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- Convenor:
-
Pilar Diez del Corral
(Technische Universität Berlin)
Send message to Convenor
- Location:
- Bloco 1, Sala 1.11
- Start time:
- 13 July, 2017 at
Time zone: Europe/Lisbon
- Session slots:
- 4
Short Abstract:
This proposal seeks to approach water iconography, with special attention to Oceans, as a mode of representation of power throughout modern Era and deals with its role in politics and culture. We are interested in visual arts (paintings, prints, drawings, etc), music, and literature.
Long Abstract:
Since Antiquity the personification of water, as rivers or seas, is one of the recurrent elements in the iconography related to power. From Tigris to Ganges, from the Mare Nostrum to the Atlantic sea, water seems to be an essential element in the visual display of powerful monarchies and empires. After the American epopee, oceans started to play an extraordinary role in the allegorical representation of the two main Empires involved, so to speak, Spain and Portugal, but not solely. This panel proposal seeks to approach water iconography, with special attention to Oceans, as a mode of representation of power throughout modern Era and deals with its role in politics and culture. We are interested in arts, music, and literature, and how they relate to the iconography of water and its relation with power. Especially welcome are cross-disciplinary contributions, proposals that address different cases studies in a comparative way and studies focused in ephemeral architecture and theatrical context.
Topics my include, but are not limited to:
Ephemeral art: celebrations of victories, king's birthdays or even religious events were the perfect context for the representation of water as the image of rulers.
Prints, emblems and propaganda: How the topic relates to the rulers propaganda.
European powers and the new Geography: How monarchies and sovereigns assumed the discoveries into their own image of power.
Odes, poetry and epic: How literature used the image of Oceans and Rivers to glorify the rulers and how it related to the visual arts.
Accepted papers:
Session 1Paper short abstract:
In The Birth of Venus, Giorgio Vasari personified Cosimo as Neptune, who observes the arrival of Venus from the sea with enthusiasm, an allusion to his political achievement and governance transformation on and expansion of sovereignty from Duke of Florence to Duke of Tuscany.
Paper long abstract:
Giorgio Vasari conflated two mythological sagas associated with water: one is the Birth of Venus, the other is the governance of the sea by Neptune and Thetis in the composition depicting the element of Water, The Birth of Venus, in Sala degli Elementi of the Palazzo Vecchio, in Florence.
In the imagery, Neptune, son of Saturn, experiences a sea ceremony in honor of Venus' birth. The sea festivity is caused by Saturn's castration, which resulted in the creation of a beautiful "frutto di mare" Venus. Vasari depicted a sea ceremony where all the sea creatures manifest their joy for the arrival of Venus. Their rejoice is expressed with multiple offerings of "frutti di mare," such as corals, pearls and conchs as well as lobsters, dolphins and other fish, in celebration of Venus's birth.
This paper focuses on the symbolism of the movement of water and its substance alluding to transformation and emergence of a clean moral slate. Vasari employed the water symbolism to conduit the political victory of Cosimo 1 de' Medici over Siena's prolonged war. With this conquest, Cosimo conquered the territory of Siena, which will grant him the governance over Tuscany. Vasari personified Cosimo as Neptune, who observes the arrival of Venus from the sea with great enthusiasm, an allusion to Cosimo's political achievement. While the birth of Venus, which traditionally alludes to transformation, birth and revival, here politically implies Cosimo's governance transformation on and expansion of sovereignty from Duke of Florence to Duke of Tuscany.
Paper short abstract:
My paper will explore a series of depictions of the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria (1466-1560) in which he is portrayed in the guise of Neptune. I will analyse the choice of heroic disguise and the iconography of Neptune in the context of 16th century redefinition of power and propaganda in Italian states.
Paper long abstract:
During the sixteenth century, the Italian political landscape went through a dramatic transformation, and new powers emerged. The new status quo, which was often regarded with trepidation by the foreign powers involved in the Italian Wars, required the support of a strong visual message, which would stress the notion of the new ruler's 'divine' right to govern thanks to his exceptional virtues. In the context of political propaganda, heroic (or 'allegorical') portraiture, in which the sitter is depicted in guise of a mythological, historical or religious character, acquired a new importance not only in domestic affairs, but also on the European stage. My current doctoral work is the first exploration of how this genre sprang from the cultural features of sixteenth-century Italy, for instance how it related to the new notions of social dissimulation and courtly performance, how it derived its language from emblematic literature and medals and, most importantly, how its visual rhetoric served the agenda of Italian political regimes, like the one in Genoa, or the Medici one in Florence. My paper will draw on my current work on Italian heroic portraits, and my considerations will focus principally, but not exclusively, on a case-study which epitomizes this myth-making process in a variety of artistic media: the series of medals and plaquettes by Leone Leoni depicting the admiral Andrea Doria as Neptune, an iconography which was reprised by Agnolo Bronzino in a panel portrait destined to the Museo Gioviano, now in the Pinacoteca di Brera.
