Periodic Reporting for period 1 - VETULAE ('Vetulae'. Depicting women's ageing bodies in 15th century Florence)
Berichtszeitraum: 2021-10-01 bis 2023-09-30
VETULAE offered a holistic and comparative view of ideas and materializations of the ageing female body in 15th century Florence at the intersection of art, art theory and natural history. In recent decades, studies on the biological, economic, social and cultural aspects of ageing have proliferated as a result of ongoing debates on demographic ageing and its impact on our societies. This project provides historical depth to this important scientific and societal challenge and seeks to enrich the discussion with new perspectives. VETULAE thus aimed to influence the way we think about women's ageing by anchoring present and future experiences in historical precedents. The wealth and historical relevance of pictorial and sculptural works produced in fifteenth-century Florence, and the proliferation of writings on art, medicine and anatomy in the same cultural milieu, provided an exceptionally coherent corpus for the study of cultural constructions of ageing at the threshold between the late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period.
The project was designed to achieve the following specific objectives:
O1. To collect a corpus of pictorial and sculptural works depicting different facets of women’s ageing and old age produced in Florence and its environs during the 15th century, analyzing the extent to which older women were present and visible in artworks displayed in both public and private spaces, and assessing whether this varied in different contexts;
O2. To compare cultural constructions of women's ageing with those of men, contrasting the ideas disseminated in scientific and artistic milieus;
O3. To reflect on the presumed gender bias in relation to ageing among fifteenth-century physicians, artists, writers and cultural promoters, and to assess how this may have influenced their beliefs about women's bodies;
O4. To re-write the gendered ageing body in the history of pre-modern Europe, addressing the under-appreciated but crucial role of the intersection between natural history and the visual arts in shaping cultural constructions of gender and age;
O5. To inscribe pre-modern ideas of women’s ageing into the longue durée and assess their impact on contemporary culture. VETULAE’s ultimate aim was to draw the attention of the wider public to how tropes rooted in the pre-modern period are still active today, in order to contribute to a better understanding and denaturalization of culturally constructed beliefs about women's ageing bodies and older women's physical appearance.
The project was designed to achieve the following specific objectives:
O1. To collect a corpus of pictorial and sculptural works depicting different facets of women’s ageing and old age produced in Florence and its environs during the 15th century, analyzing the extent to which older women were present and visible in artworks displayed in both public and private spaces, and assessing whether this varied in different contexts;
O2. To compare cultural constructions of women's ageing with those of men, contrasting the ideas disseminated in scientific and artistic milieus;
O3. To reflect on the presumed gender bias in relation to ageing among fifteenth-century physicians, artists, writers and cultural promoters, and to assess how this may have influenced their beliefs about women's bodies;
O4. To re-write the gendered ageing body in the history of pre-modern Europe, addressing the under-appreciated but crucial role of the intersection between natural history and the visual arts in shaping cultural constructions of gender and age;
O5. To inscribe pre-modern ideas of women’s ageing into the longue durée and assess their impact on contemporary culture. VETULAE’s ultimate aim was to draw the attention of the wider public to how tropes rooted in the pre-modern period are still active today, in order to contribute to a better understanding and denaturalization of culturally constructed beliefs about women's ageing bodies and older women's physical appearance.
VETULAE assembled and examined a comprehensive collection of visual and textual materials pertaining to the physiological changes associated with the ageing process of women in the city of Florence and its surrounding areas during the 15th century. The approach taken was a multi-comparative and holistic study centred on the following types of sources: (a) Images and material objects; (b) Medical writings and collections of health and beauty recipes for domestic use; (c) Art theory writings; (d) Other miscellaneous textual sources relevant to specific sub-themes (e.g. private correspondence). The project combined the examination of published sources and publicly accessible images with archival research and fieldwork in Italy, whenever remote access to material objects was insufficient for their correct analysis.
The results of the project have been disseminated through various channels, including (forthcoming) open access publications, participation in numerous international conferences and seminars, the organization of an international conference and an international workshop, the organization and hosting of a monthly seminar open to peers and students in which the objectives of VETULAE were implemented, ongoing collaboration with other research projects in Bergen and abroad, and the continuous communication of project activities through social media. Given the importance of taking a long-term view of the issue under study and linking past and present, special emphasis was placed on integrating the project results into events and initiatives aimed at the general public and involving health professionals, stakeholders, policy makers and contemporary artists.
The results of the project have been disseminated through various channels, including (forthcoming) open access publications, participation in numerous international conferences and seminars, the organization of an international conference and an international workshop, the organization and hosting of a monthly seminar open to peers and students in which the objectives of VETULAE were implemented, ongoing collaboration with other research projects in Bergen and abroad, and the continuous communication of project activities through social media. Given the importance of taking a long-term view of the issue under study and linking past and present, special emphasis was placed on integrating the project results into events and initiatives aimed at the general public and involving health professionals, stakeholders, policy makers and contemporary artists.
VETULAE was the first research project to thoroughly examine the Florentine Early Renaissance material and textual corpus through the lens of gender and ageing. The methodology employed contributed to the development of a theoretical framework and research model for the study of women's bodily ageing in Premodern Europe. The research conducted as part of VETULAE highlighted the significance of the intersection between natural history and the visual arts in shaping cultural constructions of gender and age, as well as the relevance of age in the analysis of premodern art and textual sources. The interdisciplinary approach of the project allowed for the uncovering of previously unnoticed or underexplored concepts, experiences and patterns of thought.
One of VETULAE's primary aims was to direct the attention of both fellow researchers and the general public towards the continued influence of thought patterns originating from the pre-modern period. This was done with the intention of facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of culturally constructed beliefs surrounding women's ageing bodies and the physical appearance of older women. This objective was achieved through ongoing collaboration with scholars specializing in the contemporary period. Additionally, participation in public engagement events, some of which were broadcast online to extend their reach, and involvement in a short film on the menopause also contributed to this objective.
One of VETULAE's primary aims was to direct the attention of both fellow researchers and the general public towards the continued influence of thought patterns originating from the pre-modern period. This was done with the intention of facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of culturally constructed beliefs surrounding women's ageing bodies and the physical appearance of older women. This objective was achieved through ongoing collaboration with scholars specializing in the contemporary period. Additionally, participation in public engagement events, some of which were broadcast online to extend their reach, and involvement in a short film on the menopause also contributed to this objective.