SNF Ambizione

Profil

The history of Renaissance art is often told as a story of triumph, of technical problems solved, perhaps laboriously, but successfully. But could Renaissance artists ever afford to fail? The AFIRE project integrates failure into the story of 16th-century art which to many is synonymous with artistic perfection. It examines ceramics which constitute an ideal medium for the study of artistic failure because of the intricate technique and the reliance on many variables. Failure was a real threat to the livelihood of artists, who were financially responsible for the material aspects of their work. The high risks involved in the production of ceramics enable us to understand the consequences of failure for makers, patrons and beholders.

The AFIRE project highlights the interconnectedness of Central Europe where from the 16th century we see patrons and artists striving to establish local production of tin-glazed earthenware at the highest level. The project seeks to create an overview of the types of technical across artistic workshops in areas considered peripheral by mainstream art history, areas as distant from each other as Lesser Poland, Moravia and Istria. Those areas were characterised by different geological conditions, political systems, economic potential, and religious practices. Selecting from ceramics which are now in museum collections, we compare the differing ways in which works from the three regions were made and failed.

Forschungsprojekt

Research project

The project is divided into three subprojects titled:

  1. "Value for Money: Artistic Quality and Financial Stability" with a regional focus on Lesser Poland (Zuzanna Sarnecka)
  2. "Testing the Limits: Artistic Bravado and Technical Shortcuts" with a regional focus on Moravia (Zuzanna Sarnecka)
  3. "The Workshop as a Site of Experiments and Failures" with a regional focus on Istria (Ariane Milicev)

Research questions include: were artists with greater financial stability more (or less) likely to embrace technical risks and shortcuts? What were the most common reasons for technical failure in ceramic workshops in each region?

Methodology

A mixed-method approach to the material will be adopted. In selected cases, when traditional art historical analysis of artworks raises further questions about the reasons for technical failure, objects are cross-examined using non-destructive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. Those investigations are conducted in situ and their primary goal is to define the composition of glazes. Only the combination of the art historical and non-invasive methods of analysis allows us to answer questions related to both human and material limitations, as possibilities of creating something material were strictly related to multifaceted contexts that were not only technical.

Expected results

The AFIRE project showcases failure as a driving force of aesthetic pursuits. It integrates ceramics into early modern narratives of the making of art and connects artistic activity in lesser-studied areas and in a long-neglected medium to arrive at a better understanding of the artistic output of early modern Europe. The research foregrounds the technical, social and economic circumstances of the making of art. In order to address the complex issues related to the process of making of ceramics, the project develops new research methods, which transcend the traditional boundaries of art history