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Papers by Aimee Caya
Contemporaneity: Historical Presence in Visual Culture, 2019
The Beresford Monument from the Church of St Edmund at Fenny Bentley in Derbyshire is a funerary ... more The Beresford Monument from the Church of St Edmund at Fenny Bentley in Derbyshire is a funerary monument that has received relatively little attention from scholars due to its unusual imagery and the lack of documentary evidence regarding its creation. The alabaster monument depicts Thomas Beresford (d. 1473) and Agnes Hassall (d. 1467) as fully shrouded three-dimensional effigies. Incised around the base of the monument are enshrouded representations of their twenty-one children. This paper analyzes the impact that veiling the bodies of Thomas Beresford and Agnes Hassall has on the effectiveness of the monument as a commemorative tool and situates the shrouded effigies within their broader visual and social context at the turn of the sixteenth century. Rather than dismiss the unusual imagery of the Beresford Monument as an expedient solution selected by sculptors who did not know what Thomas Beresford and Agnes Hassall actually looked like, this paper argues that shrouding the eff...
“Abstraction Before the Age of Abstract Art”, 2018
A contribution to the project, “Abstraction Before the Age of Abstract Art,” a joint research pr... more A contribution to the project, “Abstraction Before the Age of Abstract Art,” a joint research program in Art History between Case Western Reserve University and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales, sponsored by the FACE foundation, 2018-2020. Originally posted at: https://preabstract.hypotheses.org/445
Contemporaneity: Historical Presence in Visual Culture, 2019
The Beresford Monument from the Church of St Edmund at Fenny Bentley in Derbyshire is a funerary ... more The Beresford Monument from the Church of St Edmund at Fenny Bentley in Derbyshire is a funerary monument that has received relatively little attention from scholars due to its unusual imagery and the lack of documentary evidence regarding its creation. The alabaster monument depicts Thomas Beresford (d. 1473) and Agnes Hassall (d. 1467) as fully shrouded three-dimensional effigies. Incised around the base of the monument are enshrouded representations of their twenty-one children. This paper analyzes the impact that veiling the bodies of Thomas Beresford and Agnes Hassall has on the effectiveness of the monument as a commemorative tool and situates the shrouded effigies within their broader visual and social context at the turn of the sixteenth century. Rather than dismiss the unusual imagery of the Beresford Monument as an expedient solution selected by sculptors who did not know what Thomas Beresford and Agnes Hassall actually looked like, this paper argues that shrouding the effigies was a deliberate commemorative strategy meant to evoke specific responses in the monument’s viewers. Although there is little concrete information about the tomb’s commission, contextualizing it by examining the monument in concert with other aspects of late medieval culture—including purgatorial piety, macabre texts and imagery, and ex votos—can provide a richer understanding of the object’s potentiality for its beholders. The anonymizing aspect of the shroud ultimately enabled viewers to identify freely and easily with the individuals depicted on the monument, which would have encouraged them to pray for the souls of Thomas and Agnes, thus perpetuating their memories and reducing their time in purgatory.
Conference Presentations by Aimee Caya
Originally presented as part of "Body and Soul: the Visual Arts and Medical Practice," at the Mid... more Originally presented as part of "Body and Soul: the Visual Arts and Medical Practice," at the Midwest Art History Society Conference, Cleveland Museum of Art, April 6-8, 2017.
As the patron saint of childbirth, St. Margaret enjoyed tremendous popularity in the European Middle Ages. The most famous episode of her life, wherein Margaret was swallowed by and miraculously released from a dragon, mirrored the experience of a child delivered via caesarean section. In this paper, I explore the significance of visual allusions to caesarean section in public devotional sculptures of Margaret from late medieval France and England, and how these images would have been read by medieval audiences. I consider not only visual affinities between images of Margaret and depictions of caesarean section, but also the haptic experience of the sculptor tasked with creating such images. Ultimately, the process casts the sculptor as both the male force in the act of conception—molding and shaping (feminine) matter—and as a surgeon. Both the surgeon and the artist carve open bodies in order to facilitate salvation—bodily salvation in the case of the surgeon, spiritual salvation for the sculptor. Ultimately, these connections raise questions about how non-traditional sources can help fill gaps in our understanding of medieval medicine and its practitioners. Despite evidence that midwives played prominent roles in medieval birthing chambers, their illiteracy and position outside of the growing university system has left us with little evidence of their experience or knowledge. I believe that these publicly accessible images of St. Margaret and the dragon imply a broader practical understanding of obstetrics than has previously been credited to medieval audiences, and may provide a means for filling epistemological gaps for medical historians.
Originally presented at the Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies, University of Notre Dame, Ma... more Originally presented at the Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies, University of Notre Dame, March 10, 2017.
