CRC 496 B2 - 'Virtus' in Art and Artistic Theory of the Italian Renaissance

Basic data for this project

Description

The art historical project B2 investigates virtue images and manifestations of ‚virtj' in the widest sense with regard to the art of the Italian Renaissance, and with due consideration to ancient and contemporary theories on art and the ethics of virtue as well as affect theories. Research focuses on the two centres of artistic production and Renaissance humanism, Florence and Venice, and pays special attention to the sculpture of the early Renaissance and paintings of the high and late Renaissance; also included in the work are designs and furnishings of princely residences and municipal palaces. The object is to clarify what strategies artists developed to convey in their work their understanding of prevailing norms and values and, in particular, their conception of virtue according to the demands of their patron. With it comes to the fore not least the artists' virtue, that is, the specific virtj of the painters, sculptors, and architects as manifested in the work process, the actual opus, and its style. Attention is also paid to the functioning and contemporary adoption of virtue-ethical models and concepts, as their sometimes highly coded messages often did not facilitate an adequate understanding.