be analysed from the perspective of his decision about the architectural layout of the church of St. Pancras at Grad nad Starim trgom pri Slovenj Gradcu. Focus will also be given to researching the influence of the contacts established by the Counts of Cilli with the most important European political representatives – members of confraternities and similar societies – on their art patronage. The project will also research the role of individuals from the region of Kamnik who were educated at the universities in Italy and Vienna and became active as art patrons after their return home; they were responsible for one of the most important early 16th century artworks in Slovenia, the frescos in the church at Sv. Primož nad Kamnikom.
Research of the Modern Period will focus on the significance of artists' and patrons' study trips, academies, confraternities and guilds as patrons of art. Particular attention will be given to artistic endeavours of guild associations in the Coastal region and in Prekmurje, which have not been sufficiently researched yet, as well as to the Modern Period academies on the territories of Central Slovenia, specifically their less studied aspects. The project will also represent the first research into art patronage of local guilds in the Prekmurje region. Systematic research of guild commissions at the Coast also promises to bring exciting new findings. The studies will present a more thorough overview of artistic life and activities of local artists and patrons, which will significantly contribute to a wider knowledge about the globally important Venetian art. Research of the Modern Period academies and their important societies of intellectuals will concentrate on the artistic activities of the thus far overlooked or not sufficiently acknowledged members of Academia operosorum, Society of St. Dismas and several other (also Jesuit) confraternities. These studies will contribute numerous new attributions and reveal new artists. The research will also focus on collecting data on the educational history of several representatives of the higher clergy, who were involved with artworks in the period between the 15th and 17th centuries.
New findings will greatly contribute to the understanding of the creation of artworks and their religious, political and societal function. The role of the patrons' and artists' education, their study trips and social networks will be assessed for the first time. The findings will be of extraordinary importance not only for Slovenian art historical discipline, but also for numerous other humanistic disciplines in the broader (Central) European space. As research will include several key Slovenian high-quality artworks, the significance of its findings will be even greater. Analyses of the wide context of creation of artworks and of the complex circumstances surrounding patronage will also reveal the influence of these important artworks on their local surroundings. Numerous primary sources have not yet been considered in research of confraternities', guilds' and academies' activity and study trips of artists and patrons.
The project team is made up of leading researchers of art history for the fields covered by the project, and by two of the leading historians specializing in research of archival sources of the late Middle Ages an
Significance for science
The research based on primary (archival) sources will greatly complement and enhance current knowledge about the role of education and social connectedness of patrons as well as artists and with that, about the complex reasons for the creation of the selected artworks in Slovenia in medieval and early modern times. It will be possible for the results of the project to be directly interconnected. This is especially true for new findings, which will be contributed by researching study trips, education and wider social integration of laymen, who, under the leadership of the clergy, worked in the field of art patronage in confraternities and guilds. Based on a large political and the usual importance of the clergy and the nobility at that time, the research will contribute greatly to a more comprehensive image of the late medieval and early modern society in the territory of Slovenia, especially of the groups that were tightly connected to art and the learned culture. A multilayered analysis of the membership of the most important societies of intellectuals in the territory of Slovenia and the research about their integration in artistic, intellectual and cultural currents of the wider area will contribute significantly to the understanding of the social, spiritual and intellectual background of the origins and influence of artworks that were created in Slovenia, and the movement of artworks and art trails on the crossroads of the Romance, Slavic and Germanic world. Without this kind of basic research that puts the man as the commissioner of artworks in the forefront, art historical research is deprived of numerous important findings. Without it, it is not possible to get to know and understand the complex relationship between an artwork and its commissioner and the wider context of time and space from which they originate. Therefore, in some cases, the influence of the study on the new research directions may even greatly exceed average expectations. It will be possible for the findings to be used by a number of other similar humanistic sciences. Because the majority of the project team members is also involved in pedagogical processes at universities, they will be able to regularly inform students of art history and history about new findings. Based on the high level of originality of the expected results, there is no doubt about the importance of these results for several humanistic sciences and about their long term influence on the research about this and other similar issues in Slovenia and abroad.
Significance for the country
The research based on primary (archival) sources will greatly complement and enhance current knowledge about the role of education and social connectedness of patrons as well as artists and with that, about the complex reasons for the creation of the selected artworks in Slovenia in medieval and early modern times. It will be possible for the results of the project to be directly interconnected. This is especially true for new findings, which will be contributed by researching study trips, education and wider social integration of laymen, who, under the leadership of the clergy, worked in the field of art patronage in confraternities and guilds. Based on a large political and the usual importance of the clergy and the nobility at that time, the research will contribute greatly to a more comprehensive image of the late medieval and early modern society in the territory of Slovenia, especially of the groups that were tightly connected to art and the learned culture. A multilayered analysis of the membership of the most important societies of intellectuals in the territory of Slovenia and the research about their integration in artistic, intellectual and cultural currents of the wider area will contribute significantly to the understanding of the social, spiritual and intellectual background of the origins and influence of artworks that were created in Slovenia, and the movement of artworks and art trails on the crossroads of the Romance, Slavic and Germanic world. Without this kind of basic research that puts the man as the commissioner of artworks in the forefront, art historical research is deprived of numerous important findings. Without it, it is not possible to get to know and understand the complex relationship between an artwork and its commissioner and the wider context of time and space from which they originate. Therefore, in some cases, the influence of the study on the new research directions may even greatly exceed average expectations. It will be possible for the findings to be used by a number of other similar humanistic sciences. Because the majority of the project team members is also involved in pedagogical processes at universities, they will be able to regularly inform students of art history and history about new findings. Based on the high level of originality of the expected results, there is no doubt about the importance of these results for several humanistic sciences and about their long term influence on the research about this and other similar issues in Slovenia and abroad.
Most important scientific results
Interim report
Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
