Project Title
Jan van Eyck: A Data Visualization of His Artistic Context in Fifteenth-Century Europe
Major
History
Faculty Mentor(s) Name(s)
Elissa Auerbach
1
Session Type (Select ALL that apply)
Poster Presentation
Abstract
Rich color, opulent cathedral spaces, and detailed symbolism are all hallmarks of the Flemish painter, Jan van Eyck’s work. Interpreting Van Eyck’s art through the lens of his artistic context in early modern Europe gives valuable insight into how his work was impacted by his professional connections. While it is crucial to recognize connections between major powers of the time period, historical events, and geographic locations of artists, it can sometimes be difficult to visualize the complex relationships between all these key points using the traditional method of research displayed on paper. This presentation will explore the original research I completed on Jan van Eyck’s artistic production and his documented professional relationships with patrons, merchants, artists, and leaders in politics and religion for the course entitled Northern Renaissance Art. I organized my data of Van Eyck’s known relationships with others in his artistic and social context into a Google spreadsheet, and then digitally mapped them as a network of nodes and edges using the web-based social networking tool called Kumu. The Kumu map was a collaborative activity involving the entire class. Each student was tasked with the responsibility of mapping their own artist’s connections, and then completing additional research to find more connections among the entire map. This type of research visually discerned new links among artists, subjects, and patrons, which would have been obscured had each student worked alone and submitted their research on paper. By implementing this new, collaborative research in my own project, I was able to identify common patrons and donors between Jan van Eyck and other prolific artists who were active during this time. This presentation will demonstrate not only the benefits of conducting collaborative digitized research in the humanities, but also the importance of recognizing previously unidentified links between individuals in the art world.
Jan van Eyck: A Data Visualization of His Artistic Context in Fifteenth-Century Europe
Rich color, opulent cathedral spaces, and detailed symbolism are all hallmarks of the Flemish painter, Jan van Eyck’s work. Interpreting Van Eyck’s art through the lens of his artistic context in early modern Europe gives valuable insight into how his work was impacted by his professional connections. While it is crucial to recognize connections between major powers of the time period, historical events, and geographic locations of artists, it can sometimes be difficult to visualize the complex relationships between all these key points using the traditional method of research displayed on paper. This presentation will explore the original research I completed on Jan van Eyck’s artistic production and his documented professional relationships with patrons, merchants, artists, and leaders in politics and religion for the course entitled Northern Renaissance Art. I organized my data of Van Eyck’s known relationships with others in his artistic and social context into a Google spreadsheet, and then digitally mapped them as a network of nodes and edges using the web-based social networking tool called Kumu. The Kumu map was a collaborative activity involving the entire class. Each student was tasked with the responsibility of mapping their own artist’s connections, and then completing additional research to find more connections among the entire map. This type of research visually discerned new links among artists, subjects, and patrons, which would have been obscured had each student worked alone and submitted their research on paper. By implementing this new, collaborative research in my own project, I was able to identify common patrons and donors between Jan van Eyck and other prolific artists who were active during this time. This presentation will demonstrate not only the benefits of conducting collaborative digitized research in the humanities, but also the importance of recognizing previously unidentified links between individuals in the art world.