Key research themes
1. How do patronage strategies and local contexts shape the production and reception of Romanesque art at pilgrimage sites like Conques?
This theme investigates the influence of patronage, local geography, and socio-religious factors on the creation and reception of major Romanesque artworks and architectural programs, with particular focus on Conques, a key pilgrimage center. It explores how abbots and local conditions directed artistic production to enhance the site's religious prestige and how these dynamics complicate dominant center-periphery narratives in medieval art history.
2. What are the roles of Islamic and Byzantine artistic influences in shaping Romanesque art and architecture, particularly in the Iberian and Mediterranean contexts?
This theme explores the transmission, adaptation, and appropriation of Islamic and Byzantine visual cultures within Romanesque art, focusing on motifs, architectural forms, and decorative elements. Scholars analyze the complex cross-cultural exchanges in border regions such as Iberia and Latin East, where artistic interpenetration accompanied religious, political, and social interactions. The theme encompasses the aesthetic, iconographic, and symbolic dimensions of these influences as they were reinterpreted within Christian contexts.
3. How do materiality, light, and technological approaches affect the interpretation and presentation of Romanesque art objects such as reliquaries and enamel artworks?
This theme focuses on the material properties and sensory experiences of Romanesque artworks, particularly enamel plaques and metal reliquaries. It includes studies on the recovery, restoration, and exhibition of such objects, revealing how light conditions and technical imaging (e.g., industrial CT) inform both medieval understanding and modern interpretation. It highlights how materiality and display impact art’s liturgical function, aesthetic perception, and scholarly reconstruction of medieval artistic intention.