Paper short abstract:
This paper will demonstrate that water iconography in the royal entries of Henri II (1548-1550) and Charles IX (1564-1566) closely mirrored the changing territorial priorities of the French Crown.
Paper long abstract:
Water was fundamental to the performance of royal entries in sixteenth-century France. It functioned as a path into the city, the stage for naumachia, and as a source of imagery with which local authorities could communicate to the new king their perceptions of his reign. Neptune was habitually deployed in ephemeral architecture and dramatic performances to signify that French Kings were destined to rule empires that traversed the oceans, bolstering narratives that France was the successor to the Roman Empire and the emperor's power as dominus mundi had transferred to the kings. During Henri II's entries, for instance, an actor dressed as Neptune offered Henri his trident before leaping into the water, symbolizing the passing of dominion over the seas from one authority to another. Nearby, a Brazilian village had been recreated, in which 50 of the 300 "inhabitants" were natives shipped over from the New World. Viewers understood that these scenes articulated the territorial ambitions of the Crown and its intense rivalry with Spain and Portugal. Water represented a means to prosperity and an opportunity to be seized. This changed, however, in the reign of Charles IX. Depictions of sea monsters devouring Andromeda dominated, and Neptune was forced to send winds to calm the raging seas. Waters became a peril and a metaphor for civil conflict, as the king struggled to contain internal turmoil caused by the French Wars of Religion. In short, water iconography mirrored the determination of the French Crown to expand or protect its borders.
Paper short abstract:
Drawing on recent ideological readings of Lusiadas de Luis de Camoens; comentadas por Manuel de Faria i Sousa this paper analyses firstly, the graphic and poetic images, and then, allegorical significance of Neptune in Faria e Sousa’s seminal statement of Portuguese cultural and political identity.
Paper long abstract:
The aim of this paper is to analyse the artistic and critical response to the representation of Neptune in "Lusiadas de Luis de Camoens...; comentadas por Manuel de Faria i Sousa" (Madrid: Juan Sanchez, 1639). The point of departure is an analysis of the print that opens the commentary of Canto VI depicting Neptune, his palace, attendants and the sea storms he can invoke. A survey will then be undertaken of Camoes' poetic images of Neptune in conjunction with consideration of Faria e Sousa's theoretical discussion of Camoes' poetic "pintura". Attention will then be turned to an analysis of the literary and allegorical significance of Neptune as set out in Faria e Sousa's commentary. Drawing on recent ideological readings of Faria e Sousa's work by Bass, Fouto and Weiss, a series of examples will be examined; including Faria e Sousa's discussion of St. Peter as "representación de Neptuno" (I: v, 456B) in the combined critique of Islam and praise of the pious purpose of Portugal's imperial ambitions presented in the commentary on Canto V. Thereby, the visual, both graphic and poetic, as well as allegorical significance of Neptune will be considered in Faria e Sousa's commentary on the Lusiadas, a work that is a seminal statement of Portuguese cultural and political identity during the final years of the union of the two crowns.
Paper short abstract:
This presentation will address Vicente’s use of the sea and its marine creatures in the theatrical play Cortes de Júpiter as a way of expressing the connection between the political, cultural and symbolic power of the sea and the foreign policy of the Portuguese crown in the early sixteenth century
Paper long abstract:
The Ocean is a contradictory and alien space for humans, and has worked as a mirror of human endeavours in all times. Moreover the world's shores and oceans are privileged spaces for the manifestation of the marvelous and, at human eyes, in their midst everything is possible. Over time various cultural agents have described elements of Ocean and its interaction with human societies. Such was the case in Gil Vicente's theatrical play, Cortes de Júpiter, written in 1521 to commemorate the auspicious marriage of Beatrice, daughter of King Manuel I, with the Duke of Savoy, Charles. Here, the Sea itself is a persona, as are the Gods of Antiquity and even the cardinal points. Through the use of marine animals' aspects to attribute symbolic qualities and personalities to humans, Vicente created a tale in which mythology, fishes, and fantastic creatures shape the expression and assertiveness of power of King Manuel I over the seas. Seas of which lacked the Mediterranean, and that this intended marriage would ensure, as the words of the play emphatically attest.
