Jehan de Rouen, whose Norman apprenticeship in the beginning of the 16th century is beyond doubt, represents a privileged link in the understanding of the artistic exchanges between the Norman province and the Portuguese kingdom. In the background of this relationship is, for instance, the history of Portuguese communities in Rouen and Harfleur by the end of the 15th century, whose  timely reassessment will also invite another major protagonist of the artistic stage: Italy. Indeed, the still unconfirmed hypothesis of Jehan de Rouen’s presence in Italy prior to his arrival in Portugal opens and deepens the geographical scope of this prospective research. 

 

The foundations of our current knowledge about Jehan de Rouen were essentially laid at the beginning of the 20th century, by Prudêncio Quintino Garcia (João de Ruão. MD...-MDLXXX. Documentos para a biographia de um artista da renascença, Coimbra, 1913). The studies that followed his inaugural work have always relied in the documental corpus thus compiled, despite a progressive broadening of the research perspectives, encompassing questions such as the circulation of artists and models; the relationships established in a workshop production; the formal comparison between artworks; and the profile of his commissioners. 

 

After more than a century of research, and at the precise moment when the attributions of both his sculpture and architecture seem to multiply, it becomes essential to re-examine the primary sources, along with the artworks themselves, to finally organize a solid and reliable collection. Similarly, a close analysis of Jehan de Rouen’s sculptural and architectural oeuvre will hopefully unveil his aesthetic culture and his theoretical and visual universe. In this sense, it seems, for instance, absolutely necessary to approach the transformations in the religious buildings the artist may have known in first hand, or that are contemporary with his works, whether in French territory (with Flemish and German influences), or through influences from Spain and Italy. Such an approach will certainly provide a more accurate contextualization of his work and a more acute understanding of his relationship with (and his role in) the European Renaissance.  

 

The confirmation that Jehan de Rouen plays a major role in the crystallization of the Portuguese conscience “ao modo de Itália” (in the words of Francisco de Holanda), opens new historiographic challenges that only a broad European debate can accomplish. Thus, the identification and further interpretation of the formal innovations of his work, in the context of the artistic stages of Normandy and Italy, along with the understanding of the utter porousness of European artistic borders during this period, are the main goals of this Meeting. 

 

The 2019 Conference aims to gather the divers contributions of the scientific community within the following thematic strands:

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1. The workshop geographies of Norman sculpture between the 15th and 16th centuries; 

2. The triangular relationship between France, Italy, and Portugal, within the context of political, diplomatic, commercial, and artistic exchanges; 

3. The symbiotic relationship between sculpture and architecture during the 16th century; 

4. Models, forms, expression, and international projection of Jehan de Rouen.

 

Abstracts (maximum 300 words) should be written in French or English and accompanied by the author’s identification and a short CV. 

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Abstracts are welcome until

Mars 1st 2019

colloque.jehanderouen@gmail.com

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Université de Rouen Normandie

1 rue Thomas Becket
76821 Mont-Saint-Aignan cedex 

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