Italian Altarpieces in Context: Spatial and Material Environments for Sacred Art in the Renaissance Church Interior
Collaborative Doctoral Award
A new collaboration with the History of Art Department at the University of Warwick this studentship focuses on 'Italian Altarpieces in Context: Spatial and Material Environments for Sacred Art in the Renaissance Church Interior'.
The project aims to identify and analyse the historic conditions of display for painted altarpieces in Renaissance Italy. It will clarify a range of perceptual factors that regulated viewing for Renaissance audiences (natural and artificial lighting, veiling practices, and the surrounding colours and textures of the Renaissance church interior). It will also investigate the broader spatial arrangements of church interiors in order to address fundamental issues of visual and physical access: who could see what, under what conditions, and when.
The successful doctoral student will be supervised by Dr Donal Cooper of the University of Warwick and Carol Plazzotta at the National Gallery.
Outcomes of the studentship
The doctoral student will work at the Gallery for regular periods during their three-year projects. The Gallery’s public will benefit from this collaborative projects through talks, exhibitions and website features.
About the Collaborative Doctoral Awards
The National Gallery offers a small number of Collaborative Doctoral Awards, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and run in partnership with higher education institutions. These studentships focus on specific themes relevant to the Gallery's collection and wider research themes.
Image above: Detail from Giovanni dal Ponte, Ascension of John the Evangelist Altarpiece, about 1420-4?