"Just what is it that makes the Medieval so different, so appealing?" Modernism and National Emancipation in a Transnational Perspective
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Workshop |
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| Description | The panel seeks to understand the appeal of medieval art forms in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In Central Europe, medievalism served the purpose of constructing a "Slavic" identity. This happened in many multi-ethnic and multi-religious states that emerged as an idea in the 19th century and a political reality after WWI. National identifications and the idea of emancipation were tightly interwoven into an artistic modernist discourse. However, this phenomenon was not limited to the "Slavic" and Central Europe. The panel therefore also scrutinizes the situation in France—and beyond. Since French colonialism exports medievalism beyond the borders of Europe, this shows the truly transnational character of the phenomenon. Yet, despite this transnational aspect, the use of medieval art forms in Modernism frequently serves a national agenda and is thus based on various exclusions and oppressive mechanisms that the panel seeks to analyze. |
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