Al-Andalus, the Hispanic Kingdoms and Egypt: Art, Power and Knowledge in the Medieval Mediterranean. Exchange Networks and their Impact on Visual Culture

The project provides an in-depth analysis of the cultural and artistic connections between al-Andalus, the Hispanic Kingdoms and Egypt during the Middle Ages from the period prior to the Islamic conquest to the disappearance of al-Andalus and the progressive decline of its legacy (between the 7th and the 16th centuries). A detailed and effective knowledge of the interactions will allow us to understand its cultural heritage, and the role played by both the Iberian Peninsula and Egypt in defining Mediterranean cultures, as well as the resulting implications of these relationships as they relate to the creation of modern states and their identities.

In order to achieve our aims, we set up a project run by a multidisciplinary team of scholars. This will enable us to share knowledge from different academic fields, such as History, Philology (Arabic and Spanish), Archaeology, Heritage Conservation, Science and Art History. The project's main objective is to overcome the previous approaches that have been limited primarily to aspects of exchange with the Eastern Mediterranean (that have focused, for example, on Orientalism, cultural agencies, or the limits of political and religious borders) and to undertake further analysis of visual culture. This will allow us to generate a new vision of these intense and fruitful Mediterranean exchange networks during the Middle Ages.

Research team co-directed by Juan Carlos Ruiz Souza and Susana Calvo Capilla

Susana Calvo Capilla, D.Phil. in History of Art (Autonoma University of Madrid, submitted 2001). Professor of the Department of History of Art at the Castilla-La Mancha University (2004-2009) and at the Complutense University of Madrid since 2009.

The presentation of this research project is organized within the framework of the Max Planck research project "Convivencia: Iberian to Global Dynamics (500-1750)".