The altarpiece in Ibero-America: Form, function and iconography

When the 'Medieval and Early Modern Art Studies' research group at the Art History Institute of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of Universidade Nova de Lisboa established “Retable” as the central theme of its international meeting, it sought to recover the path of internationalization of Portuguese art history and the dissemination of research carried out in our country. Of the various subjects that could be worked on in a broad way in the context of a scientific meeting, the group chose altarpiece art, its typology, functions and iconographies as the overarching topic for 2015. The meeting, which became known as the “1st Art History Symposium”, decided to limit the discussion of the topic to Ibero-America, without prejudice to inviting other geographical areas that were equally relevant to the study of the subject. It was precisely some of the papers presented during the Symposium, all of them carefully selected by the Scientific Committee set up for the purpose, that served as the basis for the texts now published. The choice of three strands of analysis - form, function and iconography - was the motto for the art-historical approach to retabulistics in the vast Ibero-American territory and has been translated into the book presented below. In it, the reader will be able to find a wide-ranging reflection on the artists and their workshops, capable of designing small or large-scale altarpiece “machines”; the construction and definition of the profile of the patrons and agents of the artistic market in the execution of these works; the identification and analysis of the material dimension of the altarpieces; the multifaceted readings of their complex iconographic and ornamental programs. All the texts now published are subdivided into four distinct parts: The Ibero-American altarpiece: identities, transfers and assimilations; The altarpiece and space: drawing, architecture, painting and sculpture; The altarpiece and iconography: interpretation, meaning and function; The altarpiece heritage: conservation, restoration, defense and enhancement, the authors have sought to highlight the plastic and symbolic importance of the countless examples analyzed, emphasizing, whenever possible, the indigenous specificities and the artistic interactions established with exogenous contributions. The reading of this digital volume, which covers the modern period (between the 16th and 18th centuries), reveals a common idea: the cross-cutting nature of the “altarpiece” theme. Regardless of its form, function or iconography, it repeats models, (re)invents solutions and sometimes transgresses the norm, thus demonstrating that it doesn't matter where it is located or the specific place it is intended for, but that it always assumes a timeless character in the History of Art.