220047 Art and Anthropology in Europe and the Americas, 1500-1900 (S) (SoSe 2019)

In this seminar, we will study the place of images and material culture in the rise of anthropology as a discipline, defined at the end of the 18th century as the science of studying Mankind. Therefore, we will cross questions related to the performative power of artworks, the specifictiy of visual knowledge and museum displays, the history of collecting and the intersection between art and science. The aim of this seminar is to study these processes on the longue durée, and with a focus on two continents : Europe and the Americas. We will start with depiction of encounters in Europe and the colonies, in particular New Spain (today Mexico), and New France (part of the USA and Canada), at a time of conquest but also of intense religious wars between catholics and protestant. With examples coming from early museum practices, we will also draw our attention to the ways in which artists and artisans were involved since the beginning in the creation of displays such as dioramas, giving shape to a popular anthropology that deeply transformed the mind of millions of visitors in Paris, Mexico City, or New York.