63. Materiam superbat opus:’ playing with material limitations in the medieval world, c.1100-1500

Material limitations are inextricable from artistic creation; this panel proposes an exploration of how artists in the Middle Ages surpassed these limitations in all types of media—stone, ivory, metal, pigment, parchment, textiles—across geographies and cultures. It considers the roles of technique and virtuosity in the production of art, enriching our understanding of the tensions embodied by the expression materiam superbat opus (Ovid, Met., 2.5). As surpassing material boundaries is inherent to artistic creation, the “Middle Ages” will not be confined to one specific region.

This panel explores the ways in which manipulating material to overcome its physical limitations was a core concern in the creation and reception of art in the Middle Ages. Art production is fundamentally a form of problem-solving that pushes against the limits of its material, which in turn shapes the audience’s appreciation of a work. Recent publications that offer varied considerations of the topic include Jaeger, C. Stephen (ed.), Magnificence and the sublime in Medieval aesthetics: art, architecture, literature, music (2010) and Britta Dümpelmann (ed.), Crafting Presence: Material Evocations, 300-1300 (2025). Inspired by the pioneering work of Victor Stoichiţă (The Self-Aware Image: An Insight into Early Modern Meta-Painting, 1997), it further engages with the concept of self-awareness in art across media and cultures c.1100-1500.

This panel will select papers that together present studies covering a broad geographical and chronological range, including Western Europe, Byzantium, and the Islamic World, c.1100-1500. It encourages focused papers that offer an exploration of specific case studies.

Themes:

Additional format comment: This panel will employ the traditional format of approximately four twenty-minute-long papers.

Lead Convenor: Blanche Darbord, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Co-convenors: Isabelle Hoover, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

To submit a Paper to this Session, please follow the guidance on our website and complete the AAH 2027 Call for Papers Proposal Submission Form.