Malleable Messages: When the Replica Becomes the Model
This excerpt from Erin Giffin’s book manuscript (currently entitled Translating Space: Replicas of the Holy House of Loreto) addresses the phenomenon of structural replicas becoming sources of information for subsequent recreations. The Santa Casa di Loreto, or Holy House of the Virgin Mary, was recreated extensively throughout the early modern Catholic world, due to its perception as the site of the Annunciation, Jesus’ childhood home, and the purported first church of the faith consecrated by the apostles following Christ’s ascension. Rather than cultivate a single site of pilgrimage worship, the cult at Loreto flourished through its replicas, though these recreations introduced subtly competing iconographic narratives that disseminated distinct iterations of the Santa Casa throughout the Catholic world. Taking our point of departure from a manuscript reproduction of the Santa Casa in the Newberry Collection, this presentation maps the Loretan cult’s malleable messaging and the effect of replicas upon the original.
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This event is free, but all participants must register in advance. Space is limited, so please do not request a paper unless you plan to attend.
Register and Request PaperAbout the European Art Seminar
The Center for Renaissance Studies European Art Seminar considers work in art history that explores painting, sculpture, graphic art, architecture, caricature, manuscript illumination, book arts, and material culture.
The coordinators for the Seminar in European Art are Suzanne Karr Schmidt (Newberry Library), Lia Markey (Newberry Library), and Walter Melion (Emory University).
The European Art Seminar is sponsored by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation.