On 14–15 June Paula Hohti, Anne-Kirstine Sindvald Larsen, Michele Robinson and Piia Lempiäinen attended the The Art of the Poor in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance Conference at Warburg Institute, organised by Dr. Rembrandt Duits. This two-day conference aimed to shift the focus from elite groups to popular groups, and explore art and aesthetic values of the so called “poor” during medieval and early modern period. Important focal point was to raise discussion on how we determine who was poor, what we consider art, and how different art forms were spreading among different socio-economical groups.

The conference saw several interesting papers discussing the art by, for, and about the poor. The topics ranged from the depiction of poverty in paintings, frescoed churches and artworks commissioned by village communities or artisans, to many aspects of the material culture of the poor. These included for example presentations on medieval pottery, devotional souvenirs and candlesticks, their aspirational meanings as well as practical usage.

On Friday, the morning session was dedicated to clothing, when Paula Hohti and Anne-Kristine Sindvald Larsen gave papers on their research. Paula discussed the changing artisan fashions in Italy, while Anne-Kristine gave her first presentation about her PhD research on Danish artisan clothing. Both presentations were received with great interest and they sparkled a lively discussion afterwards. We were very happy to see Anne-Kristine present her materials for the first time, and are excited to see how her research progresses.

Anne-Kristine Sindvald Larsen presenting her research.

Anne-Kristine Sindvald Larsen and Paula Hohti