Ecologies of Art. Ways of Making, Conserving, and Knowing

FaculteitFaculty of Humanities

NiveauMaster

Studiejaar2026-2027

Beschrijving

Course goals

To study fundamental and recurring themes in art and the historiography of art from the Middle Ages to the present
To gain insight in new paradigms in (technical) art history; conservation studies, history of collecting and conservation, material culture studies; history of science and technology; environmental humanities and learn to apply (some of) these insights in a research paper
To improve academic writing
To provide constructive and critical feedback of other’s work (through peer review sessions)

Content

The seminar is devoted to a fundamental topic in (technical) art history: the biography of the artwork – from the moment of its making to its current mode of existence. It focuses on how the life of artworks is entangled with various ecologies and environments from the Middle Ages to the present, and it maps shifting ideas about art, conservation, and knowledge. The fundamental questions include: what sort of knowledge is produced in the making of art? How do artists engage with different ways of knowing? What is the function of materials and techniques in the making, keeping, and caring for artworks? In what ways have artists been concerned with the durability of materials and workmanship, and how does this connect to the knowledge and social status of materials? How have artworks been preserved and conserved? And what does it mean to take care of an object? How is this related to the shifting role of science and technology in the history of conservation? Which roles do collections and museums play in the production of knowledge and the conservation of art? And how is the making, preservation and conservation of art connected to ideas about nature, ecological restoration and more generally, concerns about environmental sustainability? To respond to these questions, the course brings insights and methods from (technical) art history (including re-making in the ArtLab of Utrecht University) into conversation with material culture studies, environmental humanities, conservation studies, the history of collecting and conservation, and the history of science and technology.

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