XVI Jornadas Complutenses de Arte Medieval
Madrid, October 19th – 20th, 2023
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
During the last decades, references to women’s participation in medieval artistic
processes have ceased to be the story of an absence. Similarly, studies of
medieval female iconography have transcended their mere representation as
wives, mothers, lovers, sinners and sin-inducers, or nuns. Throughout the
Middle Ages, women projected, enjoyed and created art; there is no doubt about
it. An increasing number of works focus on female patronage, sometimes shared
with her husband but often practiced autonomously and with incalculable value
as a self-affirmation mechanism. Other proposals highlight female identities
hidden among the list of male practitioners of any of the arts or give names to
faces represented in sacred and profane episodes. Through the testimonies of
material and visual culture linked to women, social realities different from the
power relations established in those times are being outlined more
straightforwardly and precisely. Even so, artistic studies still lag behind those
focused on other disciplines such as history, philosophy or literature.
In its sixteenth edition, the Conference will be devoted to highlighting the role
of Women in medieval artistic creation. This role will be understood in the
broadest possible way: from patronage to creation and reception, as a channel
for power strategies, a transmitter of science or a generator of specific
iconographic types, regardless of their active or passive role in all this creative
dynamic. Women and Gender will serve as the priority vectors to articulate the
scientific content of Conference sessions.
We invite the academic community to submit abstracts in Spanish, English,
Italian and French consisting of a 500 words summary highlighting the
innovative nature of the paper together with the chosen session and a brief
curriculum vitae (max. 300 words) before the 30th of April 2023 to the following
address: enfemenino@ucm.es
Proposed topics:
● Women and artistic creation: artists, trades, textiles
● Depictions and portraits, identity
● Female spaces and architecture
● Art and female spirituality
● Patronage and Memory management
● Costume and textile trade
● Cross-cutting gender issues: prostitution, transsexuality, marginalisation,
otherness, old-age
● Science, techné, art and women
Confirmed keynote speakers: Verónica Abenza (UCM), Jessica Barker (The
Courtauld Institute of Art), Bárbara Boloix (Universidad de Granada), Irene
González (UCM), Jitske Jasperse (CCHS-CSIC), Elizabeth L’Estrange (University of Birmingham), Diana Lucía (UCM), Therese Martin (CCHS-CSIC), Ana Maria Rodrigues (Universidade de Lisboa), and Marta Poza (UCM).
The organising committee shall acknowledge receipt of submissions and select
those considered most closely aligned with the meeting objectives, responding
before the 25th of May. Following peer review, these will be published in a
monograph.
Scientific-organising Committee: Marta Poza, Elena Paulino, Laura
Rodríguez, Alexandra Uscatescu, Irene González, Diana Lucía, Diana Olivares,
Verónica Abenza, Ángel Fuentes and Alba García-Monteavaro.
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