Dr Francesco Gusella (University of Münster / IASH Fellow): A Gramscian Perspective on Colonial Baroque: Retable and Pulpit Art from Portuguese India (17th -18th centuries)
Among the multitude of topics treated by Antonio Gramsci in his Prison Notebooks, special attention has been given to the hegemonic function of the Catholic Church. According to Gramsci, the power of the Roman Church belonged to the ability to keep the doctrinal unity between dominant and subaltern classes. This perspective reverberates in the approach of neo-Marxist art historians (G.C. Argan and J. Maravall) on baroque art, considered as the earliest example of a socially transversal communication policy directed by political elites.
My research project wishes to apply the theory of Gramsci to a peculiar case of colonial art history: the pulpits and retables produced in Portuguese India. These woodcarvings, created by local artists under the patronage of the missionary orders, present the traditional features of European baroque meanwhile showing specific elements of the local background. I argue that this strategy of adaptation represented a hegemonic practice aiming to assimilate the native communities within the political project of the colonial elites.
Please click here to go to the talk: https://eu.bbcollab.com/guest/2eac7e55ee904a0eb98d77548eea7459