In this presentation we intend to address the magnificent parade that is described along the journey from Lisbon to Nice, in which several elements of the Princess' entourage are compared to different fish and other marine fauna, both of local and exotic origins. We will argue that for King Manuel I the Mediterranean was the entranceway to European politics beyond the Pyrenees and that the characterization of the seas portrayed in the text, express different levels of political, cultural, and symbolic domain.
Paper short abstract:
Marcus Sitticus represented his power as archbishop of Salzburg (1612-19) in creating his personal Arcadia Hellbrunn. Therefore he exploited the rich cultural source of legendary Neptune and arranged multiple aspects of that god there. Sitticus combined nature, art and guests to a sophisticated game
Paper long abstract:
Since ancient times building up a "villa suburbana" and arranging the vivid elements of nature into a place of longing has marked the social power. Literary sources and excavations of "villae" tied up the 16th century to the discourses and cultural self-producing of the Golden Age. The rich could present their power and skills by knowing those sources and rearranging them into new artistic attractions. Those arranged rooms made each visit to a special event and accordingly make their courts to a station of itineraries and travelouges.
Having and taming the elementary power of water belonged to the main challenges of the artists and engineers. Marcus Sitticus' Hellbrunn is a fascinating example of turning marshland into a witty Arcadia. The paper discusses that Sitticus didn't only shape and enrich the nature with sculptures and architecture. I would like to argue that he used the attractions of other courts to go a step further - further than just the objective meaning. He arranged them to different rooms, where you had to step in and experience his new narration.
Up to the present day Neptune is the force that pushes humans and actions forward. After you passed his character his waters are always by your side. They will change their speed, forms or conditions to manipulate the atmosphere, room and sounds. Sitticus tamed Neptune and presented him from the stimulating and refreshing god on to the earthshaking god of apocalypse. He moved or petrified his guests by the power of Neptune.
Paper short abstract:
This paper will analyze how the Monarchy of Spain represented the Sea of China and its imperial confines after the establishment of the Castilians in the Philippines through the cartography as well as the ethnographical, political and missionary literature in the service of the king.
Paper long abstract:
The Spanish Monarchy of the second half of the Sixteenth century was a real laboratory of knowledge about the Chinese Empire and its seas. During the reign of Philip II the Castilians were established in the Philippines and the union of the Spanish and Portuguese crowns began, with its various domains in Asia: the frontier of Philip's Iberian empire was adjoining to the borders of the «Gran Reino» of China.
It is in this favorable context for the generation of news, accounts and cultural products that the Monarchy was projected as an emergent power in the Pacific Ocean and on the borders of the Chinese Empire. Ethnographic works, maps and treatises were elaborated trying to record useful information on the sea, the islands and the continent, while at the same time wanted to glorify the Iberian presence in Asia.
As we shall try to explain, some of these representations served the cause of a messianic imperialism that represented the king as lord of the oceans, sent from God, able to dominate the oldest of civilizations, China, through its Christianization.
Paper short abstract:
Considering the historical meaning of maritime discoveries within the establishment of the Portuguese empire, this study aims to analyse the role of the emblematic figurations of water displayed by Lusitanian royal entries in the 17th century, according to the principles of the repraesentatio maiestatis.
Paper long abstract:
Maritime discoveries made Portugal widely known and constitute the central theme of the national epopee, celebrating the powerful people that "submitted Neptune and Mars", according to Camões.
The conquest of the oceans and the establishment of the Empire Overseas is definitely one of the most famous episodes in the Lusitanian history. Consequently, the research on the allegorical figuration of water as a mode of representation of power during the early modern period becomes particularly meaningful, concerning its role in Portuguese culture and political propaganda. Taking this particular social context into consideration, the present work aims to analyse printed and manuscript sources (namely descriptions, engravings and emblematic compositions), in order to study the logo-iconic representations of water, oceans and rivers displayed by Portuguese royal festivities during the 17th century. The comparative reading of the accounts related to the ephemeral architecture hold at different moments of that century will focus on the relation of watery elements with the image of rulers, selecting the most significant events from the royal entry of King Filipe II (1619) to the funeral ceremony of the Queen Maria Sofia (1699), including the festivities in honour of the recently empowered Braganza dynasty.