Beginning in the fourteenth century, the image of John the Baptist’s head on a charger was isolated from its narrative context and transformed into an andachtsbild, a non-narrative devotional image. The ensemble of head-and-plate is collectively referred to in scholarship as a Johannesschüssel, and it appears throughout Europe in a variety of forms: as three-dimensional sculpture, as a seal, on painted panels, and even on keystones. Towards the end of the fifteenth century in England, a regionally specific tradition of alabaster relief panels of John the Baptist’s head on a plate emerged as popular objects for private devotion. Taking the corpus of alabaster reliefs of the Baptist’s head as my focus, I explore the English Johannesschüsseln through the lens of medieval food and feasting practices. Biblical and exegetical texts surrounding the Johannesschüssel conflate it with the eucharist and repeatedly emphasize its role as spectacle within a feast. But spectacle encompasses a broader category than plays, jousting, or musical performances—the tablescape itself would have been dotted with marvelous objects called entremets or sotelties. Ultimately, if the biblical episode of Saint John’s martyrdom is examined within the context of feasting culture, the Baptist’s head is akin to an entremet presented at the table as a kind of macabre curiosity. John’s head is presented on a plate at a feast as though it were simply another illusionistically crafted course in a series of elaborate dishes. As an image that transgressed the boundaries between living and dead, and between object, person, and food, the Johannesschüssel fits within the category of entremet—a small-scale spectacle set amongst food at the table for entertainment. Ultimately, the Baptist’s head acts as a true feast for the eyes: nourishing for the spirit, but not to be physically ingested.
Presented as part of "Material Objects Teeming with Life," a DISTAFF-sponsored panel, at the Inte... more Presented as part of "Material Objects Teeming with Life," a DISTAFF-sponsored panel, at the International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 1-4, 2019.
This paper focuses on two aer-epitaphioi from Mount Athos, and approaches them from two different perspectives. First, I contextualize these aer-epitaphioi within the performance of both the Great Entrance rite and the Holy Saturday orthros. In doing so I challenge the existing scholarly divide between veils with ‘liturgical’ versus ‘narrative’ iconography, a distinction I believe fails to consider how these objects were used and understood within their original contexts. I argue that prior to the introduction of the complete epitaphios threnos (Lamentation at the Tomb) iconography, which includes a group of mourners around the body of Christ, the monks acted as these mourners and completed the narrative by performing it themselves in the course of the Great Entrance and Holy Saturday orthros rituals. I then consider the significance of the materiality of these aer-epitaphioi as woven and embroidered textiles whose manufacturing process evoked Christ’s incarnation and Passion, which would in turn heighten the perception of the textile as a simulacrum of Christ’s body when used within its liturgical context.
Contemporaneity: Historical Presence in Visual Culture, 2019
The Beresford Monument from the Church of St Edmund at Fenny Bentley in Derbyshire is a funerary ... more The Beresford Monument from the Church of St Edmund at Fenny Bentley in Derbyshire is a funerary monument that has received relatively little attention from scholars due to its unusual imagery and the lack of documentary evidence regarding its creation. The alabaster monument depicts Thomas Beresford (d. 1473) and Agnes Hassall (d. 1467) as fully shrouded three-dimensional effigies. Incised around the base of the monument are enshrouded representations of their twenty-one children. This paper analyzes the impact that veiling the bodies of Thomas Beresford and Agnes Hassall has on the effectiveness of the monument as a commemorative tool and situates the shrouded effigies within their broader visual and social context at the turn of the sixteenth century. Rather than dismiss the unusual imagery of the Beresford Monument as an expedient solution selected by sculptors who did not know what Thomas Beresford and Agnes Hassall actually looked like, this paper argues that shrouding the eff...
“Abstraction Before the Age of Abstract Art”, 2018
A contribution to the project, “Abstraction Before the Age of Abstract Art,” a joint research pr... more A contribution to the project, “Abstraction Before the Age of Abstract Art,” a joint research program in Art History between Case Western Reserve University and the École des hautes études en sciences sociales, sponsored by the FACE foundation, 2018-2020. Originally posted at: https://preabstract.hypotheses.org/445
Contemporaneity: Historical Presence in Visual Culture, 2019
The Beresford Monument from the Church of St Edmund at Fenny Bentley in Derbyshire is a funerary ... more The Beresford Monument from the Church of St Edmund at Fenny Bentley in Derbyshire is a funerary monument that has received relatively little attention from scholars due to its unusual imagery and the lack of documentary evidence regarding its creation. The alabaster monument depicts Thomas Beresford (d. 1473) and Agnes Hassall (d. 1467) as fully shrouded three-dimensional effigies. Incised around the base of the monument are enshrouded representations of their twenty-one children. This paper analyzes the impact that veiling the bodies of Thomas Beresford and Agnes Hassall has on the effectiveness of the monument as a commemorative tool and situates the shrouded effigies within their broader visual and social context at the turn of the sixteenth century. Rather than dismiss the unusual imagery of the Beresford Monument as an expedient solution selected by sculptors who did not know what Thomas Beresford and Agnes Hassall actually looked like, this paper argues that shrouding the effigies was a deliberate commemorative strategy meant to evoke specific responses in the monument’s viewers. Although there is little concrete information about the tomb’s commission, contextualizing it by examining the monument in concert with other aspects of late medieval culture—including purgatorial piety, macabre texts and imagery, and ex votos—can provide a richer understanding of the object’s potentiality for its beholders. The anonymizing aspect of the shroud ultimately enabled viewers to identify freely and easily with the individuals depicted on the monument, which would have encouraged them to pray for the souls of Thomas and Agnes, thus perpetuating their memories and reducing their time in purgatory.
