The Proclivities of Pleasure in Early Modern Art

This session will investigate the representation of pleasure in Early Modern art from the 15th to the 18th centuries. From the pleasure garden to the pronk still life, pleasures and indulgences were a central theme in Early Modern history of art. Who were shown consuming pleasures, and who were seen to serve pleasures? This panel will explore the representations of pleasure in Early Modern art from a critical standpoint. If art is positioned to reflect the tastes and inclinations of its ideal viewership, what can it tell us about their idea of pleasure? Are there any changes in the representation of pleasure during the Early Modern period? In what ways does the depiction of pleasure reflect the social, political or philosophical norms of the time and place it was made in? Among the subjects to address, but not limited to: drink and alcohol in Early Modern art, pleasure gardens, the female body in relation to the representation of pleasure, food and conviviality in Early Modern art, sugar and sweets in Early Modern art.

We encourage papers with attention to artists whose oeuvre focused on the subject of pleasure, subjects devoted to pleasure, questions of patronship as pertaining to pleasurable viewing or consuming, and critique of the visual representation of pleasure from a feminist, postcolonial, or class-based position.

The session will comprise four 20-minute length papers, with time for discussion and questions at the end.

Submit your Paper via this form. Please download, complete and send it directly to the Session Convenor(s) below by Sunday 2 November 2025:

Sara Benninga, Tel Aviv University, sarabenninga@tauex.tau.ac.il / sarabenninga@gmail.com