This way, we intend to shed a new light on the role played by representations of water under such important circumstances, discussing the relation of the selected emblematic devices with the Portuguese rulers' image. After all, similar to Neptuno, they had control over a huge maritime empire.
Paper short abstract:
Around 1732 the Genoese nobleman Stefano Durazzo commissioned a great fresco cycle depicting his deeds as Magistrate at the service of the Republic of Genoa.The chosen iconographies are all linked to the water element and were a fundamental "manifesto" to lead Stefano Durazzo to become Doge in 1734.
Paper long abstract:
1734. Stefano Durazzo became Doge of the Republic of Genoa, voted by a large number of people in the Council. His rich Palace testifies the great "political campaign" he made through the years before, with the help of the furnishing of his house (perfectly known today thanks to his inventory, dated 1744) and the great fresco decorations. To remember his public charges, like Galleys Magistrate, War Magistrate, Sea Protector, he commissioned to the Genoese painter Domenico Parodi (1672-1742) a great fresco cycle describing him in his deeds: the peacekeeping of the Genoa's territory by land and sea (terra marique). For this reason, he was first represented as Neptune, sleeping after the fight, and - in the other room - the lands possessed by the Republic are symbolised by the four great rivers by which are surrounded. Stefano Durazzo appears therefore to his contemporaries as a great 'lord of waters', the right person to become the new Doge of the Republic.
Paper short abstract:
Portugal perceived as "Tagus shores" and the Tagus as a symbolic limit of the Western world in musical libretti from the 18th century; ocean-related imaginary in musical poetry and it's musical-rhetoric use during the reign of John V.
Paper long abstract:
Baroque libretti for operas, serenatas and cantatas are prodigal in metaphors, allegories and personifications with an 'aquatic' theme, topics and figures gladly and efficiently explored by the composers through the recurrence to a vast array of Musical-Rhetoric figures. The first aim of this paper is to identify some of these varied references to the Portuguese Monarchy under John V as "Tagus Shores" ('Sponde del Tago, 'Rives du Tage') in vocal compositions, not only Portuguese (Almeida) but also Italian (A. Scarlatti) and even French (Charpentier, Morel).
Secondly, we will explore the role of River Tagus as allegorical Western limit of the civilized world, opposed in the same libretti to the rivers Hydaspes and Ganges as its Eastern limits. Relevant examples to explore are to be found in the lyric-dramatic poetry by Antonio Tedeschi - Italian composer and poet active in Lisbon from 1733 to 1770 - such as the metaphoric image of John V's reign spreading from "the Tagus to the Ganges" or the role of Neptune in his libretto to "L'Ippolito" by Almeida, an image of the punishing yet simultaneously regenerating power of the Ocean, controlling the destinies of the Iberian Monarchies. We will also explore the persistent use of poetic images related to the rivers, see, ocean and water-related activities (such as navigation) in the lyric poetry used by composers living in Lisbon (Té y Sagau, Astorga, Almeida, Giorgi) in this period, and the way how they musically explored this rich imaginary through Musical-Rhetorical figures, presenting some simple musical examples.
Paper short abstract:
Analyzing the representation of key moments of important Luso-Brazilian poems from XVII and XVIII centuries, this presentation aims to shed light over the important issue of symbolic appropriation of the Atlantic Ocean as a space which ties Europe and America.
Paper long abstract:
Since the early XVII century, when the poem Prosopopeia (1601) was printed, the Atlantic Ocean have been represented as a privileged stage for speeches and scenes that perform the Portuguese dominance over the Americas. This presentation deals with three Luso-Brazilian poems, Bento Teixeira's Prosopopeia (1601), Silva Alvarenga's O templo de Netuno (1777), and Santa Rita Durão's Caramuru (1781), as well as with some other texts and images, in order to better trace and understand the symbolic importance of this space for legitimate Portuguese imperial policies and claims. Past, present and future are displayed in these texts within both mythological, historical, and political arrangements that create the proper immaterial space that overlaps the material one and erases imperfections of actual policies and domination issues towards the Americas.