Originally presented as part of "Body and Soul: the Visual Arts and Medical Practice," at the Mid... more Originally presented as part of "Body and Soul: the Visual Arts and Medical Practice," at the Midwest Art History Society Conference, Cleveland Museum of Art, April 6-8, 2017.
As the patron saint of childbirth, St. Margaret enjoyed tremendous popularity in the European Middle Ages. The most famous episode of her life, wherein Margaret was swallowed by and miraculously released from a dragon, mirrored the experience of a child delivered via caesarean section. In this paper, I explore the significance of visual allusions to caesarean section in public devotional sculptures of Margaret from late medieval France and England, and how these images would have been read by medieval audiences. I consider not only visual affinities between images of Margaret and depictions of caesarean section, but also the haptic experience of the sculptor tasked with creating such images. Ultimately, the process casts the sculptor as both the male force in the act of conception—molding and shaping (feminine) matter—and as a surgeon. Both the surgeon and the artist carve open bodies in order to facilitate salvation—bodily salvation in the case of the surgeon, spiritual salvation for the sculptor. Ultimately, these connections raise questions about how non-traditional sources can help fill gaps in our understanding of medieval medicine and its practitioners. Despite evidence that midwives played prominent roles in medieval birthing chambers, their illiteracy and position outside of the growing university system has left us with little evidence of their experience or knowledge. I believe that these publicly accessible images of St. Margaret and the dragon imply a broader practical understanding of obstetrics than has previously been credited to medieval audiences, and may provide a means for filling epistemological gaps for medical historians.
Originally presented at the Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies, University of Notre Dame, Ma... more Originally presented at the Vagantes Conference on Medieval Studies, University of Notre Dame, March 10, 2017.
Beginning in the fourteenth century, the image of John the Baptist’s head on a charger was isolated from its narrative context and transformed into an andachtsbild, a non-narrative devotional image. The ensemble of head-and-plate is collectively referred to in scholarship as a Johannesschüssel, and it appears throughout Europe in a variety of forms: as three-dimensional sculpture, as a seal, on painted panels, and even on keystones. Towards the end of the fifteenth century in England, a regionally specific tradition of alabaster relief panels of John the Baptist’s head on a plate emerged as popular objects for private devotion. Taking the corpus of alabaster reliefs of the Baptist’s head as my focus, I explore the English Johannesschüsseln through the lens of medieval food and feasting practices. Biblical and exegetical texts surrounding the Johannesschüssel conflate it with the eucharist and repeatedly emphasize its role as spectacle within a feast. But spectacle encompasses a broader category than plays, jousting, or musical performances—the tablescape itself would have been dotted with marvelous objects called entremets or sotelties. Ultimately, if the biblical episode of Saint John’s martyrdom is examined within the context of feasting culture, the Baptist’s head is akin to an entremet presented at the table as a kind of macabre curiosity. John’s head is presented on a plate at a feast as though it were simply another illusionistically crafted course in a series of elaborate dishes. As an image that transgressed the boundaries between living and dead, and between object, person, and food, the Johannesschüssel fits within the category of entremet—a small-scale spectacle set amongst food at the table for entertainment. Ultimately, the Baptist’s head acts as a true feast for the eyes: nourishing for the spirit, but not to be physically ingested.
Presented as part of "Material Objects Teeming with Life," a DISTAFF-sponsored panel, at the Inte... more Presented as part of "Material Objects Teeming with Life," a DISTAFF-sponsored panel, at the International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds, July 1-4, 2019.
This paper focuses on two aer-epitaphioi from Mount Athos, and approaches them from two different perspectives. First, I contextualize these aer-epitaphioi within the performance of both the Great Entrance rite and the Holy Saturday orthros. In doing so I challenge the existing scholarly divide between veils with ‘liturgical’ versus ‘narrative’ iconography, a distinction I believe fails to consider how these objects were used and understood within their original contexts. I argue that prior to the introduction of the complete epitaphios threnos (Lamentation at the Tomb) iconography, which includes a group of mourners around the body of Christ, the monks acted as these mourners and completed the narrative by performing it themselves in the course of the Great Entrance and Holy Saturday orthros rituals. I then consider the significance of the materiality of these aer-epitaphioi as woven and embroidered textiles whose manufacturing process evoked Christ’s incarnation and Passion, which would in turn heighten the perception of the textile as a simulacrum of Christ’s body when used within its liturgical context.