History of Art Research Seminar is on Thursday, 23 March (5.15 pm in the Hunter Lecture Theatre, The Hunter Building, ECA).
Dr Anna McSweeney (SOAS & Warburg Institute, UCL) will be speaking on Object Biographies: a carved and painted ceiling from the Alhambra Palace.
Abstract:
"What does the ‘object biography approach’ offer when we are looking at the history of buildings and their details? This lecture will explore the possibilities of using the biographical approach to tell the story of one of the most exquisite and oldest decorative ceilings from the Alhambra palace in Granada. It will trace the history of the Partal cupola from its 'birth' in early fourteenth-century Nasrid Granada to its move from Granada to Berlin in the 1890s. The long history of the Alhambra remains obscured by nineteenth-century romantic tales of western travellers and the revisionist histories of recent times. The ‘biographical’ approach, which crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries, allows for a more complete history to be told, one that places equal weight on the moment of production alongside the contextual history of the Alhambra's decline in the early modern period, its rediscovery by the romantics and current position as Spain's number one tourist destination."
All are welcome, and there will be a drinks reception in the John Higgitt Gallery after the talk.
For the full seminar programme of this semester and more information on the speakers, please see the ECA website:
http://www.eca.ed.ac.uk/history-of-art/news-events/history-of-art-research-seminar-series-2016-2017