Before the cubicle and the corner office, there was the Renaissance study, or studio, a space for private contemplation, study, and writing. Like its progeny, the Renaissance study was not merely an enclosure for mental work, but also a repository of precious things: books, seals, pens, and their containers. For patrons eager to adorn their intellectual retreats, Renaissance artisans made exquisite small objects, often with esoteric allegorical or mythological motifs. The bronze writing casket of c. 1500 in the Kerry Stokes collection is a study accessory made to circulate in some of the most exclusive spaces of the humanist élite. Bearing the arms of Cardinal Francesco Todeschini Piccolomini (1439–1503), later Pope Pius III, it emerges from the inner sanctums of European power as a compelling object of intellectual self-fashioning during the Renaissance.
Dr Miya Tokumitsu is currently a Lecturer of Renaissance and Early Modern Art at the University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on print culture, sculpture, and the luxury arts of early modern Europe.
This lecture series is kindly supported by Mr Kerry Stokes AC and Mrs Christine Simpson-Stokes, Mr Norman and Mrs Meryll Wodetzki and Australians Studying Abroad in partnership with the University of Melbourne Library.
An Illumination: the Rothschild Prayer Book and other works from the Kerry Stokes Collection c.1280-1685 will be exhibited at the Ian Potter Museum of Art from 28 August to 15 November 2015.
When:
Tuesday, 13 October 2015 | 6.30pm - 7.30pm
Where:
Theatre A
Elisabeth Murdoch Building
The University of Melbourne
PARKVILLE VIC 3010
Location map
Questions?
Contact Joyce Bowden at [email protected] or 03 8344 3973.
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