21 February 2025 Conference programme
Convener of ‘Dynamics of Artistic Interaction in the Mediterranean in the Medieval and Renaissance periods’ held in 2018 and 2019 at the University of Malta Valletta Campus.
Dynamics of Artistic Interaction in the Mediterranean in the Medieval and Renaissance Periods 2025: the third edition
Conference Programme
Session 1: Reconstructing Art and Architecture in the Mediterranean
14:00 - 14:15 Michaele Zammit – Reviving the San Niklaw Cave-Church: 3D Mapping and Digital Reconstruction of Lost Late Medieval Heritage (Graduate)
14:15 - 14:35 Professor Donal Cooper – Between the Bellini and the Balkans: Reconstructing Lovro Dobričević's Polyptych for the Dubrovnik Franciscans
14:35 - 15:00 Sebastiano D’Amico and Emanuele Colica – Integrating Art Historical and Geoscientific Data for Virtual Restoration and Augmented Reality Applications: The Case of Batia Church, Sicily
15:00 - 15:15 Andrea Luca Bartolo – Technical Art History and Digital Reconstruction: Antonio de Saliba’s Taormina and Rabat Polyptychs (Graduate)
15:15 - 15:45 Discussion
15:45 - 16:30 Coffee Break
Session 2: Materiality, Patronage, and Artistic Representation
16:30 - 16:50 Dr Fabio Linguanti – Dal Nord Europa al Mediterraneo. Alcune note sull’architettura normanna di Sicilia: origini ed evoluzione dalle Contea al Regno (From Northern Europe to the Mediterranean. Some notes on the Norman architecture of Sicily: origins and evolution from the County to the Kingdom)
16:50 - 17:05 Jamie Farrugia – Re-imagining Colour: Merging Art History and Technical Art History in the context of Antonello Gagini’s 1504 Madonna and Child (Graduate)
17:05 - 17:25 Professor Fabrizio Nevola – Looking Up and Looking Down: Eyes on the Street in Early Modern Italy
17:25 - 17:45 Dr Martina Caruana – Renaissance Book Collection and Patronage: A Case Study of Two Neapolitan Illuminated Manuscripts at the National Library of Malta
17:45 - 18:05 Professor Roberto Cobianchi – Antonello da Messina’s Portrait of an Anonymous Franciscan Friar: Observations on the Painting in the Regional Museum of Messina
18:05 - 18:30 Discussion
18:30 Concluding remarks
18:45 Reception
20 February 2025 Seminar
Displaying Siena: The National Gallery exhibitions on the Medieval and Renaissance city in 2007 and 2025
seminar with Prof Donal Cooper (University of Cambridge) and Prof Fabrizio Nevola (University of Exeter)
ALT, University of Malta Msida Campus
20 February 2025, 5 pm
Convened by Prof Charlene Vella
In 2025, two significant exhibitions will spotlight Italian Trecento (14th century) painting. The first, “A New Look at Cimabue: At the Origins of Italian Painting”, is currently on display at the Louvre in Paris until 12 May 2025. This marks the Louvre's inaugural exhibition dedicated to Cimabue, a pivotal 13th-century artist renowned for introducing naturalism into Western painting. The exhibition features approximately forty works, including the recently restored Maestà and the newly acquired Christ Mocked, rediscovered in 2019.
The second exhibition, “Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300–1350”, will open on 8 March at the National Gallery of Art in London and will run until 22 June 2025. This exhibition celebrates the golden era of Sienese art, showcasing masterpieces by artists such as Duccio, Simone Martini, and the Lorenzetti brothers. Notably, it reunites dispersed panels from Duccio's monumental Maestà and Simone Martini's Orsini Polyptych, offering a comprehensive view of early 14th-century Sienese painting.
In conjunction with these exhibitions, Prof. Charlene Vella from the University of Malta's Department of Art and Art History will host a seminar featuring distinguished scholars Prof. Donal Cooper (University of Cambridge) and Prof. Fabrizio Nevola (University of Exeter). Prof. Cooper will contrast the National Gallery's current exhibition on Trecento art with its 2007 exhibition, “Renaissance Siena: Art for a City”, and will also discuss Cimabue, referencing the Louvre's exhibition. Prof. Nevola will examine perceptions of Sienese art during the Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance, highlighting both the continuity and innovative qualities present across these periods.
This seminar promises to provide valuable insights into the evolution of Italian painting and the enduring legacy of Sienese artists.