Institute for Medieval Studies

Session	301
Title	The Body in Medieval Art, II
Date/Time	Monday 4 July 2022: 16.30-18.00
Sponsor	Universiteit van Amsterdam
Organiser	Wendelien A. W. van Welie-Vink, Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen, Universiteit van Amsterdam
Moderator/Chair	Jitske Jasperse, Institut für Kunst- und Bildgeschichte, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Paper 301-a	The Body of Christ as a Sacrifice to Pagan Gods?: Mattathias Killing of a Jew in a Dutch Bible Historiale of the 15th Century (Language: English) Huib P. R. Iserief, Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen, Universiteit van Amsterdam Index Terms: Art History - General; Art History - Painting; Hebrew and Jewish Studies; Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 301-b	Sacred or Scandalous?: How to Approach Depictions of Genitals in Medieval Art (Language: English) Wendelien A. W. van Welie-Vink, Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen, Universiteit van Amsterdam Index Terms: Art History - General; Art History - Painting; Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 301-c	The Depiction of the Infant Christ and More Iconographic Scenes of the Utrecht Middle Rhine Altarpiece Compared to a Corpus of Manuscripts (Language: English) Jip van Reijen, Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen, Universiteit van Amsterdam / Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht Index Terms: Art History - General; Art History - Painting
Abstract	Medieval expressions, thoughts and iconographies on the human body frequently surpass the borders of its material reality. Iconographical details on these bodies often grasp the gaze of the viewer, such as the wounds of Christ. Or, Mary's nipple in between her fingers, when milk sprouts from her breast. In many cases, these details inform us on the significance of human body for understanding corporality and matters beyond the body. Artists often embedded messages in these corporal details. We will aim to uncover these messages and meanings, as our contemporary minds often cannot grasp the medieval body and it's use. In these sessions, researchers and students will approach images of the body in Medieval art within and beyond the borders of the physical body. Through various artworks of the Middle Ages we will seek to assess how the body was represented to construct an iconography related to mundane topics such as hygiene, prudence, and promiscuity. But also on divine topics such as the incarnation and sacrifice.