title: Art, Cult, and Patronage in Late-Medieval and Early Modern Estonia: Continuity and Change
reg no: ETF6900
project type: Estonian Science Foundation research grant
subject: 6.5. Art history and criticism
status: accepted
institution: Tallinna Ülikooli Ajaloo Instituut
head of project: Anu Mänd
duration: 01.01.2006 - 31.12.2009
description: The aim of this project is to study medieval and early modern art in Estonia from novel persperctives, meaning in their historical, social and liturgical context. The sources will include both the surviving objects and the archival sources. Our aim is to study the relationship between art and cult, how the church interior changed in the course of time, what was the purpose of vessels and utensils used in liturgy, etc. We shall also investigate the political and social ambitions of the patrons, and how these ambitions influenced the form and content of the works of art. Special attention will be paid to processes that took place at the time of and after the Reformation, and to how these processes were reflected in art. We shall study the spread and influence of the Lutheran doctrines, and examine how the churches, built in the Catholic period, were transformed to correspond to the new religion and mentality.
In the course of the project, two international conferences will be organized: the first(in 2006) is titled as "Art and the Church from the 13th to the 18th c.", and dedicated to the centenary of Prof. Sten Karling. In 2009, when 500 years will pass from the death of Bernt Notke, a conference and an exhibition will be organized. The papers of both conferences will be published (in English and German). In addition, a number of articles will be published both in Estonia and abroad.

project group
no name institution position  
1.Pia Ehasalu 
2.Krista Kodres 
3.Kersti Markus 
4.Anu MändTallinna Ülikooli Ajaloo Instituut